Gambling was a known activity of Doc Holliday.
John Henry `` Doc '' Holliday ( August 14 , 1851 -- November 8 , 1887 ) was an American gambler , gunfighter , and dentist , and a good friend of Wyatt Earp . Hoping the climate in the American Southwest would ease his symptoms , he moved to that region and became a gambler , a reputable profession in Arizona in that day .