Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-12-27
nlS' nsrknAS. We. nArrasS.
Established 1852
BATEMAN & BRO.
Wholesale GroCers
AND
Commission Merchants,
Nos. u, IL, 10 and ~ West Second street, cor
her Throokmor,on,
FORT WORTH.
POKER CHIPS.
Little or No Demand Now for Fine Ones
Except From Private Clubs.

Little or No Demand Now for Fine Ones
Except From Private Clubs.
New York SUM-
Yah, they're drug On the marl,,t
now, especially the tinc ivory ones, .
an old pawnhroker said ~ he ran his
fingers among n box OF ivory disks aud
eyed them mcditatively and sadly.
"The time was. when, Ii sporting
man got into a hard run OF luck aud
was short he could pawn his chips for
something near their real value. They
were almost rs good ms gold. But now
look what piles I've got OF them. Aud
nobody wants them, even though |
offer them CHEAP an dirt.
II was u queer, dirty old place In
which this conversation WAS held.
Through the grimy windows n
weak gray light filtered family. On
the broad window lodges lay n
Mmbled mass Of anglers reels, inlsid
chess-boards, stringless guitars, key.
less flutes, antique weapons, tawdry
vases, and an infinite variety OF
strange odds and ends and unrelated
parts of things, Poking up through
the dust ON the shelves, like quaint
tombstones rising ont of u cemetery OF
gray snow, appeared some clocks.
Two-thirds OF the counter and of the
space behind L was occupied 10y boxes,
bales, bundles, and packages of thinga.
and the rest OF the space was Uttered
up with a heterogeneous assor. ment OF
articles, the packing up OF which
seemed To have been abandon eu mid.
way in the work All these thlnga
were forfeited pledges, and among
them stood the old pawnbroker, with
Il shrowd but not unkindly face, and n
fine harmony In gray and brown tipts
between him and his surroundings.
'Do you take Ia many chips nov
from the unlucky sportssh the reporter
asked.
81 don't take anything now. I've
given up my business, aud am simply
trying TO get my money out of the stutl
lett ON my hands. ! wish ! could get
rid of these poker chips"
sis there any difference between
poker and faro chips?n
"Ahl You never had good front
seht, did you2p n Joined the old man,
witha look of Keen Auspieion, mo,
there's no difference. Any chips you
can use in one game you can In The
other. But faro ~ rather under n
cloud just now, and thore's no demand
for tools for that sinful game, No It's
best 10 call them poker chips, which
you will observe Is the sign ! have in
the window
"And nil these come from hard.up
sports"p
"Mosl OF 'cm, SUPPOSE
ado any Of the chips supposed To he
destroyed by the police ever ind their
way 10 sale qgain?p
II wouldn't tell you II ! knew.
They give them 10 their political
friends most likelyn
"What are the chips worth?n
"That depends largely on the cir.
cumstanccs of their purchase. I've
seen blues cost $50 each. But I'm the
ordinary commercial way, IL YOU buy
them from he manufactures, new, tho
composition ones cost from Sn5 foI
plain up TO s55 for engraved ones for n
set of TOO, which includes 800 white
200 red aud 100 blue, Splits. marker
and coppers you can get Tor from
81. 30 To s. hundred The ivory ones
ARE far more expensive, ranging In
price from $50 up 10 500, or even 500 u
hundred, according Ia size and the en-
kinds AT very great reduction. Here,
for instance, lisa full SET of worries that
cost originally SIS or $50 hundred,
that will sell for SIS IA hundred, aud
yet they show no trace of the many
thousands won and lost with them.
Ivory chips are liable TO become dis
colored by age, the white ones at least,
and then, of course, they decline
la. I,.. n..l l....s asa.
too expensive for use nowadays,
when the police arc liable 20 swoop
down on the game and c1rry them oil
at any minute. The composition ones
are just as good IA Ivory, stacking up
quite NJ accurately, and costing, as l
have fold you. very much less. can
furnish them as low as $50 Thousand,
and perhaps even less The principal
demand for chips IN now FOR poker
clubs. A pnrty of gentlemen VIII
make up game for the winter season,
during few nights will put stipulated
sums into u kitty on certain hands
'rcthes' aud abDve~-to buy a set Of
chips. II they net a good Kitty, they
win want nice ivory chips. But n
man can back up nm error Of
judgment IN poker with cOmpo-
sition just as well as he can In
ivory. Now and then a sport going
out West or South Ia open game, par.
ticulnrly u IL Is to be a brace, will
come la ior u set Of ivory chips for
style, but they arc rare blrds. The
dealers who go down East seldom have
better thar plain compost
ton. Real ivory wouldn't be safe 10
deal out In - ten-cent gunis In New
a a. la. la.
players they'd steal II, 10 the bank
would he out anyway. Deal boxes
Oh, there's stack Of them. They are
worth nothing now; no call for them.
Gambling In New York ~ 10y no means
..t..,..I 80, la, a. iu,.ft ..,liat n ,t..d Ia