As a young man, he worked as an office clerk in Fort Smith, and, later, for the Union Pacific Railroad as a machinist apprentice.
Berry was considered the prime suspect in the 1945 shotgun-blast murder of another San Antonio gambling kingpin, Hersel Gray, but was never indicted.
While his gambling interests were based there, Berry won—in a game of Pitch—title to an 84-acre (34 ha) tract of land southeast of Fort Sam Houston.
In 1951, he constructed a 13,000-square-foot (1,200 m2) house in the style of a French chateau that included a full basement, where he subsequently moved his casino.
[1] In the general election, the 61-year-old Berry faced off against 29-year-old Republican Henry Catto, son of a prominent insurance man in San Antonio.
In the heavily Democratic Texas of the era, Berry won the election with 54 percent of the vote.