Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(orig. US) to win money at gambling, esp. cards.

1839		Spirit of the Times (N.Y.) 13 July 223/3: If he has anything like as good a horse as the balance, he is certain to rake down the corn [DA].
1846		S. Smith Theatrical Apprenticeship of Solomon Smith 151: With one hand he gracefully turned over four Kings and a Jack, and with the other tremblingly ‘raked down’ the pile of bank notes, gold and silver .
1852		Ovid Bolus Esq. in Southern Lit. Messenger XVIII July 435/2: Such gambling! A negro ante and twenty on the call, was moderate playing. What lots of ‘Ethiopian captives’ and other plunder he raked down vexed Arithmetic to count.
1899–1900		C.L. Cullen Tales of the Ex-Tanks 83: I’d yanked down $2,000 on Long Bridge’s win. I took it all as if the raking down of that much quartz was an everyday matter.
1902		Goodwin’s Wkly (Salt Lake City, UT) 2 Aug. 2/3: ‘Who openeth a jackpot may not always rake it down’.
1914		Day Book (Chicago) 15 Sept. n.p.: The money-lenders of the world who will floatb these war loans will rake down $2,000,000.
1949		Boston Globe Sun. Mag. 22 May 7/2: Each time he raked home a pot he patted the old shoe and crowed a little [DA].