Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-21
LARGE PROFITS IN POKER
For the Men Who Own and Manage the
So-Cal1ed Clubs.

For the Men Who Own and Manage the
| So-Called Clubs.
THIN DISGUISE UNDER WHICH GAMBLING ROOMS
/ ARE MAISTAINEp-RAIDs RESULTING FROM
| COMPLAINTS FROM WIVES Oh MoTHERs-How
| THE GREEN ONES ARE FLEEcED.
ssTNHERE's MONEY IN THE POKER BUsI-
l. ness" said police officer to STAR re-
porter the other day, land there are many per-
sons in the business now who are making
money enough to buy brick house every few
months.
They are not called poker rooms any more,
but are known as clubs for social and literary
improvement Almost every one of them is
/ conducted under articles Of incorporation.
These so-calied clubs do not include the bona
| fde social clubs of which gentlemen are
members, but they are such clubs are or
gaDized and conducted by one or two men and
for their benefit only. The designation club
| is only used as a blind to cover any alleged
violations Of the gambling law that might
occur, or to at least avoid suspicion as long az
possible. Where these clubs are well con-
Quoted and some care is exercised in admitting
| players they are likely to run long time
before being detected and raided, II such an
ending should happen to come.
DOING IT IN HANDSOME STYLE.
1.-THE proceeds Of q game or two are usually
large enough to justify the proprietors in keep
ing in the rooms a Widespread table Of the
choicest delicacies, for which no charge is made,
the toll or draw down being ample to pay all
expenses and leave the proprietors a good
sum for themselves. In addition to the lunch,
wines and liquors of various kinds are also
served, or are kept on a sideboard, where the
players can either help themselves or be served
by the janitor, who is often called custodian.
"This important individual, like his employ
ers. also reaps a harvest and his salary on
many occasions is as much as that OF many
government clerks. People who sit at poker
table are always liberal as a rule, especially
after they have washed down their lunch or
supper with many glasses Of punch or some
thing stronger, and in a big game it is not an
unusual thing for them to toss one or two
dollar chip to the waiter. In that way he
gathers in the chips until when the game is
over he cashes probably go worth Of cellu-
loids or worries.
ENROLLED As A MEMBER.
'To get in game of this sort the player is
generally required to sign his name and be-
come a member of the club, but it matters not
whether his real name or an assumed one is re-
corded, nor does it matter much whether he
pays any initiation fee or not. Indeed. he is
not often asked to pay it. Sometimes the fee
is $40 and when the money is paid the newly
received member il furnished chips to that
amount, for which no charge is made. He is
then a full-fedged member and as such is en-
titled to the benefits Of the club. That means
that he can visit the room when he pleases and
play poker or any other game as long as he can
lind some one to play against him, and the
length of time always depends upon the size of
each players stake. In well-regulated club or
poker rooms no boys are admitted, and when
that rule is complied with and the game is con-
Quoted quietly 1t is safe to predict that the
police will either not learn of 1t or at any rate
it will not be raided.
There is club here now" continued the
officer, ''or it was here q short time ago, where
the players were many and big money was
played for. tin box was used to hold the
draw down or toll, which was for the benefit
of those who conducted the club, and it held
something like S75 worth OF chips. have
seen that box emptied as early in the evening
as midnight and then filled again before sun
rise. One can judge from that how those who
are In charge can afford to conduct the rooms
in fine style and how the owners get wealthy.
Fleeing THE GREEN ONES.
ITS amusing" he continued, ''to see people
get into game who think they know all about
it, and it is also q mystery to know where some
people get SO much money to lose in the game.
Some Of them play night after night and always
seem to lose. Fifty dollars to many Of them
age person. Saturday night is the principal
night for the gamblers, and that nights game
rarely ends until daylight Sunday morning and
sometimes not until considerably later in the
day: Some men are not satisfied to stop when
their cash is all gone, but they will put up their
watch, no matter what sort of a one it is or
whether it will represent dollar chip or q
hundred dollars worth of them. When his
watch is gone his necktie, II it is a good one,
will follow, and some men will even put up
fhatY I'm oaio ky,ax -,fo
losing his money. then his watch and other ar
ticles, and when Sunday morning came he had
to borrow q pair Of shoes from the janitor to
60 home"
MAKING COMPLAINTS.
'How are the raids brought .about?'' asked
the reporter.
'In different ways" was the officers reply.
Sometimes it is the result of complaints of
disturbed neighbors, but more frequently it is
the result of complaint on the part Of some
man who thought he was gambler before he
went into the room and whose opinion was
changed by the result of the game so that he
believes that he hardly knows jack from
queen. Indeed, he comes to the conclusion that
he has been robbed, and in many instances he is
correct, for while his opponents do not put
their hands in his pockets they do its equivalent
in putting up or stacking the cards in a manner
that renders it impossible for him to win. The
dealer, if he is far enough up in the business, is
their faces, and even if the cards should be
shuffled in a manner to give the amateur
better hand than himself and he sees he can't
bluff him he knows when to drop out and let
the sucker as he is called, win o pot. That
only enthuses him with the idea that he can
beat the game, and because his next hand is
even better one he will plunge heavily and,
Of course lose his money. During the game
everything seems fair and he never suspects
crookedness Of any Sort but when he leaves
the brilliantly lighted room and gets out on the
cold dark street he begins to realize how he
has been duped and goes to enter a complaint
against the club.
WIVES AND MOTHERS.
"If he does not make the kick directly he
sometimes does it in an indirect way. Going
home empty-handed, if he is not afraid of his
wife he tells her the truth of where his money
has gone, and she either writes an ANONYMOUS
letter or comes right ahead and faces the Off
GERS with the complaint
The same is often the case where bows are
permitted to play and their mothers learn of
it. Their mothers make the complaints and
give their sons names, who can be used to give
evidence against the proprietor or manager of
the club, who is also sometimes known as its
president"
All for = Dollar and Q Hail.
From Puck
TSIss -.
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