New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1885-11-25
Gambling as 8 Science

founded upon the foibles Of mankind ).
astutefy remarked zone Of them to
"a reporter, the other day, as the two
were seated in the main room Of .
watering-place bling resort, and as
the reporter glanced down the vista Of
Turkish. carpets and frescoed ceilings,
of mich draperies and costly furnish
ings, and saw the obsequious servants
laden with their viands and EXPENSIVE
wines gliding to and fro at the beck OF
the players, the thought obtruded that
all this elegance and luxury were the
superstructure the foibles Of mankind
made rather a satisfactory bedrock.
."Yes, " went on the card diplomat.
cit is truism to state that the suc-
.cessful gambler must be close stu
dent of human nature. OF course he
must, forihis whole business is an evo-
luton, simple and direct, of certain
phases ;of.human nature. Why, the
other day, while running down to New
York on the special from here, Iheard
two or three rich old Jews talking
about this very place. One of them
was complaining that he had left So
1000 to enrich. the house.
."fOh!' said another, spreading out
his pudgy hands, i felt more than
that, much more with a chuckle.
But what do you expect, man? We
smust haVesOur pleasure
"And that is just the keynote of the
whole thing. There is large class OF
,men who find their pleasures at the
f" gaming table alone, and it is this class
which supports it. No other form of
SO panders to certain ma
7tures ASA game of chance, and these
make and,maintain the bank.
There goes a man now" he contin-
'ued, passing into the restaurant,
who is a, fair type OF the bone and
slnew OF these places. He does not
come often, but with fair regularity.
He,was in ten days ago and made a
night of it. took a cocktail with
him JUST before he went to breakfast.
He'had!lost but $50, but had sacri-
feed his sleep, and would waste the
coming dayin making it up, yet he
confessed with entire honesty to hav-
ing had fine nights sport. He often
leaves $500 behind him, rarely wins,
but he can afford it, or thinks he can,
and counts lit only as paying for
pleasure
Of'eourse Others than these find
their way into this and similar places,
but they are comparatively few. Men
come to retrieve fortunes lost in nat
ural channels, to drown grief or dis
appointment, ETC., but not in the
numbers that come to indulge in the,
to them, lpleasurable rack of suspense,
the pain ofloss, and the always-to-b
hopedfor flush of victory"
"Issuppose, then" observed the re-
porter, quietly, "that when man
observation-disclosures the head in a
gambling den the pleasurable pain of
loss has probably been tlesevere?"
ut rs possible = was the reply, ig-
norlng thesarcasm, Nothing annoys
a proprietor more than a tragedy. He
will take any measure to keep such
emotional, high-strung temperaments
from his rooms. If>all the sentiment
al and sensational story book fire.
quenters,u theselplaces were eliminat-
ed the lbank would scarcely notice
their absence. They are not the bone
and sineweof The gambling harvest. It
is the ;great majority ofaverage COM
monplaae men that yields the profits"
Undoubtedly, ,assented a report
er, ref1ecting that the average COM
monplaoe man helps: along most of the
stupend@us movements of the worlds
machinery. n,not eager to discuss
the morale dhics'Of gambling, a more
practical questionwas put
"Can you tell me what is the real
percentage edf'risk the bank possesses
against theplayer?"
"Well, was thereby; "the apparent
percentage is>small, and varies in the
several games roulette, faro, and 9TH
ers carrying different ,rates-but the
real percentage lis enormously in the
banks favor. It;liesiin the same prin-
eiple OF human mature that I have
gust commented upon. The average
Iaiayer II he WINS several consecutive
bets becomes cautious, anticipates a
dhange in luck, land ventures his money
accordingly. mitegresult.is if his good
fortune continued his winnings are
small and unim1p Onthe other
hand, let him lose continuously and
he becomes excited. He loses his head,
amdlpursuing, thlea@ale linesof argument
THAT. it is a, long lane which has no
turning, he increases. his stakes. Thxs
policy, with continued misfortune,
ends iaa large LOSSES. Thus. when ths
banakas loser it IS forsmall sums, but
when trimming the gains arellarge.
What the bank lis ;aaPaid eG are the
conservative, persistent players, but
there are not many of them. THERE'S
q classM men at tire Buropean gam
bling places, and q very small class,
who have reduced the thing to. "a fine
point These men risk every evening
q single ket, always the same ameunt.
# the bet Mins they continue .to,klay,
but only SO long as tfsenr profit will
permit. R,lioweyer, the Gtrst venture
.ails they quit the table until thezfol-
owing evening In this way their loss is
United to the original bet while, if
ertune fav0Es them they May win "a
arge amount. This policy is pursued
lafly, and q single nights winadmg will
1ften furnish capital enough foT a long
aoylInd Of had NhlCl FThncn mon 40 nnf