St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-03-27
GAMBLING IN CLEVELAND.
Poker and Faro Rooms FnjoyinO Wonder-
FIJI Prosperity.
CLEVELAND Herald

JW prosperity.
Cleveland Herald.
''Give US quart bottle of Piper Heidsic1.
I've pulled in q hundred tonight, and I
guess we can afford sip of champagne
water.'' The speaker was a young man of
about twenty-five, we'll known about town for
his many heroic struggles with the ''tiger."
He was surrounded by half dozen rather
toney youths of the same stamp. Their day
begins at dark and ends at daylight. They
were standing in front OF the bar of an all
night saloon, and the young man who had
ordered the drinks banged double eagle on
the counter.
''There has never been such winter for
gambling since I've been in the city," said
the whte-aproned spirit dispenser, as the
crowd filed out "There must be four or five
hundred young men in town whose lives are
spent inside the poker and faro-rooms. They
generally wind up for the night at three or
four o'clock in the morning. If the night
has been successful one, they drop into
THE ALL-NIGHT SALOONS
on their way home and try little Chamber
tin for good luck. If luck has been against
them, gin cocktail or plain whisky has to
do. can't understand how it is that some
Of them must lose. II can't be otherwise;
else how do the keepers of the gambling
rooms manage to dress in broadcloth, buy
houses and lots, and wear diamondsl There
is local billiard player that / know in the
city who recently won 5000 in a single sit
ting at a wcl-patronized faro-table II is
nothing unusual for young man 10 make or
lose 5000 in one evening Now, how DO
these young men get their money? Half Of
them held positions that are not worth over
$1,000 year, yet | know of one who lost
500 in a single week, and he is still con-
slant patron Of the game. There is ant other
little dude who hands groceries over the
counter of a store in the city for SO a week.
and who spends two nights out Of seven in
one Of the city farO-rooms. Two weeks ago
he happened to strike luck and won $50, $25
and 500 at three successive sttings. This
set him perfectly wild, and he is borrowing
the last nickel he can, and giving as security
a history of his luck two weeks ago.
''Three years ago do not believe there
were dozen poker-rooms in the city. Now
there must be hundred, and
THE PATRONAGE IS ENORMOUS.
Men and boys become perfectly fascinated
with the game, and never stop to compute
their losses and gains. The beauty about the
management Of poker-roOm is that the
prop .ietor never loses money. They rake
off in one year will make him a compare
lively rich man, and know Of one such pro-
prietor who in a single year saved enough
money to buy himself pretty house and lot
on Woodland avenue. The game is usually
a twenty-cali-ffty or forty-call-a-dolIar one,
with a fye-dollar limit. The rake-of is
twenty cents On all jack-pots and on all
pots in which the win ming hand Is as good as
threes. The game is running almost con-
tinuaIly, and sometimes the contributions to
the kitty run up to s25 or $50 per day. This
is what deceives the average player. He
knows he has been winning right long, and
can't see why he isn't ahead Of the game.
The fact is that be just handed over $40 or
SIS day to the proprietor Of the ranch. The
great wonder is how, in these days Of hard
times, this big army Of young men manage
10 get their cash. The biggest business of
the day IS keeping gambling-room."