Beaumont had quite a few gambling places, many had slot machines. Beaumont also had a few Cat Houses run by Rita Ainsworth. She was known to be the madam and her operations were ‘overlooked’ by officials. That was until a local grocery store ran a drawing for a few thousand dollars as a promotional attraction for business; well Rita’s name was drawn. Local housewives raised such a stink about a MADAM winning it that so much attention was put on her “Business Ventures” that law enforcement was forced to close here down. The James commission (1960) was building steam at the same time to shut down illegal gambling along the Gulf Coast- Galveston, Kemah, Freeport, Beaumont, Port Arthur, and many other hole in the wall joints. The first joint raided by state troopers was the Pen Tan Club located off West Port Arthur road between Beaumont and Port Arthur.