The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-08-09

Park race course pretty regularly de
post their wages in these banks, and
don't often draw anything out. The
buffers and coachmen of wealthy
summer residents are also to be seen
at the tables. But the heavy play, as
rule, is by Wall street men, who
have not left their love of chance be-
hind in the city. Faro is the favorite
game for these chaps, and for the
time-seasoned old gamblers among
the Astounding turfmen; out roulette
has attained popularity with ineXpe-
ri, need and uncalculating fellows to
whom the payments of thirty-SiX to
one, when wager wins, are so daZ
Zllng that they fail to see the clear
and sure percentage of advantage
which the game affords the banks.
The handsomest apartment in all
Long Branch is very spacious, con-
Sistlng of two octagonal ends with a
cOrridOr-like connection. The roof is
high, trussed and over the two octag-
ons it extends int lofty domes. This
intellectually varied roofing is made
further ornate with elaborate paint
ing in oil colors. l know of no finer
decoration of the kind anywhere. The
floor is covered with Wilton carpet of
the most delicate hues. The furniture
is of the heaviest mahogany, in pieces
and shapes to gorgeouSly fit out Il
gam ling hell.
The house, much enlarged for this
season, was built 10y two members of
two great political rings-Peter B..
Sweeney, Tweed's first lieutenant,
and Mackey, once state treasurer of
Pennsylvania. OF course these men
were not at the time known as the
owners, and the concern went in the
name of their trusted partner and
agent. Phil DAILY, a Philadelphia gam
bier, and then OF John Chamberlain,
the widely known sporting man and
husband of Emily Thorne, the actress.
Chamberlain ruined himself in the
proprietorship of the Long Branch
race course, and retired. Plunger
Walton attempted to get possession
by acquiring Mackey's interest after
the death of that financial politician,
but was beaten by DAILY, who formed
the combination now owning and
managing the property, which con-
sists of about the finest building and
grounds along the shore. But for a
flag, floating the name pennsylvania
Club" this would be mistaken for the
summer residence of a millionaire.
sour expenses are $500 day." said
the gambler, ito say nothing of the
capital invested. This room and
what's in it cost $4,000" And then
he affably added: "You are not play
ing tonight"
NO." replied, "your expenses and
investment are too heavy" But
there were one hundred men or so
present who had no such scruples
against remunerating the gamblers.
Two games of faro were going on,
and white, black and rouge ct noir
table was in active use, but interest
centered at one of the four large rou-
lette apparatuses, where uncommonly
heavy play was in progress. Stacks
of ivory disks, "chips" in gambling
parlance, ranging in value from white
at 81 to blue ones at $40 and red at
$25 were in front of the players, in
one instance to the extent Of more
than $4,000. This particular
operator was Wall street broker,
and all but $500 of the pile
represented winnings since he had
taken his seat. AS to his previous
luck accounts differed. The gambler
told me that the bank had lost $4,000
to him in a week. Somebody else said
that he had put half of that sum into
the bank. AS every winning chip
multiplied itself by twenty-eight, and
the turn of the wheel occupied less
than two minutes, it will be seen that
a man might make big fortune if he
only had enough good luck, but as the
chances are thirty-one to one against
him in every wager, it can easily be
figured up that his luck must average
nearly 10 per cent better than that
of the bank to put him on an equal
footing.
One player was filling a sheet OF
foolscap compactly with figures, appa-
rently keeping record of the win
ming numbers and conducting his
play in accordance with some elabo-
rate system. A very small portion OF
the cyphering, directed by common
sense, should have convinced him of
the folly of attempting to get the
| best of professional gamblers.