The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1920-02-04
Wealthy New Yorker Said to
Have Cleaned Up an I'm
mense Sum
PLAYED WITH MARKED CARDS
Victims Finally "aot WISE" and
Evened Things Up Slightly BY A.
ministerlng a Beating After Ex-
posing His Game.


Broadway has been f1eeced out Of
$350,OOO by a wealthy manufacturer
with a deck of marked cards, whom
they admitted to their private games.
He was finally detected and thrown
out Of the house Of the "a who
caught him. The World prints the
story, calling the feecer Mr.. Trimmer
and the other man MI. Screen. It as
serts It has their real names.
For a considerable time a group Of
twelve or fourteen men, all Of ample
means, have been playing stud poker.
The Wealthy victims.
There were Mr.. Screen, a big picture
promoter and the husband Of n Of
the prettiest and most talented stars;
Mr.. Flickers, of equal rank in cellu-
loid productions; MI. Circuit, who
owns a flock Of theaters; Mr.. Ragg,
who receives immense royalties from
his song compositions, and others quite
as well known in their respective
fields.
Last summer, at Far ROckaway and
Arverne, their ranks were augmented
by Mr.. Trimmer. He Is q manufac-
turer on an immense scale Of a certain
article Of women's wear, and is gen.
orally known as a millionaire.
They Thought It Was Luck.
Mr. Trimmer's "uncanny LUCK" a6
the other players called it, was notice
able from the very start. In one SEES
sion, for instance, which began on
a Saturday night and continued into
Sunday, he cleaned up more than $780,
600.
The daring Of Mr.. Trimmer's play
was what interested the others more
than anything else. He would make
bets against seemingly impossible
odds-and win them.
Mr.. Trimmer always knew what the
other fellows secret card was, when
he was the dealer, and he always won,
Also he always knew, when he held
the deck, what card his opponent
would get next, and what card he
(1,rimmer) vas going to get next, fol-
his cards were what is known to gam
blers as readers"
A Transparent Mystery.
The design on the back Of them
which meant nothing to, others-tolt
him exactly what denomination eact
pasteb0ard was.
At last, suspicion intruded, and one
Of the other men at a party which
Trimmer had arranged pocketed Z
deck of Trimmer's cards. and tool
them to a professional gambler for ex
animation.
They're readers" said the profes
sional. At the corner of each card, OF
the back, was a design composed Of
four feur-de-lis-the three leafet
flower of France.
II the right hand petal Of the flower
at the upper right hand Of the grou]
was heavily shaded the card was al
e II the center petal Of that par
ticular flower was accumulated, 1t wa
a king II the shading was on the lef
hand petal 1t was a queen.
Even Deuce ls Protected.
There lei four flowers, each witt
three petals. The shadings, therefore
stood for 10 different cards, accordin,
to where they were placed, these card.
ranging down from the ace, to tn,
deuce. II no petal was shaded til,
card was the deuce.
An exposure was planned a
~ SornnnsS hnuSn Thoro u,oro oinh
players. Trimmer, on q few hands 81
square cards, lost $3.50. Then hi
produced a deck Of his sort. AS sool
as Screen saw the marked cards b,
exposed the cheat to his guests AMI
proceeded to beat Trimmer up. winding
upaby throwing him out Of the house.