The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-04-06
TRAINING CROuPIERS
THE WAY THE EXPERTS AT MONTE
CARLO ARE MADE.

CARLO ARE MADE.
Picked Men Undergo "a Rigid Course
of Instruction Until They Are Mold
ed Into the Right Form to Preside
over the Gaming able.
The stereotyped words ring out in
but slightly varying tones from the
throats of those immaculate black
coated ~functionaries. Indeed the most
sensational coup of the season would,
we believe, be powerless to move any
Of these suave officials into betraying
even a momentary CLEAN Of interest in
the mere mortals he thus adjures to
plank down their ready"
The casual %freQuenter of the sale de
jeu pays but little heed to these things
indeed takes them Us a matter Of
course-nevertheless the croupier Is
made" not born though he may
have Unborn qualifications. He is a
creature of selection, and, given a can
didate of seeming promise, there fol-
low months of training and trial-aye,
little temptations which shall test his
honesty-before the three chiefs who
watch him and consider all his points
decide upon his actual election, and he
Is carefully nodded into the right
FORM" that of the quiet, courteous vet
ever alert gentleman, whose we'll kept
hand spins The marble ball and throws
the coins SO deNtrously across the
green cloth.
1t may be Interesting to those who
do not already know to hear that no
more than t%hirty-six men can go up at
a time for election. Thirty-six-the
number which exactly corresponds
with the numerals on the board-and
OF these, again, only the very tittest
are chosen for final training and APP
pointments.
The making of the croupier'' takes
place during the dead season-that is.
from about August till the end of De-
cember. by which time it is calculated
a smart man may be considered fit to
try his PAGES in public. The training is
indeed no play, but consists of regular
attendance at the classes OF the 'ecole
DIES %croupiers' for six hours a day, the
exact time being from 8 to il in the
forenoon and from 2 to 5 in the after
noon. Before admittance to the
school" however. a medical eXamina-
ton has to be undergone as we'll as TX
aminations in viva voce arithmetic and
tests put with regard to correct and
fluent French and refinement of ac-
cent. Yet would all these avail a man
nothing should his antecedents and
character not bear the strictest and
most searching scrutiny. During this
time of probation coins of the value of
those they will have to handle at the
tables are not used, notes being repre-
sented by squares of paper of much
the same size and texture and the
louis dor being "understudied' by one
franc pieces, while the smallest stake
permissible, the clumsy FIVE franc
piece, remains the same.
AS we have, however, already OBJ
served, tests of honesty are at times
resorted to in order to make sure of
the mans qualities IN this respect. Yet
in order not to strain this point too
highly the management pays the pro-
bationer a sum of $50 francs a month
salary during his period of training.
The daily lessons" consist naturally
enough principally in the requirement
of a nice manipulation Of the ball and
the foke. in quick head reckoning"
and in deStrously pitching the coins
across SO that they seem to fall in an
orderly golden row. each separate and
distinct.
A distinction is made between can&..
dates for the trente-et-quarante tables
and those devoted to the more easily
grasped game of roulette. The men
serving the former are, as may have
struck any observant visitor. of a dis
tinctly better class, a higher mental
caliber. Their salaries, too, are proper
%tionately higher, ranging from 400 to
600 francs a month. while the chef"
draws 725 and the inspectors and sub.
directors from $50 to 1000 a month.
with a bonus also at the end of the
season n the comforting prospect of
a pension when old age or sickness
comes along to lay them on the shelf.
That these men are also we'll worth 1t
goes without saying.
A lesser grade of intelligence is re-
CURED at the rouge-et-noir board, vet
here, too. the salaries are such as many
a civil service clerk might we'll envy
earned, too, in a lovely climate and
bearing in mind that, given fair health
and a steady devotion to duty, the ap-
pointment may be considered good for
all the mans working life-leading
also to the ultimate pension in recogni-
ton Of faithful services. The salary
of the roulette croupier starts at $50
francs a month and may rise to 400
francs, and he also is the recipient Of
an annual bonus at the end of the
grand season" 1t should also be
observed that while ION duty" the
strain is continuous. Each man is
relieved" every two hours, when &C.
ours that curious little ceremonial Of
turning the cushion on his chair, a