The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-06-30
CHINESE GAMING.
How the Mild Chinee Gets Around
the Gaming Law,

the Gaming Law,
reporter of the ADVERTISER has made
the rounds of the places where the China
men are to be found daily engaged in inno-
cent looking games with cards or dominoes.
The favorite places for them to congregate
are in the little rooms in the rear of the
small fruit stands in Maunakea and Hotel
| streets. Here at all times of the day or
night a group of Cinnamon is sure to be
found intent on the game, and lately show
ing signs of trepidation or desire to van
| ish through back window, if a stranger
! chances to walk in. They have found out
that they need not fear that they will be
convicted of gaming even if they are
rested, as the game is so fixed that no money
| is to be seen, and the little buttons used are,
according to their statement, nothing but
counters, having no value and the play
ing for which is not, therefore, an Offense in
in the eye of the law. 1t is not strictly true
to say that they know they will not be con-
victed of gaming and punished, if caught;
but as they care nothing for fine of s., or
imprisonment for few hours, they so on
with their game in the
PRESENCE OF THE POLICE OFFICERS,
Willing to take the risk of an arrest. What
gives them an absorbing interest in the
game, and brings it's operations within the
category of such as are strictly gambling"
is the fact that the buttons won or lost are
sold by parties for the purpose of being
used to game with. There are places in
Chinatown where any one buy these
buttons, paying for them two, three or five
cents apiece, and in the same places the
buttons will be redeemed al similar price.
Of course those who sell and redeem the
buttons have nothing to do with the shops
where the games are played. On the con-
tIary, all they do is to carry strictly
legitimate business in button-selling. The
fact that they are willing to take back all
the buttons they sell at the same price they
received for them is nobody's business but
their own. Probably if they were asked
how they made any profit out of the bust
ness they would say that that was China
man fashion; Mclean man he no sabby bis
ness To show how difficult it is to con-
Wet Chinaman of gaming, - we will sup
pose that some member of the Y. NJ. c. A.
Cfor example) goes with our reporter into
the slums of Chinatown to
COLLECT THE NECESSARY EVIDENCE.
He naturally thinks that ''seeing is believ-
ing" and so he commences by investing
in a shop on Hotel street, quarter in white
buttons, another in black ones, and a third
in few more Of another color or design.
Then he remarks, perhaps, bring on your
| tiger SO as to give the impression that he
is familiar with the little game. The ami
NAL, he finds is not there, and the man who
| sold him the buttons has NJ idea of its
whereabouts. The reporter, being, of course,
"bad man." knows all about it, and takes
the Y. NJ. into a small room somewhere on
Maunakea street, where there are half
dozen Cinnamon showing around lot of
dominoes. The Y. ii. sees man put down
| half-dozen buttons, perhaps, and the next
minute give yell of delight and pick up a
handful. If he inquiries what that means
the reporter tells him that is 1.-the game"
that the yeller has won pile of buttons.
The Y. III. thinks that is easy enough and
lays down a handful of buttons. He sees
them swept over to the Dealers side of the
table, and is told that he has lost. A China
uan SGaHQlHS AZ MS tADOW ISllS MN III
pigeon English that he doesn't understand
the game, and advises him to wait until the
| speaker gives him signal to play. The Y.
NJ. does not want to gambIe-he abhors the
whole business-but he is there to
DETECT THE GAMBLERS
In their nefarious work, and so, at the signal
being given, he puts down his buttons, and
to his ill-concealed delight wins four hand
fuls of shirt buttons, one handful of
trOwsers ditto, and ten wooden ones besides.
| That will do, he thinks, and having taken
mental inventory of the place, beats re-
treat with the reporter and goes back to
| where he bought the buttons in the first
| place. He does not care for the money, but
| he wants to complete the chain Of evidence
| by having the buttons he has won redeemed,
| and so prove them to be ''of value" He
! produces his stock and is paralyzed by the
| shop-keeper informing him that the buttons
| produced are not the ones sold by him a
short time before, and therefore of no value
| to him. Neither are they, or if they are,
the Y. N. has no means of proving that fact,
| and he retires satisfied that something more
than buying a lot of buttons in one place,
and winning lot in another, is..required to
prove that gang Of Cinnamon found play
ing cards or dominoes are, or have been,
gaming"