Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1915-03-24
CHAMELEON WEATHER
New Way to Woo the F'iCMe
Goddess CT Chance.
It's Description Sounds Like Long Dis
tance Keno Game, in Which Player
Is "Goose" and Pool Men
Sure Winners.

Albany, N. 1.-1W0nJy-CuT0S uuh'
dred dollars profit a day on the wealth
er sounds like easy money. That is
the rakeoff said to be made daily by a
syndicate operating from Albany,
which makes pools on the weather.
This concern sells an average of TO-
900 tickets each day, pays out 800 in
prizes and pockets the balance-$2,3 300.
Gambling on the weather has be-
come an institution throughout a great
part of the United States. Everybody
knows that the weather over this
broad country is uncertain and that
to bet on it is a real gamble. Yet at
least two syndicates in New York state
are making a profit out of weather
pools. The syndicate here is operated
by the same gentlemen who give the
public a chance to bet on baseball
games in summer. The syndicate is
usually on the sunny side of Easy
street, no matter what the tempera-
ture, which usually is zero for the bet
tors.
In the weather pool, the system is
much the same as in the baseball pool.
The English Lloyd's has long been
betting on the v-eatner, in a sense. If
rain on a certain day would mean a
financial loss, Lloyds for a small
premium, will insure against rain on
that day. But those weather pools are
entirely new; only those who buy
tickets in them and the syndicates'
numerous agents are supposed to know
of their existence, but it is possible
that the police of certain cities know.
Those who buy tickets do so blind
ly. In the 15-cent pool there is hand
ed or sent to player sealed en-
velope containing a card on which are
the names of four cities from list
covering the principal points in the
United States.
The weather gambler must take the
ticket sent to him in the sealed en-
velope On it he writes his guess as
to what the temperature will be the
next day in the four cities the names
of which it bears.
First prize goes to him whose four
Correct guesses form the highest sum
total in a given pool. Reports of the
weather bureau at Washington decide
the pools.
The first prize given by the Albany
syndicate is $50; the second prize
SIS, taird $50, fourth $45, fifth $40,
sixth $50, seventh $50, eighth SIS. AS
in the baseball pools, there are
"booby" prizes for those whose
guesses are farthest from the correct
total. These are: First prize, $50;
second, $50; third, $50. There are also
20 special prizes of So each, and 20 of
$3.50. These the players win whether
their guesses are high or low. "Spe-
cial prize" and the amount is written
on the back of 40 tickets, probably to
create the impression that even the
syndicate does not know what ticket
sealed envelope contains. But there
is strong suspicion that the pool
makers know very well. The players
cannot be certain that the pools are
conducted honestly.
A 25-cent pool has it's Office at a
point in the Susquehanna valley. In
its wheedling literature this syndicate
explains:
"The combination that a patron
wishes to play is selected as follows:
He picks any six different numbers,
1 to 80, inclusive. These numbers will
represent six different cities, one for
each day of the (following) week,
starting with Sunday. At the time
;aI~ ei~ ho
does not know, nor do we know, what
cities they will represent. Each Sat
urday a drawing is made to determine
what the number of each city shall be
for the following week, and the result
of this drawing is Immediately sent to
agents, along with the list of winners
for the previous week"