The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-05-19
A STREAK OF LUCK.
II Went Way, Way Up, and 1t Went Way
Way Down.

II Went Way, Way Up, and 1t Went Way,
Way Down.
The story of the English dude who
walked into Spokane, Wash, gam
bling room the other night, and. with
$500, succeeded in winning $1,000, is
causing great deal of talk. The man
ner in which the western papers are
treating the event would serve to make
one believe that such luck was unpre-
cedented. There have been ten thou
sand cases of late years when bigger
fortunes than that have been made at
faro banks. In Santa Fe, N. M, dur
ing the exposition in 1884, saw yellow
chips, representing $1,000 each, piled
up as high as cats back on single
card, writes an old sport in the Chicago
Times Herald. Tom Jemson of Meri-
dian, Miss, was playing in Conant &
Harris one night, and when he cashed
in, after a sitting of two and a half
hours, the firm handed him $i5, 900.
Jemison lost it the following day in
Demlng. witnessed the play of a
Chinaman in the same place one even
ing, and he won twenty-seven straight
bets, and then, without pursuing his
luck any further, pocketed $23 900. The
limit in those days was the ceiling. 1t
would be hard matter to find a
gambling room now that would allow
one to bet on any single card exceeding
$l2.50.
l asked Tom Fitz, who during the
Hopkins administration owned one of
the biggest gambling institutions in
Chicago, his highest winnings and
losses in a single night at faro. Said
he: In those days l took my meals
at the Boston Oyster House. A certain
red-neaded waiter served me. He was
kind and attentive, and his tips were
not small ones. Besides, he received a
fair salary. But as regularly as Satur-
day nights rolled around | would find
him in front of one of my tables, and
he never got away with a cent. l
watched him play for two years, and
finally one night l told him that
didn't care for his money. In other
words, | barred him from the game.
Well, one Saturday night while | was
Busy in another part of the building,
this waiter bought stack of chips
from a dealer, and by the time | got
back to the table | saw him rakins in
the chips as if there was no ceiling or
roofing to the building, and that some
cloud from above was raining them
down. Of course, couldn't then OBJ
Ject. So l let him play along, expect
ing every minute to see his luck
change. But it didn't. He couldn't
lose. The limit was 500, and he play
ed it. In less than an hours time I
was counting out white chips to him at
$40 apiece, and the yellows were $780,
"At daylight estimated that he had
won about $4,000. His luck seemed so
phenomenal that sent out for another
dealer, hoping in this way to break his
charm. But he won on. | sent for
another, and still the chips went his
way. | dealt myself for a little while,
but be would whip-saw me at every
turn. quit him and turned him over
to one of the luckiest bank dealers that
could be procured in Chicago. But we
couldn't beat Kim. He would put his
bets down blindly and the cards would
come his way. He didn't play tpdas'
nor single outs nor double outs He
put chips down and they went back to
him twice fold. He called the turn
half dozen times for the limit. About
noon Sunday, when all the dealers
were tagged out and it looked as If he
would own the shop in little while.
l called for his chips. | had had
enough. By that time he was fairly
dr. nix. He tried to count, but he
couldn't. In fumbling with his chips
he knocked more than $500 on the
floor, to be picked up by hangers on
He was ahead of the game S46,7OO, I
took him aside and explained to him
that If he went out Of the building with
that much money he would be robbed.
He consented to let me keep it for
h!m-.all but $700. gave him this
much in big bills, and told him that
any time he wanted the remainder and
would come in sober he could get it,
Three days elapsed and | heard
nothing of him. | became alarmed.
and sent one of my men out to hunt
him up. His whereabouts could not
be ascertained. But about closing time
on the following Wednesday night he
walked in. OF course he was broke.
He had forgot how much he had left
with me, and when | counted him out
$4,000 he seemed dazed. He acted as
If sober. He got to the steps and hest
taed. Then he walked back. He
bought $500 in chips and commenced to
play. At first his former luck ran with
him. But in the course of an hour he
struck wrong streak, and before day.
light l had every cent of the $4,000 In
the drawer, and it belonged to me. II
is a fact that outside of whisky and a
few meals he had bought he hadn't
provided himself with single thing.
In the way of personal apparel he
hadn't bought even a shoe string. As
he arose from the table he looked al
me appealingly, as good as to say,
Won't you buy me a drink?' | handed
him $40 and told him to go home. The
following night he served me with
oysters at the restaurant again."