Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-27

CRAZE FOR GAMBLING
New Workers Wild Over the
Races.
SOME BIG WINNINGS
BUT LITTLE HEARD OF THE
MANY LOSERS.
Earl Of Rosslyn About to Organize
Another Gambling Syndicate,
With seoo, 600 Capital.

With Seoo, 900 Capital.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
NEW YORK, September &c. 1902.
Now they are saying that the Earl of Ross
lyn, the tall, ford. rather gawky young Eng
| lishman who, under the stage name of lame 9
Erskine," is walking awkwardly through
the part OF lackey in an old play re-
Gently revived here, has already wearied Of
his new avocation. and that he has ex-
pressed hankering to once more take up
the business Of a plunger. 1t will be ra-
called that this youth has already figured
| in some rather sensational and notorious
| plunging work. His method was simple.
| He didn't plunge with his own money, for
| the convincing reason that he didn't have
any. So he organized a sort of gambling
| syndicate, into which the pennies Of the
poor as well as the pounds Of the well-to-do
were fatuously poured by credulous Eng
lishmen who took stock in the earl's posi-
tive announcement that he had a hard-and-
| fast, infallible System to break the bank
at Monte Carlo.
Something like $3.50, 600 went into the
earl's syndicate, and something very much
resembling a naught multiplied by zero
the stubborn bank at Monte Carlo reso-
lutely refused to be broke. Now 1t Is
stated that Mr.. Erskine has method
whereby he hopes to chase all Of the book
makers doing business on eastern tracks
to the brink of ruin. In order to do this he
only requires little matter OF 100000, to
be got together by the free and willing SUBJ
scrptions of such persons as feel an inter-
est in the punishment Of the race track
price makers. The earl will probably get
together this money. II there is any more
credulous community on earth than New
York the name thereof doesn't appear on
standard maps.
Plenty Of Dupes in Gotham.
For every five sane individuals who laugh
at the earls protestation that he knows
how to beat the American bookmakers
there will probably be at least one undoubt-
ing New Yorker who will donate a percent
age of his accessible and loose savings to
the scheme community that will pour
So, 000,00 into the reasury OF a swindling
investment company that advertised divi-
dends OF TO per cent week, or $40 per cent
| a year. will come pretty near biting at any
sort Of proposition capable of being stated
in large figures. The earls method Of
beating the bookmakers' is said to be
that old old game whereby you double on
| your losses to win certain amount. One of
the most famous plungers on the American
turf said only recently that this doubling
| ups system would break regiment Of John
Rockefelers inside Of a single racing sea-
| son. Had that system been applied to the
racing at Sheepshead Bay couple Of weeks
| ago. 1t is calculated by an expert that the
sum of $4,000 would have been necessary
| as capital wherewith to break even and
| win q solitary s. note.
| Never before has there been so much talk
Of turf plungers as there is just now at the
fag-end Of the eastern racing season. The
newspapers have been printing tabulated
| statements Of the seasons winnings by the
| big toads In the plunging puddle A very
conservative writer on turf subjects says
| that John A. Drake has won S7o0.O on
| the races during the past two months. The
! list gradually scales off down to dozens Of
fellows who are estimated to have won for
themselves such comparatively Insignificant
sums as 100000 apiece.
Advertises the Bookmakers.
The recital in the New York newspapers
of all Of these stories Of the plungers vast
winnings is assuredly responsible for the
tremendous, and all in all. the demoralz-
ing clutch which racing has upon this popu-
| lation. 1t is inevitable that in community
of the size of Greater New York there
should be many thousands Of persons in
search Of the elusive golden medium that
| enables very few of the fortunate ones
| Of earth to live without working for a live
! 1ihood. OF these is the bulk Of the race
| track patronage composed. The magma
| ton of such people is captured for instance
| by the story of one Whitley" Langdon the
most extraordinarily successful Of the new
| race track plungers Of the season. This
| demonstrating youth arrived at Sara toga
| when the racing began up there a couple Of
monl.4s ago with just $50 to bet on the horses.
He put his 500 on a horse that was at 10 to
| 1 in the betting, and when the horse won
| he put all of his $500 winnings on another
animal at the same figure. This one won.
| %l@t H.,
ent hour Whitley Langdon. who is err
| roneously stated to be from Washington,
| has been one Of the most daring and sue
cessful of the plungers. He has $3.50, 900
| tucked away In safe deposit box, and Is
| winning every day.
When scareheads are being constantly
| placed over such fascinating stories as this
in the New York papers. the wonder is not
| great that the New York race tracks are
daily infested with such vast crowds of
haggard, hopeless-looking men and be-
draggled, shabby-looking woman. all OF
| whom have started in at race gambling
with the dream of becoming possessed OF
what has come to be known among theam
as 1.-THE Langdon luck" Few OF them real
| lie until It Is all too late that for every
race follower who rides In rollicking run
mel Of luck, a thousand-yes, ten thousand!
| are almost at the very outset Of their
| ventures made the victims OF a boundless
and brutal bustedness for which there Is
| neither nepenthe alienation until even
| the very memory OF Inc lHOTOuSnDr6QS na6
been eradicated from the mind of the un-
| fortunate.
History of Plunger Walton.
A good many years ago there sprang up
| in this country a man who gained the name
| of 'Plunger" Walton because he occasion
ally bet as much as $685. 900 on a horse he
| fancied, and, until the beginning Of the
| present racing season. the story was told
| with more or less awe by race followers
| Of how Mike" Dwyer had once bet-and
| lost-$45 900 on his horse Hanover to win
$1,000. But the plungers Of other days
| would be considered "Pikers" nowadays
| according to the tremendous gambling that
| has been done on the race courses this
| year. 1t Is a simple fact that John Drake
frequently bets $4,000 and 600 to a
race on as many as three races day. He
| prefers to bet his own horses or on
aniamls belonging to his western friends.
| AS he wins about three-fifths Of his bets,
| the stories Of his enormous winnings do
not appear to be exaggerated Pitts
burg Phil. the pallid-faced young man
who has survived all of the sensational
plungers Of decade ago, and who is said
to have wisely tied up 100000 in such a
| way that he can't get at it for gambling
| PURPOSES thinks nothing Of strolfing around