The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-19
HYPN0TISM AND ROULETTE.
How the Man at the Wheel Lost 3d.
800 MYsteriouslv.

st. Louis Globe-Democrat: ''Hypnotism
is a mysterious thing that is now claimed
10 be used by swindlers and charlatans
in their devilish work. as well as by rep
utable men of science: but l have often
wondered why some shrewd gambler has
not turned his attention TO hypnotism and
used it as a means of making easy win
nings. said NJ. O. Burrill of Chicago,
who was discussing ways that are dark
and tricks that are vain with party of
travelling men at the Planters.
The nearest thing to hyDnotism in
gambling that ] ever saw was five or six
years ago at Grand Forks, N. D. Quite
commotlon was caused ~ a stranger,
dressed in the garb of Il country mer-
chant. winning at single sitting $4,000
in Charlie Martins gambling rooms. This
stranger. in the gu1se Of a country mer-
chant. dropped into Martins place and
Sazed around at the gamblers. He APP
peared 10 be greatly surprised at the
extent of the gambling that was going
on. L remember him well. He was slim,
Of medium height, high forehead and bald
head. He was smooth shaver, with eyes
deeply set, and which shone with Won
drous brightness. He tried his luck at
various games with varying success. Then
he stopped at the roulette table and
placed 81 on II. The little ivory ball spun
around d few times and dropped into IS.
lie did not appear to Gre about gam
bling any more, and went into the sa-
loon adjoining. Soon the gamblers began
to go out for lunch and he returned to
the wheel, where he sat down and began
TO play light. The room was soon cleared
Of all gamblers except the man at the
wheel The player glanced into the mans
face, and his eyes fairly glistened as
meanwhile he placed money on different
numbers A few men who had either gam
bled their money away or were out of
luck came in and gathered around the
PLAYER, seeing that he was beginning to
Dla- high. All noticed that the man at
the wheel seemed to be under some
strange influence, and appeared to be act
fY,1r rT-r to h L \
whirl the little ivory marble, and, regard
! less of the fact that the player was los
ing. he would pay the bet in the same
ratio as if he had won. The onlookers,
! gambler. and they watched in silence.
| When the last dollar had been taken from
| the drawer, the player thrust the money
| before him into his pocket, never taking
| his eyes from the WheelmanS face, and
vanished through the door. That was the
last seen Of the supposedly country mer-
chant.
! the room the man who manipulated the
wheel reached his hands to his head and
| shuddered. When he discovered that the
! till was empty, he swore that he had
/ been knocked down and robbed; but he
was informed by the bystanders, among
whom We're several well-known citizens
| Of the town, that Sucn was not the case
l He was told that he had been paying off
! bets for 20 minutes in a reckless manner
and that he had not been robbed, but
cheated
q L don't know how it was done. 1 was
hypnotizedr exclaimed the man at the
! wheel.
HE could not be made to believe that
/, he was so careless as to give up about
| 50 500 unless he had been put under some
/ magic spell. and many of those present
were firm in the belief that the man at
| the wheel had really been hypnotiZed.
Anyhow, the wheelman declared he would
thereafter be chary of all men with bright
! eyes