Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1910-03-28
OLDGAMBL|NCCLUBS
Famous Resorts Of the Betting
Fraternity In London.
THE WAY FOX WAS TRlcKED.
\ Scheme That Allowed Him to 30
Cheated by LORD 6arrymore-Wa.
tiers, Commended by Lord Byron
and Patronized by Beau BrummeI.

ano ratronizeo by Beau Brummel.
In America such thing as a propr
etary club owned and managed by on
man is almost unknown. In London
Is the usual thing, and almost all tn
medium sized clubs which are devote,
TO some special purpose. such as car,
playing. are proprietary.
In the old days this was none,
making enterprise, and some immens'
fortunes were piled up by the proprie
tors of London card clubs. But nov
whenever club shows signs Of un
usual prosperity the members get to
gether and insist on forming some sor
Of governing body which shall have
power to pass upon the proposals fol
membership. They also see to 1t that
the proprietor spends a 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 1t was against the rules
In many Of the best clubs to play
cards before dinner, whereas nova.
days the principal play Is between
the hours Of 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 1t his rule to
attend to his guests in person when
ever exceptionally high play was in
progress. knowing that he would be
well repaid for his time. Upon one
occasion, after picking up counters to
the value of nearly $1,000 from the
hoor, he received 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
hculties 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
bylaw that no player should quit a
table until fresh arrival was ready
to take his place.
One very popular feature was to pro-
vide light silken curtains which could
be drawn between the faces of the
players so as to conceal from an ad-
versary any upguarded 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-
fealment Of his own face to study the
reflection of FoX's cards in the large
polished steel buttons which he wore
upon his coat.
At the corner of Bolton street and
Piccadilly was Walters club, which
Byron records was superb club" in
1915. Beau Brummel played here reg
llarly 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 1t was in this club that a
player upon seeing the witty Lord
Alvanley enter the room and, dreading
MS satirica tongue. laid down his
ards and pulled out pair of pistols,
which he laid on the table beside him.
rhe only comment Of Alvanley was:
IL hope you don't expect your ad-
'ersary to follow sult?"
Every visitor TO London who has
passed down Piccadilly has probably
the imposing home of the
)evonshire club at the southwest cor
Ter Of St James street. Within this
building the highest gambling in the
world has probably taken place. the
ums won and lost at Monte Carlo be-
ng nothing to those that changed
lands here The entrance was origi-
lally from the Piccadilly side. and
many changes have been made in the
Interior arrangements, but some of the
tilt chairs that were used by the high
oilers Of seventy years ago are still
reserved In the clubrooms
The proprietor of this club was orig
nally small fishmonger named Will
lam Crockford, who had a shop near
temple Bar His first venture In club
was to take Walters
Id house. where hazard, the Ameri-
an game of craps. was the chief at J
raction. In this he had a partner !
AIMED Taylor, and they both made
money, but at the end of year they
eparated. and Crockford went to st.
ames' street, where he prospered so
vell that he instructed the Wyatts to
repare plans for a new building.
This was opened In 1927, and, al.
Tough it was proprietary club,
rockford was shrewd enough to in
est committee with the right Of {
ection to membership. a move to d
hich many persons attribute his i'm
anSa st,roooS Au,opu Tho fret ~ fhr