The Washington times., 1914-01-27
AMERICANS P|KERS
At ROULETTE TABLE
Traveller Declares Russians
and AustrianS Are Real
Gamblers at Monte Carlo.

NEW YORK, Jan. 27.-Mark A. Ger
stel of San Francisco, who is one of the
directors of the Panama-Pacific ExDo-
sition, before departing for a Mediter-
Tanean trip, gave an unusual excuse
for an European trip in midwinter.
MY class has a reunion at Harvard
next summer, and don't want to miss
it, said Mr.. Gerstel. Il knew that if
l stayed in the West would never
come East after the warm weather had
set in, and so L decided it would be
pleasant to go to Harvard by way of
Algiers, Morocco, and Monte Carlo"
Mr.. Gerstel sailed from New York
about three wears age, having made up
his mind that he would live abroad as
| long as it suited hill. lie said at the
| back some time before that term eX-
pired.
Europe Gets Tiresome.
81 couldn't stand it any longer" said
Mr.. Gerstel yesterday in explanation.
Europe is all right for a time, but
things pail on you. An American over
there misses the chance of seeing bust
ness going on in a lively fashion. He
misses opportunities to talk over the
Politics of the day. There is nobody
else who is interested for the moment
in what Congress is going TO do next,
or what the governor of California is
going to do, or in just what city graft
is being investigated, and then You can
not learn anything about these things
in the papers over there. The newspa-
pers over there are hard to read. Even
when they discuss business it is diff
cult to follow them.
Monte Carlo 1 regard as one Of the
most interesting places on the other
side" said Mr.. Gerstel, in answer u q
question Il can get great deal of
enjoyment out of merely looking on:
The average American who goes over
there and drops $500 at roulette or
real players are the Russians and the
Austrians.
Russians Good Losers.
I have seen Russians sitting at the
tables losing 1000 francs at a clip
with no more emotion than if it had
been a nickel I noticed one man in
particular, whose custom was to place
a big pile of 1000 franc notes before
him, and handle them as If they were
so many small sheets of tissue paper.
When the time came 10 bet he would
take of as many layers as his thumb
happened TO touch beneath, and lay
them down. He would keep at this all
day.
"One day 1 saw his son come over
to him-a youngster. hardly grown.
Papa, 1 want some money he said.
The father simply handed him a
handful of the notes-Inind you, each
one represented S20O-without a word
and the youngster walked away with
the money in his hand. I followed him
TO another table. In five minutes the
fnoney-there must have been anywhere
from $500 TO 5000 of it-had disap-
peaTed.
No Successful System.
After studying the situation there
came to the conclusion that there
was no such thing as a successful 'sys-
tenn of beating the bank there. The
only persons that ever succeeded in
doing il were those who stopped play
ing after they had lost, and got away
from the place as quickly as they could.
And these were not always successful.
L met an American woman who
had succeeded IN taking $1,000 from
the bank. She decided that the only
put as great a distance between herself
and Monaco as possible. She went 10
MarseilIeS by the next train and caught
a steamer for Shanghai.
But even the fascination OF the
Orient was pOwerless against the at
traction of the glittering wheel with the
little ivory ball, and she was soon back.
When ] saw her last she had just lost
the $25UJ0 she had won on her other
visit, and anotIe- $1,000 besides"