The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1907-10-19
HUNGARlAN'S BIG WINNING
MADE RICHER BY $4,000 At AN
HOUR AND A HALF SITTING.
He Loses $4,000 at Another Play, but
Recoups Himself in the End-Rus-
sian NobIeman Drops 100000 in a
Single Night at Gard Table.

1t was recently reported in a Rus
sian newspaper that the car had
cashiered a young officer of the i'm
perial guards for having played cards
for such high stakes that he won 3d.
900 rubles (e10,000) in rather less
than an hour, his adversaries being
two famous gamblers. Doubtless his
imperial majesty considered that such
a reckless young man could not be
reliable guardian of his person and
very probably, also, he thought it a
lifting opportunity to put veto on
what constitutes one of the worst
vices OF the Russian aristocracy. But
if his majesty imagined that this ex-
press rate of gambling constituted
record he was very much mistaken,
for it fell far below many feats which
gamblers have accomplished.
M. Jrsth, a Hungarian nobleman Of
great wealth, holds the worlds record
for winning fortunes at cards, and he
has on three or four occasions ex-
ceeded the rate of 10000 an hour.
A few years back, for instance, M.
Justh, whose name is almost syn
onym or luck among his acquaint-
ances, Won trifle less than G100,-
600 during an hour and half's play
at the national casino at Buda-Pesth,
and this was at the rate exceeding
fortune Count Michael Karoly lost
more than half, the other portion be-
ing won by M. Justh from two other
players.
Another Heavy Winning.
On another occasion the same lucky
gambler, whose honorable play is, by
the way, absolutely beyond suspicion,
sat down to the card table and lost
nearly $4,000 without winning a
cent, but at that point the game
turned in his favor so completely that
he rose from the table some &14,000
richer than when he had started play.
Thus in an evening he lost $4,000
and won G22.000.
Russians are perhaps the greatest
gamblers of this generation. 1t was
another Russian nobleman, Count Po-
tocki, who startled Europe few years
ago by losing 100000 in single
evening at cards-the largest amount,
It is believed, ever lost at a card table
by single individual; and the whole
of this great fortune was won from
the count by two men in little less
than four hours.
The game played was baccarat, and
the scene of this remarkable contest
was the Jockey club at Vienna, which
has witnessed the ruin of some of the
richest and most reckless gamblers Of
modern times, for Austrians rank on
ly second to Russians in the love Of
gambling. To this club go the most
daring card players of the wealthy
aristocracy of Europe, attracted by
the high play which is the rule there.
1t is said that on the particular occa-
sion when Count Potocki lost $780,
900 he was only concluding a series
of games which had already cost him
100000 before he sat down on the
eventful evening:
High Play in London.
Extremely high play has, happily,
gone out of fashion in London, and
even the opportunities afforded by the
popularity Of bridge has not effected
revival of gambling on the scale
that was common enough when
Whites club was the scene of so
many games of cards on which for
tunes hung. But occasionally even
nowadays very large sum sof money
are lost and won in the cardrooms of
London's great clubs and mansions;
and it is but a little while ago that
certain young man lost $4,000 in
an evening at bridge, playing with
women; while it is reported that a
young guardsman sent in his papers
some weeks ago at the suggestion OF
the war Office. because it had become
known to his commanding officer that
he had lost 21I000 in two evenings
| play at well known club where high
play is not the rule.