The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-02-12
THEY WERE ROPED IN
Select Poker Circles in New York
Greatly Agitated.
A BRILLIANT BRACE OF DUDES
Vast Sums of Money Lost by Well Known
Merchants and Others Of Gay
GOthams Elite.

[ special to THE Observation-Disclosures Dispatch
New YORK, Feb. 1.-THE Times yester
day says uptown select poker circles are
greatly agitated over ian occurrence in the
Hoffman house the other evening at the
card table, and which has cast cloud over
the regulations of two men who have been
winning large sums of money at the favorite
American short game. One of these per
sons is a fiashily dressed Individual who
came to New York some time ago from the
Pacific coast, where his father IS wealthy
merchant. The young gentleman from
the occident cut quite swell in fash
ionabe resorts for WELT TODD men
about town, and made numerous ac
quaintances. He displayed marked sporting
procliyitives early in his metropolitan
career and it was not great while before
he was invited by his friends to sit in
little game of draw" He accepted with
alacrity and was soon the first fellow in
select coterie of lawyers, merchants, actors,
wine importers, politicians and hotel men
who were won't to help themselves by
playing poker. The individual from the
shores of the Pacific was such liberal
player that he became very popular. The
other evening the Pacific coast individual
turned up with friend who was invited
to join the game. When it was concluded
it was found the stranger had lost but the
Pacific coast gentleman had won literally
The same thing happened the following
night This resultwaS repeated again and
again until the original members OF the
poker coterie began to reckon their losses.
The sum total was found to run well in the
| thousands and then it occurred to some one
to ask who the plausible stranger was any
way. The dapper stranger was found to be
a professional gambler from Chicago and
had figured as hacker ana joint manager OF
a vaudeville company which toured the
country in the early part of the theatrical
season, but which came to grief on the
road few weeks ago.
| There were no more poker parties at
/ Delmonico's. But right across the street
at the Hoffman house was another select
and exclusive poker coterie. No one but
gentlemen were allowed to play, but the man
{ rom the Pacific coast was gentleman, OF
course. He was the New York representa-
| tive of large business that he would in
herit at some time, and besides this he was
reputed to be rich in his own right. After
| he had played once or twice with his new
! friends and had lost lightly, he turned uI
one evening accompanied by his friend
| from Chicago In that first sitting the
stranger again lost, but the man who intro
duced him won over $4,000. OF this sun
Sl6,0 600 was lost by prominent actor now
playing in this city.
At the next meeting of the Hoffman
coterie the same game was played with like
| result This time the victims were tW(
well known wine importers, a judge OIL one
of our courts, wealthy dry goods mer
chant and the proprietor OF one Of New
Ycrk's most famous hotels. As the game
progressed the judge became suspicious
i
deal quit the game without explanation
The hotel man and merchant followed sui
and in little while the guileless twail
were left in uudisputed possession of thu
field Subsequently the cards were exam
ined and certain suspicious markings Oh
them indicated the method of continuou
and heavy winnings. The victims talke
freely among their friends of the occur
renee, and last night this series of remark
able poker games and their outcome forme
the chief topic of conversation in both tn
) Hoffman house and at Delmonico's.