The Washington times., 1901-08-04
GAMBLING IN MID-OCEAN.
Numerous Games of Chance In
dulged in by Passengers.
Poker Leads in Popularity on Hoard
Ship-PoOls Formed ON the Days
Run and on the Arrival of the
Pilot-Other Schemes Resorted To.

iiIot-Other schemes HesOrfed IL
A transatlantic trip means almos
unavoidably certain amount of gam
bling. 1t means also a disregard o
bluestocking principles in other direc
tions, for when the average man /
thrown on his own resources for a pc
riod of a week or more his purely mora
Accomplishments and interests ar
nearly always sure to be exhausted
his ability to amuse himself strictl.
within the Ten Commandments ant
its corollaries is certain to come to al
end, and the result is some sort of evil
doing which he would not allow himsel
on land. OF all the things that OF
shipboard tempt one from the straight
and narrow path" games of chance arr
the most irresistible. Few go through
the trip without falling victim to then
in one form or another They exist
under a multiplicity of DISCUSSES, cal
culated to make the infraction of moral
rule acceptable to varied consciences,
and he who succeeds in lodging all
the inducements to gamble encoun-
tered is surely a marvel.
Ennui is the great thing to conquer
aboard ship, next, of course. to sea-
sickness. and gambling seems to be the
stone that kills the two birds at once
The smoking-room steward of any
transatlantic liner will tell you that
he has never seen a man become sea-
sick or ever feel the influence of rough
weather when interested in a stiff
poker game, and he will probably add
after you have started him making
"reminiscences, that he can tell you of
many men who resort to no other cure
for seasickness than plunging. which
they practice from the moment they get
up in the morning until they turn in
at night
All of this though perhaps somewhat
colored. is. to an extent, true. 1t is
no fancy of the imagination that for
tunes have been lost on board ship by
rich men who sought the excitement of
the gaming table in order to keep their
dinners down and to avoid all the other
discomforts of stomach and head that
accompany overactivity of the vessel.
Those who crossed over on a big Gu
harder several years ago have not tired
.. telling about a poker game in the
smoking-room which had continued
many days through such rough weather |
that the cards at times would not !
stay on the table. The seven men who !
took part had been in their seats every |
day during the voyage, and had played !
during their waking hours uninter- /
In the party was the sugar /
King, Claus Spreckles. and the remain |
Ing members were capitalists of |
calibre able financially to hold their ]
OWN with him. The voyage was to close !
On the seventh morning, and the play
during the sixth day had been high.
II was a no-li;nit game, and when that
sixth night, after dinner, the partici-
pants took their places around the
green baize, some anxious to recoup
heir losses, others desirous of holding
what they had gained, the gambling
Hood of all the male, and of many of
he female passengers, was at boiling
,oint Every man of the seven around
he table was out for blood, and the
Inte was a 500 bill, Of which there
10 be fourteen on the boat
fhe sfnoking-room was crowded with
nlookers, and it was necessary TO keep
hem at distance from the players.
est the expression on the faces of the
peetators should betray the hands
eld. Jackpots of 5000 were the usual
hing, and the play rose higher and
igher, as the night wore on. A few
before midnight the steward
ave notice that the smoking-room was
, close, and final jackpot was called
Or. Mr.. Spreckles opened, and drew
hree, one man dropped out, and one
IAN stood pat. The betting began by
500, the blue chips representing that
mount Mr.. Spreckles made it $1,000,
nd from that point the pile grew by :
1000 at jump. 1t seemed that the
aising would never stop, each man ap-
cared to have the utmost confidence in
is hand. Finally Mr.. Spreckles called,
nd the showdown revealed three full
ouses. two three of a kind, and four
Icks in the hands lealt Mr.. Spreck-
s held the four jacks. The count of
/
hich went to pay the losses which
preckles had sustained during the
revious six days of the voyage.
Poker on ships sailing from ports in .
lie United States is, of course. the =
ost common gambling game. But the
ships company" is always rather
ixed one, wherefore games common
other nationalities are usually TO be :
'en. Hearts at a ''sou" per heart is
the second favorite of the
1okirg-room habitues, because nearly
nations play it. Baccarat and H
ngt-et-un occupy the gambling
Ombre, a most compli-
ted arrangement of cards, supposed
be symbolical of the life of man. u
kes the attention of the spaniard, and :" %
milarly each nation has its favorite. :,
irds are the means most closely at d
nd by which the passenger can kill e,
ne and satisfy his desire to gamble
It II is not by any means the sole az
ethod of accomplishing these highly W
sirsble objects. There are gambling n
vices on board ship peculiar to ocean %
'N'i anu " oe run across nowhere tu
'e. 70
The life of the whole day afioat CEN tr
IS around the posting of the map at pe
head Of the main companionway, fr
d the announcement of the run of IN t
ship during the previous twenty ~ ~
IT hours. For an hour around about a
dday when the observations are is
Ken by the captain upon the bridge si'
the vessefs position calculated, the