The Washington herald., 1911-06-01
GAMBLING IN PARIS.

hibited- Qs it?) Oflcialiy no gaming II
allowed, except in the casinos OK the
watering places (villes d'eaux), but"
That but is everything. There are
raids every, week or so on clubs N Paris
where baccarat is played. The furniture
is seized. several names are noted down.
the police take the "gagnotte." or CLUB
money. and the gambling has to move on
to other places. 1t does.
But take, for instance, Enghien, the
Monte Carlo Of Paris. It Is not very far
from the bouievards. A few minutes
walk to the Garde du Nord, or perhaps
short trip in a cab or in a taxicab II you
feel lazy. Then ten minutes by train.
which runs through to Bains
without a stop. Then a few minutes
walk along the Avenue du Casino, and
there you are.
Enghien is a watering place. not merely
a suburb of Paris There is fine lake;
there also is a spring f-oE: which trickles
water with a little iron in It, The ca
sino people are wealthy (all casino peo-
pie are), and 1t must be admitted that
gold has blinded the local authorities.
Hence, the Partisan can play at "boule
and any one who cares to pay 20 francs
for the privilege may become member
OF the "cercle prive.' where there is
baccarat There is no roulette and no
trente-et-quarante at Enghen. But, with
this exception. 1t is a small edition OF the
bank at Monte Carlo.
They are fine rooms. A neat little gar
den leads to them, and terrace looks
out on the lake. There is a capital res
taurant upstairs. with food of the best,
and high prices: there is cafe, there
Is an orchestra-nor too good an orches-
ira. for that would draw the would-be
gambler from the tables: there is thea
ter to which come the best plays from
Paris theaters, with Paris troupes and
moderate prices (Which are very rarely
paid for seats. Why should one pay for
seats in the Casino Theater when the
management is so generous with the
free list?
And as in Nice. Mentone, and other
Casino theaters, the entractes are long,
and during them the audience streams
into the boule or baccarat rooms. and
the cry of '.rien ne va plus is heard in
the land.
The Doule game is simplicity itself
There is a rounil tray riddled with large
and small holes, which are numbered
from l to 8. with a preponderance OF D
For n this game the takes the place
OF the Monte Carlo zero, and when the
india,rubber ball rolls into 1t. the bank
sweeps up the money on the even
chances.
dare say they play ION the square,
as far as any bank can play square with
preponderance of one figure and india.
rubber balls. But now as to the odds
tl,<
| winning number the bank pays you sever
times your stake Supposing that each
number has the same amount on II, say
a dollar, each time the ball is spun the
| bank must pocket two dollars In every
nine spins. This is clear, isn't It?
dollar each on nine numbers, or nint
dollars. Nine spins comes to ssl. The
| bank pays seven times the stake. or nint
times seven. which is s63. while IL pocket.
nine times 81, or 81 each spin.
Besides. there Is the aforesaid nimblt
| - to be reckoned with into the bar
| gain. But, que voulez vous,'' as one o.
the polite attendants said to me. Th'
rooms here are tres comfortable" and
| some one must win. nest ce pas" H'
omitted quite casually to add that thu
| bank must always win, but, OF course
that is a mere ''bagatelle."
| / know that this letter Is not goint
| to prevent any one from going to Enghier
who means to go. 1t is not a moral arti
Gle. and / confess that I. even I, onc'
have won there. but only once. at boule
But / also have lost. / freely say 50
but l have rarely heard others admit II
There is at least no pretense at hypocrisy
ANY French politician will tell you, whil
| looking you straight in the face, tina
gambling Is prohibited in the republic
| but not at the "villes d'eaux." And
mind you. Enghien a short ten minute
from Paris. Is not a suburb. but a viii
d'eau. For isn't there a lake. and ism
there a spring?
And after all. boule is merely an amuse
ment. The lowest stake is a franc, bu
the usual is francs, and you may stalk
20 francs Sure, boule is mere amuse
ment. I am witness to that myself. Fo
did not stand by and see, a man.
poorly dressed fellow, play twenty-fiv
times. He staked a 5-franc piece ono
or twice, saw these swept up and wipe
his forehead. "Tant pis," / heard hir
whisper. He then put down 2o-fran
piece each time that ball was spun, an
each time he lost. He got rid Of per
hans 1900 francs He then left the room
and went out into the sunshine with tn
CHASTITY look on his face which only to
often Is a prelude to poison or the ,pistc
and a few lines in the morning paper.
I wondered whether he had robbed nj
employer or where the money came from
Wonder what became Of him? He ceI
tainly gambled in grim earnest. Winnin
was all-important to him: any one coui
see that.
Still, boule merely is an amusemen
J Why should the authorities prevent 1t
And 1t is quite fair. Do you get that
Quite fair! OF course, there are odd
in the banks favor. but then the ban
does such a lot for Enghien. Why shoui
the authorities prevent the kindly fol
who give them water fetes and concert
and bring people down by every trail
from making little fortune every aftei
noon?
: And behind the rooms where the rut
Der ball spins every day in the summe
from o'clock until after midnight al
the baccarat rooms. But the authorize
, have nothing to say there. For this
the "cercle prive" 1t is Just a club. hR
other clubs. But there is difference
Because If you do not want to play oa'
: carat or chemin-d defer, which Is one
its varieties. in the cercle prlve. VIVA
olsa Gould Won do there?