The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-02-05
CARDINAL, A NEW GAME.
THE GAMBLERS OF PARIS HAVE
TAKEN TO BILLIARD PLAYING.

The Game Of Cardinal is a Coed one
for the Professors, Who Get Per-
centage and Numerous Duoceurs,
But It is a Bad One for the Amateur
Sport TO Go Against-The Banker
Usually Wins.
From the Ne,o York Recorder.
Though intermittent in its outbreaks
the gambling fever in Paris is Of decidedly
chronic nature.
Suppressed in one direction. it breakes
out in another after longer or shorter lapse
OF time Some years ago there we're gamb-
ling bells or tripots to be found in almost
every street, and when, owing to the scam
dsls occasioned thereby, the police we're
forced to close the majority Of these, it was
at the part-mutuel commission agencies
| that the Partisan gamblers sought the salts
faction Of their ruling passion. The police
were forced to close these agencies also. but
the public OF Paris is essentially gambling
public, and to-day it is the scientific game
Of billiards that is made TO mask pursuit
| which is nothing more nor less than
| gambling in "a particularly demoralizlng
| form. The system has taken some time in
| developing; 1t may now be said to have
| reached its maturity.
For many months past the various cafes
| on the boulevards have been announcing i'll
| lard competitions, games for stakes between
this professor aud that. That the public
should attend these competitions or matches,
| and that any one who chose to do SO should
| back with his money the professor or player
| of his choice was natural enough, but these
matches and the betting on them was only
| the thin end OF the wedge. To-day around
| each billiard table in almost all the cafes on
| the boulevards, aud especially at the two
| principal cafes in the neighborhood OF the
! opera, gambling is nightly carried on. The
| public Is no longer invited to back with Its
| money the skill of this and that player, but
TO stake what sums it chooses on the foolish
| hazards of the ball
The system is the following: A certain
| number o. 500 Illed professors form a syndi-
cate. This syndicate rents from the pro-
prietor of the cafe the use Of his billiard table
and Of his billiard room. 1t is then made
| public that the game of ''cardiual" will be
| played nightly at this cafe, and upon this
| announcement all the gamblers of Paris
| who have money to lose or who hope to win
| flock to the cafe in question in au unlovely
| horde. The game OF cardinal Is played as
follows: AT one end of the billiard table
are arranged thirty-one tiny ivory quilles
| or skittles, the central one of which is red,
the others being white.
A red ball is placed on 'spot" and the
| game is played with one white ball 1t is
announced on notice cards hung up all over
the billiard room that only the professors
attached to the establishment are allowed
TO play the game, the public having nothing
| to do but to stake its money against the
| bank. The white ball is played from the
| cushion, about half way down the table.
| 1t has to carrom off the red ball, aud roll
ing across the table, TO knock down a GER
tain number of the skittles II an even
number OF skittles are knocked down the
| bank wins, and the croupier rakes in the
stakes of the punters. If an uneven number
of skittles are laid low the punters win. and
| the bank has to pay. But If in the number
| of skittles knocked down is included the red
skittle, or Cardinal the bank wins whether
the number be odd or even The professors
interest is to play so that the bank should
win. because the syndicate to which he be-
| longs has commission on the winnings of
each bank, and, moreover, each successful
banker who knows how tO-Ayen will
always recoupense With a louis or two the
skllful play OF professor who has made
his bank fruitful one. It will be seen.
however, that the game is one Of pure
hazard.
l visited the Cafe de la P short time
ago as the establishment where the game of
cardinal is made the pretext of the
highest gambling. The back room, which
used formerly to be given over to harmless
chess players, has now been fitted up as a
| regular billiard room, with raised seats all
| round this being shut Off from the rest OF
the cafe with high red baizs screens. Peo-
pie were sitting all round the table, and be-
| hind the sitters were three or four rows Of
gamblers. who reached their stakes over The
heads of those in front of them. Parallel
to each cushion ran thin chalk line, divided
into numbered partitions, each partition be-
| ing intended for the placing OF the ELGkes.
Behind the rows Of skittles at the bottom
| OF the table sat an official. known as the
! quilleur, whose duty it was to place the skit-
| Ties IL order again after each coup;
opposite him was a man who changed
money for the players and for the bank,
aud on the left OF the Quilleur was the pro-
fessor. who played the white ball. Next to
him sat the banker or croupler, his rep. g.
sentative. armed with a large cash box and
regular croupier's rake
THE SYSTEM.
Each bank was put up at auction and
sold to the highest bidder. There is louis
in the bank" was what the croupier was
crying as | entered. There is a louis Ia
the bank. Does any one offer more"
Twenty-Five francs" cried some one
1.-TWO louis" There are louis In the bank
Who offers moreP' ''Three louis"
-Four louis" And so it vent
| on until the bank was knocked down
to an invisible speculator for 10 louis. The
money was handed to the croupier, WHO
again announced the amount in the bank
that is to cay, 10 louis minus a 10 per cent
com ission. There are $50 francs in the
bank" he cries. who makes bancog
To make "banco" of a sum in bank at a
! Partisan gambling table means to stake an
equal amount against the bank Thus
had any one present cared to risk $50 francs
on the first stroke he would have cried out
"Banco." If the ball had knocked down an
even number Of skittles he would have lost
! the whole OF his 100, and there would have
been 800 francs in the bank for somebody
else to go banco against, and II the number
OF skittles Knocked down had been odd he
/ would have broken the bank aud doubled
his stake. Nobody, however, offered bapco
that time, though later IN the evening
higher gambling OF this sort Was frequently
seen, and the small punters were invited to
/ play. "Faites vos jeux. Rien ne va plus"
/ was next heard.
Looking down the chalk lines aud into
the numbered partitions, l saw that the
stakes varied from franc to 3 or louis
Five fradcs seemed 10 be a favorite stake
with the punters. After the traditional
"Rien ne va Dlus," had been cried out by
the croupier the professor played the white
ball with great elaboration, and 1t was
amusing TO see with wha suppressed excite
ment the gamblers watched it; curse