The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-03-26
AMERICANS AT MONTE CARLO
THE TOURISTS WHO G1MBLE EOR
FUN
And Disturb the Serious system Play

edy dwell together in brotherly love, on
of the most amusing things in the com
edy line is to see gambling. table in
vaded by Americans. The humor of /
depends a good deal on the point o
view, to be sure. The rest of the cos
mopolitan company of players don't sex
anything funny in it. A composite pho
tograph of their faces would pass for a
picture of long1suffering Patience, moi
willing to suffer much longer. But q
disinterested American, a little in tht
tableaux which win make him chucl1le
AS everybody has been told several
thousand times, the Casino at Monte
Carlo is one of the most orderly places
in the world. This is one of the few
travellers tales which are absolutely
true. A Sunday school is bedlam COM
pared with the gambling rooms OF
Monte Carlo. Sorosis itself, drowsily
listening (?) to paper on philanthropy,
is scarcely more quiet than these five or
six hundred men and women silently
watching the turn of card or the dia-
bolical whims of a little ball capering
around red and black wheel.
To these orderly halls of learning
there's nothing the matter With that IT,
t1e-come two kinds of visitors: Amer
leans and others. The others, no mat
ter what may be their condition in life,
whether they are rich or poor, old or
young, princess or demi-mondaine,
prince or butcher-all drop right into
the prescribed Casino manner. They do
1T so successfully, in fact, that the prin-
cess and the demi- are to be
distinguished chiefly by complexion,
while it is as hard to tell the prince
from the butcher as to guess the next
turn Of the cards.
But you can count the. Americans.
The others are gambling for money,
money, money! The American is gene
rally--at Monte Carlo-gambing for
fun. He has gambled before, of course.
But the enlivening game of poker,
played with friends, is not the same
thing as trente ct quarante played with
assorted foreigners. The assorted for
eigners, sitting around the table, arel al
most every one of them regulars.
They've been there for days, weeks
perhaps years. They have a smile and
a word for one another, occasionally
They know one another's gains and
losses because they see them, not be-
cause they hobnob with their fellow
gamblers. People do not talk at the ia
bles. The only audible remarks are ex-
changed briefly with the croupiers about
placing money. Even then it is all in
an undertone or, half the time, the re-
uest is Indicated by mqotion of the
head, without word being spoken.
The nervous intensity with which the
players watch their varying fortunes is
a painful sight. The quiet is almost alb
solute. But it is the quiet of intense
concentration, not of easy Indifference.
Most Of the regular players have some
nervous affection, twitching of the eyes,
of the mouth. of the whole head. And
they all have systems Between plays
fhey consult little books in which they
have worked out elaborate calculations
and according to which they regulate
their betting. 1t is all very serious,
very mathematical very formal. But
the Americans upset the whole thing.
Last night, for instance, one Of the
trente ct quarante tables-the heavy
betting is at these tables-was going
calmly on in the usual way The play
ers were trying to get into the run of
the cards and were strictly occupied |
with the task of deciding what to do
next Somebody who had lost all he |
could afford to left the table, and an
American man took the vacant seat. |
He has been dropping into the casino |
every day for week or more and al
ways patronizes these tables, where he |
plays the black unfailingly and very Of |
ten wins. He is rich, a man of the |
world on his own continent, with a face |
much more worn than his clothes ever
look, but with an unspoiled smile and |
the air of general good fellow.
He won several times and the others
began to follow his betting. Immedi- |
ately they all lost, the bank raked in a
heap Of gold, and the Americans neigh
DOR, with Disguised shrug, left the ta-
Die. An American woman ste down |
lext to her compatriot, whom she evi-
lently knew. Her husband stood be-
lind her. At the next play the Ameri-
,ans had the black side to themselves
Ind won. The same thing the next time
Ind the next. The others concluded
hat run had started, and they Joined
he Americans, who won two more
plays. Then came three more Ameri-
ANS, friends of those already there,
md Joined the crowd around the table.
One of them was an aldermanic per-
ionage whose gold watch chain,
stretched tight across his expansive
vaistcoat, looked exactly like a yellow
equator on a black globe. The voice
which issued from the depths of that
vaistcoat was like fog-horn with the
influenza.
"How you gettin on?" said the fat
nan, and all the players jumped, and
heir twitchings became really terrible.
"Oh, first rate responded the other
With q genial laugh.
How many times yon Won"
"Oh, don't know. Seven or eight, 1
.uess, and lost once"
"Bettin' on black?" ]
"Uh-huh."
swell, put this over on the rouge, ]
von't you?" handing out five hundred
ranc bill. II
put it on what?"
"On the rouge" |
"All right" {
The rest of the players were not !
truck dumb by this lively conversation I
ecause they had been practically dumb '