The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-11-16
STEAMSHIP GAMBLERS
or THEM ON 1vznx
OCEAN LINER.
Poker the Principal oameooo1
Entertainers and Easy Draw
" Wealthy Passengers In
to Their Games.

Just how many millions of dollars Q
year is won by coterte Of gamblers ana
Steamship and transcontinental raiirsad
lines It is impossible accurately 10 esti-
Scarcely Dig ocean liner which enjoys
on this side Of the Atlantic or the other
without furnishing o tale Of high gam
bling carried on during the trip " the
smoking-room. says the Chicago TribunA
with a statement that there was mQ3e
or less suspicion IL not actual Drook ~
":crooked" play. and the number - ~
not fes the fact that the Victims are
leeted with discretion, and are in t19I
vast majority Of cases men VINO Woutl
rather lose q few hundred dollars than
their accusation Of unfair play. The ~
| lice know nearly all the operators VINO
| fleece ocean passengers in the smoking
r6oms. but are seldom able to PVT thsE
| two reasons, one Of which IL the diflculV
| of getting a complaint made against the
rascais while within the turisd!ction 3
a more starting reason, is the accusations
| from Captain Titus. the chief OF detec-
| tives, who says that many of the stew
ards Of the liners stand in with the
marked cards. and the porters DO the
| same on the railway fihes.
The ''blackleg" players are diyided int
o'ssseo ss "a roa
fellows" (the railway train gangs). IN
both cases poker IL. the principal Game.
the stronghold, although other games
when Be ges s0spon o e 81 Esy Victims e ~
Popular with Passengers.
These men are all capital entertainers
They are the life and the soul Of . travel
look sS weii--bettsr thar, they DO in the pc-
lice pictures, where they appear under
the stress Of disadvantageous circuuix
stances. and in the easy, good cammae-
easy for them to get acquainted with the
jovial good fellow type Of man who
makes the easiest victim to fleece and
the one ne, least s likely kelly 70 ~sSnesT when ths
John II. Allen. assistant In the Bureau
Of Records at the New York police head
quarters. has made study Of the game
1--WE are glad to have an opportunity
Of airing this matter ana Of warning the
travelling public" he remsz4xed the othet
day. .of course. the public wont heed
Some fools seem to enjoy being fieeced.
II In only once In while that we get
squeal.' and where one victim complains
90 of a me Steamship sss inusS
In some talk about stopping the swindii1x
games. but don't think anytime came
OF 1t but talk One sof the sugEesdonS
was that the detective bureaus Of this
and of other countries should furnish to
the steamship lines photographs Of the
professional card sharps simple but efiso.
.'The frst thing these professional game
blers do when they get aboard shtr o.
1 aboard the train (they feel more secure
4 aboard ship. is to become acquainte4
\ with the crowd. They generally pass for
high rollers or sports, OF for ffHt rate
o on men vacation ana wne & pay
for little fun One Of them some time
| ago represented to his fellow passengers
that he was the king Of the Klondike.
| and many of them believed It. The Sub
| ject Of little game Is introduced BY
them cautiously. by suggestion more than
Work Generally in Couples.
T may state that they never work
and only one Of them is winner. The
other cusses the luck and wonders az bis
pals winnings just as hard as any OF the
Of the scent il they suspect anything
wrong. But he Is an expert dealer, and
on his fiimfiam deals his partner wins
every time. He throws ham the cards.
but a bobtaiied flush or an ace high
hand OF rags and oddities. The dealer In
the working combination never wins the
money The rogues Will take turns about
at wilmington will work II judiciously.
so as to win without arousing suspicion
too su sdenly. Il the man that dealt were
to win every time, then the crowd would
yell foul right away, but who ts going
to suspect the poor innocent dealer VINO
has given himself the worst hand In the
bunch? Usually they DO not try 70 make
but one coup on a voyage. but that one
will net them from $500 or $500 TO great
many thousands. The man WIN repre-
scented himself to be king of the Klondike
in 1900 swindied a real. bona nde coutt
who had been finishing his musical edu-
cation on the other side. 1t is astonish-
ing even to us experienced policemen 70
realize what amazing fools some mortals
be. The king Of the Kiondike made a
bum out Of that count all right. He was
stranded in New York.
Start With Small Stakes.
Generally the game on the ocean
steamer starts with small stakes or
small limit. 1t may be. ten-bob game
that IL to say, $250.,. That 10 good bait
When the suckers are In and biting, UP
goes the limit. You know how 1t ts when
some men play. They get feverish and
lose their heads. They would bet their
hearts and lose them II they weren't
screwed IN tight. I guess publicity can
do more to stop the travelling gambling
swindies than anything else. But why
don't the companies carry out their
'rogues' gallery idea? IT would act as
a preventive and a deterrent" 20.
MOUNTAINS ON A PLANET. i