The Portland daily press., 1893-06-30
TRICKS AT MONTE CARLO.
How the Great Gambling Concern Keeps
Men FROM Winning Large Sums.

How the Great Gambling Concern Keeps
Men FROM Winning Large Sums.
A typical rev at the casino comes in
the nick of time as postscript to the
yearly balance published by the. keepers
of the notorious gambling 'dsn--sonde
thing like eS dividend for every eco
share-and take it as the earliest oppor-
tunity of exhibiting few of the ways
of the place. This is the official version
of the row and it's cause: Two players
had been caught experimenting with!
success in simple and ingenious way of
''giving the chance q chance" While
one of them was puntina $50 franc notes
on squares or sixes," tle other, stand
ing right behind the paying croupiers,
had contrived to- slip two or three 1000
franc notes underneath the 50-franc one
each time the ball had favored his con-
federate's stake. The croupiers, busy
paying and scooping the stakes, did not
notice the dodge at first, but feeling that
there was something wrong established
watch, with the result that the oulpTits
were caught in the act. AS a matter Of
course payment was refused, words and
blows epsued, and with the aid Of the
chuckers out the men were elected and
arrested. /,
Well, anybody who knows the ms and
outs of the place will take this version
with several grains of salt. That Monte
Carlo swarms with unprincipled ruffansl
nobody will deny, but the organization
of the partie precludes all possibility of
such childish tricks as the one above
What with eight croupiers at every
table, the chef de partie, the inspectors,
the detectives and the losing players,
there are too many eyes on each stake to-
admit even it's probability. The cue. of
the situation is in the word feeling, and
what wish to imply here in all earnest
is that nobody connected with the ad-
ministration of the casino can admit, a
suggestion Of heavy gains on the punt
er's side-they know better. Old Blanc,
the founder Of the place, used to says ST
will give a million to anybody who will
prove that he can win money at roulette
with certainty" and there is good deal
more in this saying than reference to-
the calcul des probabilities.
The fact is that nobody is allowed to-
win largely, and that in cases Of extraor-
binary luck the administration knows
what precautions to take. First ofSall. 7;
the casino being in way a club, q card
Of admittance is necessary. This card
must be renewed every day and may be-
refused to an unpleasant punter without
giving him any reasons for it. But there
are other ways of getting rid of, the.ob-
stinate winners. There is regular
squad Of agents provocateurs, whose
mode of operations is very simple. They
pick a quarrel over stake with the man
pointed out to them, and as they are not
in the least particular about epithets or
blows, whether taken or given, row be-,
gins, smiling inspector comes up with
endorsements, invites you politely to-
come with him and gets you out of the
precincts of the place. There he e4-
plains. that although he has no doubt
you were in the right the rule Of the,
place is not to readmit those who have
been the cause Of a row-and there you
are.
Quarrels about stakes are always plen-
tiful at Monte Carlo, and very often
they are genuine. In some, cases, espe-
cially when the stakes are small and on
single chances, the administration pays
both claimants and keeps an eye on them
if unknown, for there is whole army
of ruined gamblers hanging round the
place, known to everybody in it, and ex-
ercising the profession of so called .sor-
phan pickers" (cueilleurs d orphelins). /
An ''orphan" is stake left by inaxperi-s
enced novices about minute longer, thanE
it ought to be and. kidnapped, ip the
twinkling Of an eye BY cueiIleurSwhof
has spotted his man. Croupiers andin4s
spectors look with benevalent&e eye onl
those green baize pirates and generally
side with them.--Cor. st. James Gazette.