The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-02-15
Only Plan 10 Break Bank at Monte Carlo
 ls Not 10 Buy a Stack

stantly forthcoming from the Casino
 eompany's safes. Almost before the room
 has had time to realize that a historleal
 incident Is taking place, the game IS re-
 started and the croupiers voices are sihs-
 songing their formula of "Faltes Vos
 jeux. Le jeu est fait flen
 he va plus'
 There are one or two famous authenti-
 cated examples of fortunes made in the Sales des jeux. None of these relate 10
 what may be termed "straightforward
 gambling. They are each and all records
 of swindies of extreme daring and ingenu- ity.
 The Great Ardisson Game.
 One of these, which was begun and
 ended well within half an hour, resulted
 in loss by the bank of s1OO,Ooo. Ardisson 1 journeyed to Monte Carlo with a deliber-
 ate intention of devising a eollosal coup. To this end he visited the rooms daily Tor
 some time studying the methods of play. The game of roulette-wtth it's mechanl- cal wheel and almost mechanical ball-ne at once pronounced useless Tor nls pur- pose. -et-quarante-which is work ed with cards-seemed to offer an open l ing, however.
 And here a word or two of explanation | Is necessary. The principle of the rou- l lette wheel, with its 137 compartments numbered exclusively from o to 36 Is
 generally known. Broadly speaking, 1t Is l that the gambler bets on the number or color, etc., of the compartment into which | the ball will settle when the wheel stops l that Is, whether red or black, odd or 1 even, below or above IS, the zero being a l split. Tn the game "trente ct quarante' l Ghirty or forty), is a card game, each
 card has It's numerical value, the face 1 cards being counted ten. The cards are
 counted off in two rows, the counting on
 each row ceasing after a total of thirty
 has been passed. All the betting is done
 before the first card falls, and the betting 1 is-broadly speaking, again-on which the | total will be nearer thirty. The split
 for the house Is when each line has a
 total of thirty-one.
 1 The SWindle Begins.
 l To go back to Mir. Ardisson. In due
 course, Ardlsson's trained faculties dis
 covered that opening. and having laid
 his plans he quilted the prlncipality to raise capital and train his assistants. A few weeks later he reappeared ac- 1 comDanied by two ladies, both attired in l the height of fashion. On certain after noon the trio entered the rooms and ap- preached one of the trente-et- quarante | tables. Ardison and one Of the two ladies 1 iooh up d DOSlllOn OH one sue or Lne tdDfe and the second lady stood on the other. A series of games had concluded and the packs of cards were evenly gathered | out of the well In the center of the table and shuffled At this juncture one of | the ladies asked the presiding croupier to explain the game to her. He was doing so when the other lady requested the sec
 ond chef to oblige her with change for some 1000-franc notes On receiving the coins, she clumsily let them slip, and they rolled hither and thither over the floor | There was a momentary confusion The coins were soon retrieved by the attend ants, and the new series of games began Ardisson and his fair accomplices staked heavily. They did not all three place their money on a single combina- ! ton. That would have been inartistic But whatever they did the result was the same. Again and again the bank had to
 pay out gigantic sums, for the party of