Bisbee daily review., 1907-10-20
CROOKED WHEEL IS
 DESTROYED BY POLICE

New York, Oct. 19.-An electrically
 operated roulette wheel, declared to
 be one of the eleverest devices for
 cheating players ever discovered in
 this country, will be destroyed at
 Mineola. L. l.. by the Nassau county
 authorities this week.
 A man known as Martin is the re- puted owner of the wheel, and he is said to have made thousands of dol
 lars last summer fleecing men in Far
 Rockaway and nearby places, who were tho -nrinninal natrons of his place Where Martin is at present is not known.
 According to District Attorney Coles, of Nassau county, the wheel cost at least s5,0O0, and is one of two discovered in this country. The manipulation of the machine was so cleveiy arranged that it was fmpOssi- ble for the player to detect anything wrong, for no matter how closely he watched the man who worked 1t he could not see how it was done. But the finish of the players was always the same-all lost every cent wagered. When tine wheel WAS taken to pieces the cleverness of the device was apparent. Buried in the wood in the top of the table. MT. Coles found three German resistance coils, packed and insulated in such a way that indi- cated tbat they might be used with current of high potential, such as is used in incandescent lighting. In the cash drawer of the table MT. Coles found three little electric buttons, which the manipulator of the machine could work with his fingers in such way that it was impossible for the player to detect his actions.
 Mr. Coles ripped off the green cloth covering the table, and then the secret of the buttons was laid bare. Under this green cloth he found two metal disks. The pressure of a button would depress one or both of these disks, or if he did not wish to risk using the button, the dealer could put a stack of chips on top of one or both of the disks and the result would be the same. Each disk operated an electri- cal switch. and this switch connected one or both of the main circuits form ing the basis of the device.
 It is not known for certain, but the opinion of those who examined the wheel is that one of those switches controlled the red and the other the black pockets of the wheel Here is 1 where the German resistance coils come in. Each of these coils is con- nected with a copper bar. across which travels a contact point that is i controlled by one of the hidden cleo | Jric buttons in the cash drawer. The switches can be put instantly in any Of four positions by the dealer. mak- | ing it impossible to throw the current ! into any one of four sets of magnates, | each magnate being wound for a diff ferent strength of current.
 The result is that the dealer, when l he sees fit, can set the magnets for the color desired. That is, if the players has his money on the red. | the magnets will cause the ball to tali in one of the black pockets, and vice versa This makes it certain | that the ball will roll into one of eight pockets
 Even the bolts and screws that hold ! the apparatus together have their uses in controlling the wheel, while | away at the end of the table is a de | vice by which even casual onlooker presumably, could influence the move | ments of the machine.