St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-08-30
GARDEN CITY GAMES.
A Globe Representative Writes Down
Some Points Regarding Gambling
in Chicago.
Short Sketches of Some Of the Men Who
Have Grown Rich Out Of Faro
and the Like.
George Hanktns, Curt Gum, John
Condor, Dfnk Davis, Sam
Dahl and Others.
The Dealers Love for Women--The
Suckers Upon Whom the Other
Glasses Subsist.
chance Games in Chicago.

member of the Citizens association or any
other philanthropic person asks Mayor Har-
rison he says there is no gambling in Chi
cago. so far as he knows officially. But
there is. There is more of it, too, than in
any other city in the United States In
New York the police have made it unproft-
able, but in Chicago it prevails to far
greater extent than is popularity supposed,
even by those who have made it a study
and have sought to suppress it. Every few
months there is an apparent effort by the
police to close up the doors, but the only
result is the doorkeepers are little more
vigilaDt. The game goes on just the same,
and it is not long before the excitement blows
over and the doors are wide open again
There are now in full operation eleven large
establishments, where all games are dealt,
besides innumerabie smaller houses where
the game is skin" and hundreds of poker
rooms The number Of the latter could
scarcely be estimated, for nearly every
other saloon has its game in the back room.
l was chattering to-day with man-about-
town who is Informed about these things
He said:
You would be astonished if you knew the
enormity of the tax levied upon Chicago by
these gamblers. Leaving the little houses
out of consideration, there are ten faro banks
in this town with monthly expenses of at least
25O0 each. That makes $4,000 a month.
Then there is George Hawkins house. where
two floors are crowded with faro tables rou-
lette wheels, hazard and stud poker tables
The expenses of that house must be
$4,000 A MONTH.
1t is said Hankins has 100 men on his pay
roll. That includes dealers, "pluggers +"
dOorkeepers, ropers-in and men who stand
wa nh on fbA u 70 oriS
supposed police raid. Add these figures to-
gether and you perceive these eleven houses
alone run under an expense of S35, 900
month, or S420,000 a year. When you re-
member that ali these houses are max
ing money, you will get some idea
of the extent of gambling in Chicago. You
can divide gamblers into four classes. First
comes the handful Of prOprietors. They are
rich and don't risk their own money by play
ing against each others games Curt Gum,
who has an interest in four houses. is worth
100000. He is a short, stoutly-built man,
with rather handsome face He dresses
modestly and wears no diamonds. He has q
quiet look and talks little. He has nothing of
the sporting air about him, and might be mis-
taken for a lawyer. He never drinks nor
uses tobacco. George Hankins would be rich
if he hadn't lost great deal of money on the
board Of trade. But he still has q snug for
tune. Some years ago Nose Handy, a then
famous Cincinnati Spectator. ran q big cor
ner mere and at the same time formed an at
tachment for Hankins' wife. She wormed
THE PROPER TIPS
from him, and the Hankins crowd went into
wheat and got out Of it with big profits.
Since then Hawkins has had the craze for
speculation. He is man of fine presence.
He dresses well. but not ultra-fashion. Every
evening his wife drives down town to his
gilded saloon in handsome Victoria with ap-
pointments equal to any swell turnout in the
city, and Mr.. Hankins is whirled up Michigan
avenue to his handsome mansion. One after
noon some of the boys caught Hankins sit
ting in front OF his house with a book
don't know whether the book was upside
down or not, but it made the boys laugh and
Hankins hasn't posed similarly since. There
is horsey look about J Ohm Condor, the head
of another big combination. He has $780, 900,
most of it in case and the rest inv ested in q
cattle ranch out West. He is a young man
who not many years ago was
street arab. His habits of life
are quiet and he neither drinks
nor smokes. He takes care Of his money,
and is said to be silent partner in we'll
known board of trade firm. He represents
the brains and energy of his combination,
while his associates, Sam Dahl and jeff Han
kins who both have fortunes also, attend to
the details OF the business. These are the
most notable of the proprietor class. But
DINK DAVIS,
he's character. A small, slghtly-built
young man, with smoothiy-shaven face, he
was Il few years ago a common tin-horn sport.
He achieved fame by successfully breaking
three or four Eastern faro banks and has
managed by good luck to hold fast to a fair
share of the funds. 1 say good luck, because
he is always playing against faro. There is
nothing in life for him but faro. He lives
with his wife at the Grand Pacific hotel, but the
pleasures of life usually sought by people with
money are nothing to him. He hasn't even
orNt ina to IL, has F<,,
three years the same low-crowned, back
number Derby hat, and his clothes are cheap
and seedy. In this sort of weather he dis
penses with collar and cravat. He plays faro
like machine from morning till night
seemingly unmoved by losses or gains. If
anybody cts him to go to the theater he is
uneasy in his seat until the play is over and
he can get to the faro bank. Perhaps some
day his phenomenal luck will change and he
will 60 broke The second class of gam
blers are the dealers. There is small army
Of them. They don't need much attention.
They earn from
$50 TO $50 WEEK
and play it all in against the game. When
they win it means that they will wear dia-
monds for few days, but they are sure to
go "broke." l never saw one who wasn't
always almost, if not quite, ''broke.' These
fellows are the gay dressers who stand on the
corners ogling the women who pass by, and
create the impression in the minds of the I'm.
initiated that the life of gambler is one of
luxurious ease. The third class comprises
the great army Of suckers" If you
please, upon whom all the other classes sub
sist. q Who are they? Heaven only knows.
They come from all walks of life, from the
laborer with his dinner pail to the princely
merchant, clerks, printers, mechanics, and
not few small board of trade spectators,
who at night seek at cards to regain the days
losses at a scalp in wheat. When there
oYa no
Of the games. Who comprise this vast
horde of producers that contributes mill
ions annually to the profession it would be
hard to tell accurately. Investigation leads
to great surprises. at one faro bank 'sthe
DOCTOR well-known physician, is good
customer. The other day saw member of
great wholesale firm at the play. When he
finished he
DREW HIS CHECK FOR $1,000,
which represented his losses. was told that
he repeated this operation every few weeks
for the sake of the amusement it afforded
him. But he seldom wins. Now come to
the fourth class of gamblers, the hangers-on,
who catch the crumbs that drop. There are
hundreds Of them in Chicago. They are too
lazy to work, though their miser-
able existence is maintained at the
expense of eternal vigilance and energy.
They catch stray dollar now and then by
stealing the checks of the unwary, or getting
away with ''sleepers.' They cultivate the
acquaintance of members of the producing
or sucker class, and seek to aid them in their
play by posting them as to their opinion Of
the "sure winners:'' this with the expecta-
ton of getting loan ''stake' In case
the producer wins. They ply their vocation
industriously, and despite the hard times now
prevailing. manage to live. Oh, they are
hlliesl Some of them can see sleeper q
block Off. A G. n
Pan-Electric Again.
WASHINGTON, Aug. Ex-senator Har-
ris and Commissioner Johnston, parties de-
Fo,, To fhn Do q