The sun., 1908-09-13
ANOTHER SIDE TO NEWPORT
LAWN TENNIS PLAYERS ,FDLtNn,
LOTS GOING on. Il
Free Meals for the Speculator-A Poltep
Game With q SLIDING Scale, Limit
How the Tennis Dance Was Made
Honieiike - A Calm IA. .9Ierrymakera


Homelike = A, Cain, 0, ,jIeFEypmakfFs
Some of the lawn tennis players who
went down to Newport for the national :
lawn tennis tournament found out LOT 5
of things about that place which perhaps
were doubly interesting to them because
they discovered them for the first time.
One player making his first visit said.
when he got back to New York: eu1-
Newport is the widest open place IN
the world. There's big gambling house
there that is going top speed all the times
with all the big fellows and some OF the
little ones playing the game. ,..s:
'0ne OF the bunch thought he had hie
on q fine scheme for getting his food
pretty much free all the time he was
there. He saw right away that they had
dinner tables there where any one who
came in to play could sit down and eatS
Everything free.
Amy sort OF stuff you wanted TO drinh
and anything you wanted to eat was, %,
be had for the asking. The only thing
that cost money In the place was the
gambling. He figured out that IL he went
In there the first night and dropped @
little money gambling no would have the
entree for the rest Of the time he was In
Newport and would be able to eat free
as long as he wanted, $50
For those who get cleaned out in the BIG
game at Newport thern ie sapother lees
expensive place. ,Thiss A rather res:
markable resort called the hndergaft
It Is place to which the servants and
working men about the esoettages 80.
The chips there are 8 cents each and
the limit in the plunging line ia 10 cents.
The wheel spins In q correct lmitatjon
of the other one, but is different inS this
respect--that the person who plays there
is very apt to lose out when no gets about
enough ahead Of the game. There is
perhaps something queer Z, about tbe.s
wheel. One Of the tennis playing S6d-
tingent went In one night just for fun
and won $25, thereby about putting the
place out Of business.
The meals the lawn tennis players had
served to them at the Casino we're pretty
expensive affairs, IL the prices were
counted by the card. But the. manager
Of the Casino after the players had been
there few days made fiat rate OF so.
cents person for food. Five OF the.
players went in one evening and had .
meal that figured up $3.50 for the party.
They paid $3.50 for what they ate and
after that there wasn't any question OF
going to the gambling place for food.
The lawn tennis players had a chance
to see some mighty spirited poker play
ing at Newport. One man came back to
tell Of a game that started one. rainy
afternoon. 1t began just as SIS limit, and
in the course Of the afternoon that was
doubled.
By the evening 1t got up to $40 and
stuck there for good part OF the night.
morning and wound up at $50 more than
twenty-four hours after the game was
begun.
One or two Of the players got up from
the table with sums that small gamblers
might consider worth while having. But
this was a mere trife to the men who
won 1t.
There is one thing that does provoke
betting and that is the lawn tennis totIrna-
ment itself The Newport folks appear
to keep a pretty good line on the per-
formances Of the players, and Of course
| In the tournament are some men whose
abilities are well known.
Hardly any match is too small for the
players not to provoke some wagering, !.
and on the bigger ones great deal OF
money is bet. When F. B, Alexander
defeated w. j. Clother In the totIrna-
Newport contingent was pretty well,
CIothier has a place at Jamestown.
across the way from Newport, and fs
known in the resort. Furthermore he
defeated Alexander two years ago. and
exciting match, none the less 50 perhaps
because Of the betting. IL has been said
that one reason why the Newport tourna-
ment is so deficient in linesmen and ref
erees for the matches is that about every
one around has bet on the big matches
and so Is debarred by bias from acting
as an official. - o." o''''
Even the smaller players when they
get to Newport get the betting fever
and make wagers on the result OF their
an early match against player who had
beaten him before. This man and some
of his friends managed to get a good,
deal OF money down on him and then hefr
went in and reversed the earlier result.
That made the stay at Newport rather,
expensive for the beaten man.
As lawn tennis is q "gentieman's game.
betting is not supposed to affect II as
wagers on foot races affected that sport
In England and In this country. There.
isn't any chance Of man in q national
tournament throwing any matches for
are after the title, and most Of them would
spend all they could get to win the cham
pionship.
AT every Newport tournament there
is social fixture, in the line Of a dance.
This tennis ball, as 1t is called punnjngiy.
Is supposed to be for the particular benefit
Of the visiting players. Supposed to be-,
but IL is not always. 'F ''.'i H''' Y
For instance. this year some Of the less
well known young men attended the.
dance and had about as miserable a time
as any human beings could. They weren't
acquainted and there wasn't any one
to Introduce them, 80 they stood around
and watched for a while and then went
away to take drink. -" :. 20
One man was telling about a sight he
saw down at Newport. One young man
at the tennis dance was seized with one
Of those inspirations Of drollery that
affect the best families occasionally and
took two quart bottles Of champagne and
inserted one bottle ineeaoh jhips poolfet. 4.
Then he etrolled calmly. away and soon 2
sumed the champagne at his greater
leisure somewhere else.
This same young man was the hero OF
an adventure. He was on his way OUT
to dance at one of thel big tbouseseand'
as he isn't very we'll provided with this
worlds or any. other woIld' 81 goods ihs.,
decided to hire bicycle. .,,.,.,. nv 4
So he endued himself with his dressp
clothing, tucking the tails OF his dress
coat into his hip pockets. and set OF for
the dance pedalling away merrily with