Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-01-09

Let me lay before your readers SIM
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 S3, 500, 000-in fact
it is over SIS, 600, 900. Now, inasmuch as
the chances of the table are to 30 in
favor Of the bank, to gain annually 49,
| $780, 900, which it processes to do, $780,
100000 must have been staked ON its
tables-must have been won and lost
The banks SO 500, 900 profits is its royal
ty-at the rate of 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 oil who play long enough
to have risked their capital &c times.
The annual points of the 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 a 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. NJ.
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 ,250, 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 as to income, &c, are
to be taken by the general public with
large grain of allowance.
The gambling population of Monaco
has to he recruited every winter for the
reason that one visit is all that the aver
age sightseer can afford. The fascina-
ton OF play is apt to overcome the most
prudent aud demure, and only very
small number of the thousands who take
in the Casino on their tour of the Con
tinsnt ever make their visit expensive to
the management. Not single writer
Who has taken Monte Carlo for his
theme has failed to expatiate at length
upon the beautes of the place. 1t is
certainly marvelously pretty, but gam
blers care nothing for landscape garden
ing OF architecture. i undertake to say
that not single hnbitute 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 ont doors, eyes
dulled by losses at the tables or dazzled
by fabulous winning pay little heed to
them.
Here is the story--a true one-of a
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 ewes in astonishment / will call
him Smiley, because lac is such q good
natured fellow. Smiley has two boys
one 10 and the other 10. Both are deli
cate and have in their system the seeds
of consumption. Their mother and sis
ter suceun.bed to ths disease less than
two years ago, and the father was told
by his physicians that if he wanted to
keep his sons nmong the living he must
take them either to Algiers or to the
Genoese Riviera.
balm of southern breezes did much for
the inyalids, but the father, who is
robust, found time hanging heavy on
his hands. He had heard much of the
Casino, aud one day, while his sons were
boating, ran up to Monte Carlo. He
had never gsmbled in all his life; was
rich, even for New Yorker. He gam
bled at the Casino at first ms q means of
killing time. then, rs the passion grew,
for what there was in sight, and is here
yet, greatly impoverished and sad ex-
ample OF what the Casino does with its
victims. His boys he has put ut cheap
boarding school here, and he himself
lives at one of the most modest boarding
houses in Mentone. He hates play be-
cause ii has brought him almost TO ruin,
but he keeps ut it in the hope of CUP |
ing all his losses. The demon of gamb- |
hing has got hold OF him.
Here is a picture of the other type. |
An Italian, who calls himself Count |
Luciano. las been q regular visitor for I
dozen years and more. He is as tall /
as : max and as handsome as Antinous. 1
He knows every one who comes to the |
Casino, though he himself does not |
play. He comes to the rooms between |
10 and i o'clock every night-about an
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
eve for the winners These are always
in reckless good humor and ready for
The Italian Count has no
trouble to ingratiate himself, and then
sugge stion that 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
a swindler in the vulgar sense he relies
purely upon his skill to bring him for
tune, and he rarely makes a miscalcula-
ton. Poker, strangely enough, is the Ital-
ians favorite game. He has a cold eye,
an impressive face, and enormous luck.
Usually the game ut his rooms is a mod
est one so far as tue limit is concerned,
but the Counts income for the season
foots up, according to his own
something like S25, 900. 1t