Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1899-12-23
MONTE CARLOS I[RR(RS
ASuicide Table Where Scores
Have Despaired.
SOME MAD GAMBLERS.
a Bridal Couples Tragedy-suicides
Know Their Fate--Few Try to Es-
cape Their Goai---Incidents Of the
Worlds Most Famous Gambling
Rooms.

To the right Of the Moorish salon, the
second from the entrance In the great
gambling rooms Of Monte Carlo, stands
the suicide table
This accursed piece Of furniture has
a record Of causing I1s suicides in ten
years, according to the count kept by
G. Benvenisti. formerly chief Of the de-
tectivcs In this room
Even the chairs OF this table differ
in the intensity Of their hoodooed state.
The chair 10 the left of the croupier
facing the entrance door has claimed
seventeen victims. The twenty third
chair accommodated eleven suicides,
six women and five men The others
have records or eight, five, four, three
and one death.
One day FIVE years ago. writes M.
Benvenisti in the Chicago lnter-Ocean,
my neighbor at the table was young
Partisan. He sat in one Of the one-
death chairs. and won. When the doors
closed he carried off 100000 francs.
Imagine my anticipations when next
morning | found him installed To The
left of the croupier. / felt like tearing
him away or slipping card into his
hand. g warn him against the seat he
had chosen, but my official character
forbade me 70 interfere, and besides,
my advice would have been scorned.
for the fellow gambled like one mad.
He lost hts winnings Of the day before
and 100000 francs Of his own money
When his last LEGO frame note was gone
he rose, and swaying to and fro like a
drunkard, stumbled out Of the hall.
laughing immoderately.
Two Of my men led a merry chase
for this unfortunate, and when they
caught UP With him he jumped of the
railway bridge, knocking out his brains.
Another case that haunts my
dreams One day an elderly gentleman,
Signor Antonio Cesare. who knew my
connection with the Casino compelled
me to give him the seat / was occupy
Ing, next to the croupier. | did SO with
u bleeding heart, for this old man was
the very picture OF health. and | was
an intmate friend of his cousin, the
Mayor Of nentimigll
Well, this gentleman lost nearly a
hundred thousand francs ia the day
and evening When he got Up, his own
mother wouldn't have known him. lie
looked ten years older his flesh had
fallen away; madness stared out OF his
eyes. Next day they fished his body
from the lake az Mentone,
Then there We're the Parllngtons, re-
fined English people They were on
their wedding trip / never forgot the
look of delight with which young Mrs.
Darlington pocketed her first small
gain The pretty bride fairly eoaxed her
husband to stake 10 francs
When night came they had couple
OF thousand francs la their pockets.
Next morning they took chairs Nos.
20 and a. No % brought them the usu-
al luck. They gained 80 600 francs But
on the following day came the lnevita-
bic change. The 10000 francs went back
TO us. and the couples little fortune
followed. They walked from the room
deathly pale, hand in hand
My detectives informed me that they
took the train for Nice without troub-
ling about their baggage They shot
and killed themselves in the Windsor
Hotel there. Everybody can see that
the cloth on the suicide table is of more
recent make than the rest Yet the
Casino company ia only 3iS francs the
poorer ON that account
Here are the figures. cloth for double
table. $50 francs. painting Of yellow fig
nres. 50 francs mailing down rs francs;
total 3lS francs
z Against these figures there is an OF
set of coo francs, which the Casino
company would hava been obliged to
pay the young Russ an for travelling
expenses. This Mu sovite Prince re
fused to become 9ensi0ner of Nj.
Blancs heirs. and bltw ont his brains
over the table whert ne had dropped
his al 400 900 frare
I. happened two ears SO, and it
nearly cost me my y The circupi
stances that one Of ihe directors ~
tho company drew s3e into q corner
TO talk about tho sal e Russians per-
FissenJ nl-luck Just Z minute before
the shot rang OUT hat alone saved
me from disgrace.
The Incident ITSELF ! as soon forgotten
and had no bearing on the game It.
has nothing % 10 y I'm the supersti-
tons attaching 70 The suicide table.
The ill repntation OF .hat piece OF fur
niture was of many years standing
when The Russian canmitte3 his flag
rant breach OF casit etiquette. he
was No. s. on my lis az unfovtUnates.
when I saiv MAI or woman ap-
preach the suicide st9te. my FIRST care
was 60 prevent him az her from spoll-
ing more cloth Z sia4aNed my men 10
press aroupa the pufty and prevent
him or her from putt ng "a hand IN the
pocket 0r from striking the crouper
Many desperate caSfs j approached
as a fellow aambler Offering 20 assist
them and pay their p pmewnrd Journey
7 dare say my which
cost me nothing as the company re-