News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-01-03
MONTE CARLOS TIGER
LIFE AT THE NOTORIOUS GAM
BLING RESORT,
Some Figures as to the Profits-In
the Claws of the Tiger-An Italian
Poker sharp-A Rich Jerseyman's
System,

y
pie little calculation that will show them
what gambling at Monte Carlo means,
says a letter from Nice to the Globe
Democrat. The management admits that
its annual profits are SO, 500, 000-in fact
it is over $5, 100000. Now, inasmuch as
the chances of the table are l to 80 in
favor of the bunk, to gain annually SO,
500, 900, which it processes to do, $120,
O00,0 must have been stakod on its
tables-must have been won and lost.
The banks So 800, 900 profits is its royal
ty-at the rate of l in 36-on this enor-
nous amount of money, which must
therefore have been played, lost and won.
At Monte Carlo the bank royalty must
inevitably ruin all who play long enough
to have risked their capital sc times.
The annual points of ths tables exceed
The annual aggregate income of all the
Vanderbilts. During the lifetime of NJ.
Blanc it was easy enough to get state
ment of the amount. Blanc delighted
in letting it be known what wonder
fully prosperous fellow he was. His
daughters, who married princes, are not
proud of the source of their wealth, and
since their fathers death have sought to
divert attention from themselves and
their affairs as much as possible. M.
Wagatha is now the general manager of
the Casino, and he has lately given it
out that the net profits of the tables last
year were only 81, $50, 900, or one-fourth
of what they used to be.
Wagatha is merely the steward in
charge for the Princes Bonaparte and
Radzuville, the owners of the Casino,
and all that thereto pertains, and
his statements rs to income, &C., are
to be taken by the general public with
large grain of allowance.
The gambling population of Monaco
has to be recruited every winter for the
reason that one visit is all that the aver
age sightscer can afford. The fascina-t
ton of play is apt to overcome the most
prudent and demure, and only q very
small number of the thousands who take
in the Casino on their tour of the Con
tinent ever make their visit expensive to
the management. Not single writer
who has taken Monte Carlo for his
theme bas failed to expatiate at length
upon the beauties of tho place 1t is
certainly marvelously pretty, but gam
bleTs care nothing for landscape garden
ing or architecture. | undertake to say
that not single habtute of the roulette
table could describe to you the decora-
tions of the room. All his faculties of
observation are absorbed by the little
ivory ball whose ultimate destination
means so much to him, and as for the
land and sea and sky out doors, eyes
dulled by losses at the tables or dszzled
by fabulous winning pny little heed to
them.
Here is the story-a true one-of
New Yorker, who came to the Riviera
with his family last January, and who
is here yet. The man is Well-known in
New York, and if were to tell you his
name, many of your readers would open
their eyes in astonishment. / will call
him Smiley, because he is such q good
fellow. Smiley has two boys
one 19 and the other 10. Both are deli
cate and have in their system the seeds
of consumption. Their mother and sis
ter succunbed to the disease less than
two years ago, and the father was told
by his physicians that if he wanted to
keep his sous among the living he must
take them either TO Algiers or to the
GenOese Riviera.
They all elected to come here. The
balm of southern breezcs did much for
the invalids, but the father, who is
robust, found time hanging heavy on
his hands. He had heard much of the
Casino, and one day, while his sons were
boating, ran up to Monte Carlo. He
had never gambled in all his life; was
rich, even for New Yorker. He gam
bled at the Casino at first as means of
killing time, then, as the passion grew,
for what there was in sight, and is here
yet, greatly impoverished and a sad ex-
ample of what the Casino does with its
victims. His boys lie has put at cheap
school here, and he himself
lives Mt one of the most modest boarding
houses in MentOne. lie hates play be-
cause it has brought him almost to ruin,
but he keeps Mt it in the hope of rec pup
ing all his losses. The demon of gamb-
ling has got hold of him.
Here is picture of the other type.
An italian, who calls himself Count
Luciano, has been a regular visitor for
o dozen years and more. He is as tall
rs a max and as handsome as Antinous.
He knows every one who comes to the
Casino, though he himself does not
play. He comes to the rooms between
10 and IL o'clock every night-about on
hour before the close of the play. He
says quite candidly that rouge ct noir
and the ivory ball have no attraction for
him, but, for all that, he keeps sharp
eye for the winners. These are always
in reckless good humor and ready for
The italian Count has no
trouble to ingratiate himself, and then
suggestion that a small party for a
round game at his rooms be made up is
sure to be accepted. The Count plays
any game, and to perfection. He is not
y swindler in the vulgar sense he relies
purely upon his skill to bring him for
tune, and he rarely makes miscalcula-
lion. Poker, strangely enough, is the Ital-
an's favOrite game. He has cold eye,
an impnssive face, and enormous luck.
Usually the game at his rooms is mod
est one so far as the limit is Concerned,
but the Counts income for the season
generally foots up, according to his own
something like S25, 1000. It |
IS said that he is charming antagonist |
1t the card table. His good humor is |
and he plays like an au-
.Omaton. His luck at whist, or "nap." |
Dr. besique, or pioquet--in short, at any |
gnme-is stupendous, and nevertheless |
the man, although he is n professional |
gambler, has never yet been accused of |
Infairness or dishonesty.
Still another type Mr.. p. is one of
the largest manufacturers of locomot-
ives in New jersey. He loves nothing
so much as play, and he plays any game |
with rare Intelligence. He has made
John Morrissey tired at Saratoga, both
at faro and roulette. Mr.. r. has a
system that has hurt the roulette bank |
more than any system yet devised. He |
axes handful of counters, raises them
n his hand about two feet above the |
10th and lets them drop on whatever
numbers they will. He wins oftener
han he loses, on the principle that the
wealthy gambler usually is lucky. /
nave heard him say that games like
where results are not to be |
calculated or brought about by skill, the
player is safest when relying most upon
chance, and therefore his own apparent
in scattering his counters
upon the board is, after oil,
be only skilful use that can be made
If them. Mr.. P. always plays to win,
md no one who knows him, and that
category includes almost every profess
ional gambler in America and Europe,
las ever been heard to refer to him as
,eing sucker"
A,y assistant tn n Connacticut Dlumher