Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-11-14
GAMBLING AS A SCIENCE.
Evolution OF Certain Phase. ne uu.
man Nature-KEow Certain
Men Play.

Gambling is scientific profession
founded upon the foibles of mankind y
astutely remarked Zone of them" to re.
porter the other day, as the two were
in the main room of a waterine.place
gambling resort, and as the reporte,
| glanced down the vista of Turkish car.
pets and frescoed ceilings, of rich draper.
les and costly furnishings, and saw the
obsequlous servants laden with their vi
ands and expensive wines gliding to and
fro at the beck of the players, the thought
obtruded that if all this elegance and lux.
ury were the superstructre, the foibles OF
mankind made rather satisfactory bed
rock.
Yes" went on the card diplomat, sit
is a truism to state that the successful
gambler must be close student of hui
man nature. Of course he must, for his
whole business is an evolution, simple
and direct, of certain phases of hu-
man nature. Why, the other day.
while running down to New York,
on the special from here, / heard
two or three rich old Jews talking
about this very place. One of them was
complaining that he had left 81, 900 to en-
rich the house.
"'Oh! said another, spreading out his
pudgy hands, 4 left more than that,
much more, with a chuckle. But what
do you expect, man? We must have our
pleasure
THE PLEASURE OF PLAY.
"And that is just the keynote Of the
whole thing. There is a large class of
men who find their pleasure at the gam
ing table alone, and it is this class that
supports it. No other form of dissipation
SO panders to certain natures as game of
chance, and these make and maintain
the bank.
''There goes man now" he contin-
ued, passing into the restaurant, who is a
fair type of the bone and sinew of these
places. He does not come often, but with,
fair regularity. He was in ten days ago
and made night of it. took cocktail
with him just before he went to break
fast. He had lost but $50, but had sac
rificed his sleep, and would waste the
coming day in making it up, yet he con-
fessed with entire honesty to having a fine
nights sport. He often leaves $500 be-
hind him, rarely wins, but he can afford
it, or thinks he can, and counts it only
paying for pleasure
"Of course other than these find their
way into this and similar places, but they
are comparatively new. Men come to re-
treive fortunes lost in natural channels, to
drown grief or disappointment, etc., but
not in the numbers THAI come to indulge
in the to them pleasureable rack of sus-
pension, the pain of loss and the always
to be hoped for flush of victory"
ri suppose them" observed the report
himself through the head in gambling
den the pleasureable pain of loss has
probably been a little severe ?"
at is possible" was the reply, ignor-
ing the sarcasm. Nothing annoys the
proprietor more than tragedy. He will
take any measure to keep such emotion
AL, high-strung temperaments from his
rooms. If all the sentimental and sensa-
tional story book frequenters of these
places were eliminated the bank would
scarcely notice their absence. They are
not the bone and sinew of the gambling
harvest. 1t is the great majority of aver
aged, commonplace men that yields the
profits
.'Undoubtedly, assented the reporter,
rejecting that the average commonplace
man helps along most of the stupendous
movements of the worlds machinery.
Then, not eager to discuss the moral
ethics of gambling, a more practical ques-
ton was put:
tfCan you tell me what is the real per-
centage Of risk the bank possesses against
the player?"
IN THE BANKS FAVOR.
"Well," was the reply, "the apparent
percentage is small and varies in the sew
eral games-roulette, faro, and others
carrying different rates-but the real per-
centage is enormously in the banks.
favor II lies in this same principle of