Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-16
"Rac.,, in New York.
The Modern Age for ADril.


Baccarat has at last found a shrine in
New York. Its vOtaries are not yet as
numerous as they are IN London and
Paris, but the game is an insidiOus one,
and we may yet see in this country a
repetition of the gambling mania which
recently reached a climax in London. In
a quiet side street, not far from Broad
way, is house which is distinguished
from its neighbors only by the gas jet
which dimly Eliminates its vestibule I'M
til an early hour in the morning. The house
is conducted as proprietary club, and the
visitor, before admission, is obliged to
go through the preliminaries of introduce
ton and being enrolled as 4 resident or
nonresident member The dues are rot
heavy, and the principal requisite for adj
mission is a Willingness TO tempt the
tickle goddess and the means to make sac
rifces to her. Once admitted the visitor
will find on the first floor nothing to indi-
cate the character Of the sO-called club,
and he will be sadly disappointed if he ex-
poets to find any of the gorgeOusness in
furniture and decoration which char
acterize the traditional gaming
house. On reaching the second floor,
however, the unmistakable click of ivory
chips IS heard. About a table, shaped
like a figure eight, are seated a score or
more of players, and a mixed lot they are.
A Cuban or two, three or four Frenchmen
and Italians, some genuine Englishmen
and some pseudO-Englishmen, a pair of
dudes, and a sprinkling of Americans of
the baSer sort compose a crowd which is
denationalized and unified in the common
desire to capture the Dealers money. The
| intense stiffness, which is thought to be
necessary where heavy gambling is going
on, is absent here, and, although the
stakes are quite heavy, there is a con-
tinual current Of banter and jest,
81
| tatiOn-Or vice versa, as the luck may
! turn-triumph on one side Of the table
and cursing on the other, all punctuated
/ with the Dealers mOnOtOnous 'sNO more"
/ and the occasional ''BacV from dealer or
| player. At intervals the bank is either
! broken or the banker sees lit toretire from
/ his Onerous position. The club attendant
/ puts the privilege up at auctiopr-and his
| ''FiVe hundred, Once-fye hundred, tw ce
five hundred three times, and sold to Mr..
Blank" determines that Mr.. Blank is to
place $500 in money on the table to
/ be played against by the pun
tiers until it is exhausted or
until he has dealt through three
packs of cards. In the latter event the
bank is again auctiOned off to the highest
bidder. NnthiB~ but cash or counters
reIieemaD1e by the club is permitted to be
/ played for, and this has the salutary ef-
feet of limiting players to the amount
they have with them, making it impOssi-
bic for rash players to involve themselves
or their bank accounts in ruin through
! the mOmentary excitement of the game.
This is the only rcdeeming feature of Bac-
carat. Otherwise it is as perniciOus in
its effects as Keno or any other disreputa-
bic mode Of gambling. Novel writer's have
thrown a halo of distinction about it
/ which it in no wise deserves. Certain
features Of the game make it impossible
for it to be played under ordinary sur
rOundings, and it has therefore come to be
regarded as almost exclusively a club
game, but the recent exposures in Paris
show that. even under the most favorable
/ circumstances, 1t can be made the means
of fashionable sWindling, while expe-
rienced card players say that with the
most trifiing collision it furnishes a
splendid field for sharp practice. 1t will
I be bad day for New FORK when Baccarai
iaromes to be more generally played.