The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-01-29
THE NERVE OF GAMBLERS
ONE REASON FOR KEEPING C0OL AT
 CRITICAL MOMENTS.

Large Reputations That Have Been Made
 by Men Who Have Simply Been Stalking
 Other Peoples Money-C Capitalists Who
 Have Employed Professionals to Gamble
 for Them.
 Washington, Jan. 22-"I happen to know that a considerable number of the most famous professional gamblers in this country made their reputation with other men money" said Rocky mountain man of large experience. 'These men have had their names her | aided far and wire as the stakers of thousands, and even hundreds of thou sands, upon the turn of card, and in- | numerabe yarns have been spun as to their cool John Oakhurst-like man. her of scooping in table full of money upon the smashing of bank, or of calmly lighting their cigars and stroll ing out when fortune went against 1 them. So far as the stories themselves are concerned, some of them are un- doubtedly right; but all of them leave out the very essential fact that the men were simply players of other mems 1 money--'table touts,' we call 'em out west I suppose it is a reasonable pro- l position that it is a whole lot easier to risk another mans money at the table l than it is to endanger your own. Of all the men am telling you about hardly a one had enough luck at the tables to keep himself warm when putting up his own coin; perhaps it was owing to the extreme caution of their play under these conditions and the far greater strain involved in the hazarding of their own money. They could take an- other mans money-the money of a man who probably did not know the difference between % and 33 in wheel | layout, but who could afford to venture almost an unlimited amount of money on a game-and in at least eight cases out of ten they could run the initial stake up into a pile that would mean for themselves a rake-off or percentage of thousands or tens of thousands; but in venturing their own money I have seen few of them who were any good in the matter of keeping their nerve under ] rein.
 Back in the sixties Tom Naseby was 1 generally considered the most danger l ous man at faro table on the Pacific slope. Bank after bank, from Port land to San Diego, went to the wall un- der his system of play--or lack of sys- tenn I ought to say-and at the end the San Francisco banks shut him out al l together, so that he was compelled to start a layout of his own. Among Naseby's smashes that were famous on the coast was that of breaking Byron McGregor's Kearny street institution tc the tune of one hundred and fifty thou sand dollars; of hitting up Tillottson's ten thousand dollar limit game in San Francisco for one hundred thousand dollars and closing the doors, and ot banging Ned Jordan's bank in Portland for one hundred and twenty-five thou sand dollars, all within the space ot three months. Yet Naseby told 'ne | himself that on none of these plays was he venturing a sou marlue of hs own money-that it had all been handed over to him. the initial stakes for each big play, that is, by Ralston, the mil l lionaire San Francisco banker who committed suicide. Out of each win ming Naseby of course got big cut for the money, for Ralston went into the thing for the sport of it and was very generous man. Naseby, who belonged to the tribe of savers for rainy day hung on to these rolls. Naseby played faro with just about as much skill as a Zulu wields warclub, and he frankly confessed that his coups were simply the result of unlimited confidence anC unlimited backing allied to bullheat luck
 Frank Burbridge, the most famous poker player that Portland has ever brought out, was another man who made his big reputation as a gambler upon the strength of the vast winnings he hauled out upon stakes furnished by wealthy men. Some of these ricf packers of Burbridge remained behint the screen and only received Frank: reports as to how he made out in tht games for which they staked him, bu others came out into the open and sa alongside Burbridge when he was play ing with their money-not for the pur pose of watching him, for he was strict ly on the level but just for the fun O watching the game. One of the big contractors for the building of the Ore gon Short Line, a man worth many millions of dollars, was one of Bur bridges clients who liked to watch th expert poker player play the hands He was constantly stalking Burnrdg for big games with dangerous oppo nents. If Frank won, all right he go most of the money himself. If he lost all right, too; the contractor simpl, went into the thing for the mental dis traction 1t afforded him.
 T was a witness of one of those bi. games in which Burbridge engaged with stake furnished by the contrac tor. It was played at the old Villa mette House in Portland, and 1t was two-handed game. The other playe was s very wealthy Portland man wh was said to have made big pot O money by simply making the sugs,s ton that he intended to parallel tn Oregon Short Line. This rich ma, thought he knew how to play poker un til his friend, the contractor of tn Short Line, who was Burbridge' stalker, put up against the latter-part ly for the interest of watching tn game, and partly, perhaps, for othe . reasons. Anyhow, the Portland maj had 2 whole haap of m opiri0p of ,,,lc n.