Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-30
AN EXPERT ON GAMBLING.
Opinion Of ths Celebrated
Davis. who WON SO. 900 at Bank"

fyoHt the Ch{ctgo Netcs.
CHOW Just look at it, continued Inc eA
pert. "Morning, noon and night gam
bier thinks Of nothing but how the cards
come. My wife or friend talks to me at
the table. but find no pleasure IN 1t, Tor
am thinking of double out or single
! out, or ends or some dashed system or
other to beat the bank. ] go to the thea
/ ire. it's the same thing. 1 don't see half
| the performance ! see only the cards IN
the box and the dealer pulling away at
Them Then look at the fool supersttlOns
a gambler has--always looking for signs
or omens or lucky days. / haven't any,
of cOurse--nObOdy has when asked-OuJ
Just watch 'em and see how they give
themselves away. l know men that have
their lucky clothes, and their lucky days
and their lucky numbers, and plank
knows whatal. Say, gambler thinks IL
great luck to have o black cat come 10
him. What kind Of business is man
in who is carried away by all such no.
lions? What do you think OF man Ike
jeff Hankns having a lucky mouseF
Fact. Everybody knows 1t. But Inat
amt the worst of it-that's only weak
ness. Men will do most anything TO ret
money to gamble with. They'll borrow
and beg and steal. l know a man VINO
$1,000
and scrape. His wife earned the money
for the family, and she had tough time OF
it. They lost "A child aGd the wife gave
the man money 60 buy a coffin. The child
lay dead in the house and the man took
the coffin money and 'Dew it in against
the bank. The man meant all right and
thought he might make winning ana
probably have all the better funeral. But
he lost. A young fellow over at Pat
f.rl, hrnLp Hhnu no
went to Pat and told him that his mother
had given him the money to buy a coffin
for his father, VINO had just died, and he
wanted it back. Pat found out the story
was true aud gave the money back. But
there is Just as tough money as that
PLAYED in, which is not given back. You
don't know who you are elbowlng against
when you're at the table. and you don't
care. PickpOckets, burglars, CON men
are there, and are usually quite well
come, because they are producers A
producer is a man who gets his money
IN some other way than by gambling, and
it don't make bit of difference how, hon
est or dishonest.
'Squarep OF course the game Is square
enough. Some gamblers would just as
lief be on one side of the table as the
other. I've been on both sides, snd pre-
fer the outside. There's not gambler in
town put what plays against Lne Dahh
over and over again. Some of 'em roll up
a stake IN that way and then get an in
terest in a game. The bank makes
steady profit, sometimes very slow, but
sure. The constant player gets eaten up
finally. You can see plenty of broken
down gamblers anywhere, if you choose
to look for them-men that have had nlen-
ty of money once, but are no good any
more. Gamblers will chip in to bury
man. but they won'tg give up cent to stake
him or keep him out of the States prison.
Broken-down gamblers exist principally
on suckers but that fish doesn't always
bite, and 80 the living amt very good. If
they get loaded on a woman somewhere
they may get along for awhile, but that
only makes them meaner and lower, for
they don't care how she earns her money,
so they getlt.
Its curious how many farmers boys
get 10 be gamblers. Farm work is pretty
tough, and when one has learned TO gam
BILE and see how easy the money comes ne
is apt to go to playing cards for living. l
could name a good many right here who
were farmers sons. the Hankinses
were. 50 were. Curt and SObe Gum, and
there are others, not so we'll known. They
may learn some day that farm work would
have paid best in the long rum
Sand say it again, gambling is the
meanest business on top OF the earth, and
know it, for Pm a gambler"