Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-06-14
GAMBLING pENs on PARIS.
High Play AT the Clubs-Desperate Dealt
of a Euined Prince.

OF ksuined Prince.
Gambling has always been high in Pari.
higher, perhaps, says the .Sdtlsriay Re
pieg. than any other capital of Europe. In
/ the days OF the second empire it was at its
( highest, but most Of the members of that
generation have either passed away or
been ruined or are now too old to play.
/ The Cercle Imperial, at the corner of the
Place de la Concorde and the champs
Eiysees, has now been united TO the
/ "Mirlitens,H and is known as the "Epa-
tants," and here gambling is still carried
on to a large extent, especially since the
fusion of the two clubs Bacearat and
poker are chiefly in vogue. Play begins
IN the afternoon and goes on again after
dinner until the small hours OF the morn
ing.
Among gambling tragedies Prince Melis-
-sano's death stands out as warning TO
those who make too free with Ga Dame de
Pique.' Here was a man popular in all
classes OF society, well born, and possessing
a considerable fortune, but the day came
when ''quinzeh and baccarat left him high
and dry, and he was unable to pay his
debts of honor. Then his name was posted
in the looking-glass of the salon of the Rue
Royale. When the Prince caught sight Of
it ne smashed the looking-glass to atoms
with one blow from his cane. and then
there was a scandal. Prince Melissano.
who occupied a room at the club. sent a
few days later for his coiieur, and, having
been carefully shaved, and in American
parlance, liked he dressed himself in
evening clothes and then nut bullet
through his heart. Thus was another life.
and the lite Of deseryedly popular man.
sacrificed TO the demands Of Dame For.
tune
To descend to lower scale of club in
Paris than those already mentioned, we
may refer to certain magnificent establish
ments far easier of access than the Rue
Royale and the Jockey Club, where gam
bling-es peeially baccarat-is PLAYED for
very high stakes. OF these the principal
ones are the Presse, the Washington, and
the American-the last generally called
the Colonel, from the sufficiently we'll
known fact that all Americans are
Colonies. The Presse is freouented bv
the better class of journalists-men who
make large sums of money by their pens.
and who spend the greater part of thesesums
in gambling. Then there are rich stock
brokers, financial dabblers, le tost bonlegqrd
that unknown quantity which certainly
exists, but which it is so difficult to define.
All these men are prepared to risk a
thousand louis in the bank, and at the
Washington and the Colonel the play is
even higher. Here Americans, and in
deed all strangers, are admitted with less
Formally than in other clubs, and it was
at the Colonel that Mr.. Benzon-in sport
ing parlance--' skinned the lamb to the
extent Of some $4,000 during his stay in
Paris two years ago. These clubs are
openly spoken of as tripots or ''hells.' by
those who frequent them. Their very ex-
istenee depends upon the members gam
bling, and indeed they were founded for
no other purpose
Baccarat Is one Of those games which,
IN the long run, means certain ruin. The
banker pays . per cent. for the advantage
that he has in dealing-namely, that when
his adversaries ask for cards the cards he
give them are turned up, and he can,
therefore, gather very clearly what points
they have and can make a very shrewd
calculation as to whether or not he ought
to take card himself This ) per cent.
goes to the benefit of the club, which thus
makes enormous profits during the evening
whether any of the players have won or
not. 1t given number of players were to
sit down and play baccarat, each with a
stated sum of money, it would only be a
question of time for the united amount to
have passed into the cdqaoHe or pool. and
for no one to be any richer save the pro-
prietor of the club.