Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-01-03
BIGwINNINGs BY A SCRATCH.
The Fickleness of Chance illustrated
by Stories ortbe Gaming Tables.
Denver News.l

"The caprices of chance or fortune,
whichever you may call il. are singu-
lar, to say the least,n remarked a WELL
known gambler yesterday, in recount
ing his many ups and down at roulette,
faro, poker and various other games.
mot long ago made nice little win
ming at faro, and was cashing my
checks, when a rather seedy-loOking
fellow, with a gaunt, hungry face, asked
a me to give him 25 cents. l didn't
know him from crow, but having won
out pretty well, 1 tossed him a white
check and told him to go and make a
winning. What 10 you suppose that
duck done? He cashed the check, took
the quarter. strobe over to the tub dice
game, placed 1t on the six traffic and
won $45 the first turn of the wheel.
Give me the money he exclaimed,
and away he went to get the first
square meal he had probably eaten in a
week. He might have made the same
play hundred times again and lost ev-
cry bet, but some people can fall into
the river and they'll come up with a
fish in both hands,"
THAT reminds me-" said another
huiStlI vi Iuo ClOJIl1 vi du dCClucIt Lkidb
came under my observation last week
at gambling house on 10th street. A
fly tenderfoot from the east, who, it
was said, had won $25, 900 on election,
sauntered up to the wheel and asked the
dealer the limit on the colors.
"Any amount you want to stake ,"
was the reply.
"All right; there's $5,OOO,' said the
sport putting ten $500 bills on the black.
Just flip the ball and see what she'll
do coolly chirruped the fellow.
1.-THE dealer, who had picked the ball
out of the pocket, stayed his hand. He
looked at the money, sized up the play
er to see if he was bluffing and had q
cable tied to it, and seeing the fellow
meant business and had big wad left,
wilted and refused to roll. BY this
time fifty people had gathered around
the table, those on the outside craning
the necks over the shoulders of those in
front of the daring stranger, who with
the utmost sang froid drew a cigar
from his pocket, asked the deal for a
match, carelessly scratched it on his
pants, lighted the cigar, and looking
impatiently at the dealer, remarked:
"Go ahead: win or loose. Give us a
roll aud see what my luck is to-day"
"The dealer still refused to turn, and
the fellow was about to take up his
money and leave when the proprietor
came over, and after little meditation
told the dealer to roll the ball and he
would pay the bet if he lost. The little
ivory ball was sent spinning around,
and after making ten or twelve circuits
struck the pockets, skipped over the
metal edges, and finally, after bobbing
first into one and then into the other,
dropped in three in the odd red. The
house had won the money. The
stranger shook the game, bought 81 900
worth of chips, and tackled faro with
Indifferent success.
"Another well known gambler bor-
rowed $l00 from friend and sat in a
game of faro on Holiday street. Before
l o'clock he had won So, 400, broke the
bank, and would have won the pro-
prietor and dealer had they not closed
up and jumped the game. Two days
later this same gambler didn't have a
dollar, but the following night he bor-
rowed $50 and won So, ,100."
1.-THE funniest play ever witnessed
came up the other night" Clipped in
third party. IA young fellow whose
appearance was suggestive Of a railroad
fireman or brakeman, bought $40 worth
of chips and tackled the wheel. In q
half hour he had lost $65. He was con-
siderably discouraged, and was about to
leave, when he turned to the dealer
and said: You can't beat me for SIS on
Tho oDlouo uo hoI En aoyHkc1 xxyoutlS 81
chips left from previous deals; and
throwing a SIS gold piece on the red, he
straddled the double and single Os with
the chips in order to protect himself
against the percentage. The ball went
spinning around, and had made several
circuits, when the fellow twitched the
gold piece to the single o and trans
ferred the chips to the red. In 10 Sec
onds the ball dropped and caught the
single o. He lost so cents in chips
and won $175 off the SIS. He exercised
a whole lot ofsense then, for he cashed
in and got away with the money.
However" soliloquized the sport,
gambling don't pay. In the instances
stated the parties won by scratch, but
fifty others lost. These rare winnings
remind me of the freaks of fortune In
the gold mines of California. Every
body heard of the Floods, O'Briens,
Mackeys and few more fortunates,
but the world never stopped to think of
the thousands upon thousands who lost
Most of the money which supports the
ten or fifteen gambling houses in Dem
yer is won from poor laborers, who take
$40 orSl5, the earnings ofa whole week,
and try to win fortune. The amount
they draw is not enough to prorect
them. They simply play their money
against the thousands of the bank, and
they are bound to lose in the end. Oc-
casionally some fellow makes a win
ming, but If he stays long enough it will
break him. The only ones who make
money out of gambling are the proprie-
tors of the houses. 1t is costly amuse-
ment for the players. They hustle
around for week or month, earn SIS
or $75 as the case may be, and lose it,