Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-23
Training School
for Gamblers

fTN HE American tourist abroad seldom
II 4 fails to pay visit to the great gam
PSsTz,SzzTsSSS8 Psz,zTS bling place at Monte Carlo as a mat
GX1x1 ter Of duty, without regard to
what the opinions or sentiments he
may entertain on the subject To the casual
observer moving around the great halls and
Watching the play from a SAFE distance the one
tnng which exctes his wonder is the conduct
o, tne croupier, the man who sits at the centre
Oh the table and represents the House in its
ueahngs with the players.
one would think that the monotony attached
10 Vne duties of croupier, even at such fam
Gus gambling resort Monte Carlo would not
lhduce many applicants to come forward for
posts that fall vacant. for surely there can be
nothlng more monotonous than taking part in
the same game for six hours day all the year
round And yet the Casino authorities receive
over two thousand applications for employment
as crouplers every year, and this in spite of the
fact That any vacancies that may occur are never
made known, but filled from the reserve
staff always kept at the Casino.
MAINTAINS A TRAINING SCHOOL.
The Monte Carlo Casino trains all it's own
croupiers, and very rigorous that training is.
When an applicant is favoraby considered for
training he has to come up for medical exami.
being engaged suffering from nerves. heart dis.
ease, or any kindred complaint, and even if the
applicant passes this examination satisfactorily
ne is liable to be discharged at any moment if
he shows that he is easily Austered or loses his
head.
After this examination the recruit to the
croupiers chair comes up for six hours training
every day in the school which Is situated at the
back of the Casino, provided that he can prove
he has been resident in the Principalty of
Monaco for at least year. The first thing is to
teach him the game, the working of the roulette
wheel, and so forth, for if he has been resi-
dent in Monaco long it is quite possible that he
knows little nothing about roulette, because
no inhabtant of the principally is allowed to
enter the Casino except once year, on the
Princes birthday.
Throwing money is one of the most important
items of the curriculum for it is imperative that
a croupier shall be able to throw a handful of
money so that it will pitch with unfailing pre-
clsion on any spot the table, To throw
money quickly and that it does not pitch on
end and roll is not easy as it seems, and it is
generally three weeks before lie young croupier
satisfies his trainer that he is proficient in this
art.
Now comes the most difficult part of the train
ing, learning to reckon money mechanically The
crouper must never count; il he did, the slow
progress of the game would try the patience of
all the players He must become a veritable,
ready reckoner, and this, of course, only comes
by practice But to prove to what high state
this reckoning be brought it may be said
that before croupier passes to the Casinos train
ed staff he is able to tell the value of the coins
in his hand simply by the feel of them-that is
to say, he could pick up a number of coins and
without pausng tell you their value
Every day each pupil is made to sit as Group
ier at table around which are gathered his fel.
low-pupils who start playing with metal discs
of sizes and values equivalent to the coins used
at the tables. This first test is u trying one for
the budding crouper. Everyone does his best to
fuster him, the discs spin across the CLOTH and
if his mind does not take in the proper values
and he loses his head, he knows that his pros
poets are in jeopardy. OF course many fail at
this preliminary test, which means that their pc
Rod of training will be advanced from six
months to perhaps seven or eight, more
if they do not improve rapidly.
Once croupier becomes proficient he can,
when drafted into playing saloons hold his post
for great many years, but, as he only receives
less than four hundred dollars per annum as
roulette croupier, he is not able to save much.
Nevertheless, he is well looked after for if he
becomes i'll he has his medical attendance free
and when, after many years service, he elects
him to live on. Croupiers do not of course re-
tain their posts till old age as the strain of the
game eventually tells upon them, but the pen
sions they receive enable them to start in life
anew most of them setting up as cafekeepers
in some part of France.