The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1910-05-12
OLD GAMBL|NCCLUB
Famous Resorts of the Betting
Fraternity In London.
THE WAY FOX WAS TRICKED.


In America such thing as a propri-
etary club owned and managed by one
man is almost unknown. In London it
| is the usual thing, and almost all the
| medium sized clubs which are devoted
| to some special purpose. such as card
playing. are proprietary.
In the old days this was a money
| making enterprise, and some immense
fortunes were piled up by the proprie
| tors of London card clubs. But now
whenever club shows signs of I'M
usual prosperity the members get to-
| gether and insist on forming some sort
| of governing body which shall have
power to pass upon the proposals for
| membership. They also see to it that
the proprietor spends proper proper
ton of his profits on the comfort OF
the members instead of putting every
thing in his pocket.
| The fashions in the card clubs con-
tinually change with the years and
with the games that are the rage. A
| century ago it was against the rules
in many of the best clubs to play
| cards before dinner, whereas nova
days the principal play rs between
| the hours of 4 and Z. The income of
| the proprietor today is from the an
nual subscriptions and from the fixed
fees for card money. In the old days
the largest source of revenue was
from the counters picked up from the
floor after the game was over.
| George Raggett, the owner of
| Whites, one of the most famous gam
bling clubs in the world, situated on
ST. James street, made it his rule to
attend to his guests in person when
ever exceptionally high play was in
progress. knowing that be would be
well repaid for his time. Upon one
occasion, after picking up counters to
the value of nearly $1,000 from the
floor, he received a gift of almost as
much from Harvey Combe. who had
been playing from Monday evening
until II o'clock on Wednesday morn
ing. Sir John Malcolm, Tippoo Smith
and Ward. the member of parliament
for London. being the other players at
the table.
Some of the proprietary clubs adopt
ed curious rules to attract and keep
their customers. One of the chief diff
ficulties then, as now, was to insure a
game from any one that might happen
to drop in at odd hours. One of these.
nicknamed the Nerve Ending club. had
a bylaw that no player should omit a
table until a fresh arrival was ready
to take his place.
One very popular feature was to pro-
vide light silzen curtains which could
be drawn between the faces Of the
players so as to conceal from an adj
versary any unguarded expression of
disappointment or of triumph upon
picking up hand or following the
course of play.
1t was at this club that Fox lost a
large sum of money to Lord Barry
more, who took advantage of the con
cealment of his own face to study the
reflection of Fox's cards in the large
polished steel buttons which he wore
upon his coat.
Piccadilly was Walters club, which
Byron records was superb club in
1915. Beau Brummel played here reg
ularly for ten or twelve years, but the
club eventually fell into diSrepute
through the want of proper supervi-
sion Of the admissions to membership.
Swinburne says in his Courts Of
Europe" that it was in this club that a
player upon seeing the witty Lord
Alvanley enter the room and, dreading
his satirical tongue, laid down his
cards and pulled out pair Of pistols,
which he laid on the table beside him.
The only comment of Alvanley was:
II hope you don't expect your ad-
versary to follow suit?'
Every visitor to London who has
passed down Piccadilly has probably
remarked the imposing home of the
Devonshire club at the southwest cor
ner of St. James street. Within this
building the highest gambling in the
world has probably taken place, the
sums won and lost at Monte Carlo be-
ing nothing to those that changed
hands here The entrance was origi-
nally from the Piccadilly side, and
many changes have been made in the
interior arrangements, but some of the
gilt chairs that were used by the high
rollers of seventy years ago are still
preserved in the clubrooms.
The proprietor of this club was orig
inally small fishmonger named Will
liam Crockford, who had shop near
Temple Bar. His first venture in club
proprietorship was to take Walters
old house, where hazard, the Ameri-
can game of craps, was the chief at
traction. In this he had partner
named Taylor, and they both made
money, but at the end of a year they
separated, and Crockford went to ST..
James street, where he prospered so
well that he instructed the Wyatts to
prepare plans for new building.
This was opened in 1927, and, al
though it was proprietary club,
Crockford was shrewd enough to in
vest a committee with the right Of
election to membership, a move to
which many persons attribute his i'm
mense success Among the first of the
names presented was that Of the Duke
of Wellington. and almost every man
Of note in England was either a men,
Der or guest at some time or other
Chicago Record Herald.
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