The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-03-26


their opening, he found the Italians at
their accustomed places, playing-and
Winning-as. if nothing had happened
He was more than surprised a moment
later when, on careful examination he
discovered that the unlucky cylinder
had been brought back. Who had re-
! placed it? 1t mattered little, and the
traitor in the camp was never discov-
cred. An order was issued for the
guilty machine to be broken up into
kindling wood. the syndicate ceased
betting on its chosen numbers and the
bank escaped losing Is 900 francs a day
at table No. ;,
THE METHOD A MYSTERY.
The secret of the matter was never
discovered. Had the Italians merely
observed that the particular roulette
was imperfect? The compartments o,
8, 12.- IA, Is. Il. "a. % and 81 We're the
merest trifie larger than they should
have been and the edges of at least a
few of the divisions were declared to
have been the merest trifle higher than
the others Was the roulette imperfect
by accident? To imagine anything else
would be to doubt the good faith of an
honorable German manufacturing OPP
tician, Herr Schwilge of Strasbourg, TO
whom the Casino authorities pay 1000
francs apiece for the machines.
tSchwilge's roulettes have a European
reputation for the most perfect preci-
sion. Turned with force, their cylin-
ders continue to revolve for twelve
minutes. Had an employee of Herr
Schwilge been brbed to fix" that par
ticular machine? 1t is difficult to be
lieve it. But it is still more difficult to
imagine how an accomplice in the en-
ploy of the Casino could have done it.
The thing remained mystery. Only
ever since then the sixteen roulette
wheels Of Monte Carlo have been
changed about from table to table
nightly The thing is done in secret.
by special employees. Each cylinder is
examined for scratches and other pri-
vate marks that might betray its iden-
tity: and they keep fifty reserve cylin-
ders on hand.
If one listens to the wonderful
i stories of the Monte Carlo croupiers'
: skill in throwing the ball and pushing
the cylinder that are current in the
bars and smoking rooms of Nice and
: Monte Carlo hotels and pensions one
i begins to wonder that conspiracies
against the bank are not more COM
mon.
. CROUP1ER'S MARVELLOUS HAND.
s Even the best friends of the bank.
/ who can see nothing crooked about
y its operations and nothing mysterious
r in it's luck admit willingly that the
n hand of the croupier plays i'm
= portant role in bringing about roulette
n results. One croupier will be more
e likely to bring low numbers. in spite of
e the fact that the numbers. high and
d low, are scattered all over the cylinder
= Another has a tendency to make high
s numbers 'come out" and a third will
: bring the neighbors''-i. e. numbers
= ion the cylinder adjoining those
t which have just won. All this, they
e say. is done unconsciously, without the
e will or power of the croupier. 1t is
= simply the habit of hand that, in the
t long run, produces certain results.
5, There are others. however. who see
n in the hand of the croupier a real oc-
e cult power. please remember g
: willy old habitue was saying only last
?. night at Ciro's. that the postulant
It croupier at Monte Carlo is obliged tC
t do two years apprenticeship before he
d is allowed to turn in public. During
: these two years he is obliged to prac.
: tice five hours a day at all the func.
= lions of his future employment as the
s phrase runs. in order to acquire
r what? Habit, GOODNESS and surenes:
e of hand? 1t would hardly take tha
long" smiles the old habitue. No. i
is to acquire the ability to throw The
ball into any compartment desired
a Then followed story after story c
e wonderful feats performed by indis
4 erect croupiers. One man told Of some
o thing be had seen with his own eyes
j. The hero was a young croupier who
g. one sleepy afternoon in the dead-seasol
lie summer time, took advantage of tn
,e absence of the chef de partie to boas
to his friends of his skill. To prov
n his words he began throwing the ball
He brought out in succession, withou
20 error, the numbers 1, ., 8, 4. 5. and
-e before the arrival of "the boss" cause
# him to desist.
,e Here is conspiracy not against tn
l. bank, but against the public. Anothe
1t man told this story One day sittin
- at table No. of the roulette, I oh
l. served the chef de partie carefully. H
N was interesting A real Partisan, talk
j. ative, restless, busy unquiet, he CAV
10 himself away to me, for l knew tn
- type. Several times 1 had already oh
= served him giving the signal to tn
* croupier. / think he knew 1 wa
re watching him and it increased his en-
j. barras sed bravado. All at once, whe
es the dropping of coin on the floor al
to tracted the attention Of the players, m
n ichef de partieA took advantage of it I
"A give the croupier a plain out-and- or
- iorder to bring the zero. l saw his liz
10 move, forming the words. l called IL
e. attention of friend to the fact an
RS begged him to play the zero with m
hit but he called me a visionary and al
to lgued-something which might hay
ht been true-that as zero had just CON
&C cut the chefs pronouncing of the wor
. might only be to call the croupiers a
. tention to the fact During this dis
u. pute the ball began rolling, and befol
rs could get my money out l heard tt
.. sacramental:, 'Rien ne va plus's VIII;
70 number won? Why zero!'
On PLAYING THE BANKS GAME.
The natural question of every or
will be-as it was the other evening
oy Then why not go ON profiting by sue
he knowledge? You have only to play Il
a banks game"
- syndicate was formed on the sp
- to do that thing l happen to kno
= this fact. Four men. of whom tu
Ms were Americans, put up each $50, to