The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1922-07-18

made the visitors gasp. There $50 men
stood virtually silent about tables up.
on which were stacked thousands OF
dollars in piles of bills, some OF them
foot high. The only audible sounds
were the skipping of the dice over the
green cloths, the light chatter OF rou-
lette chips, the 'stush' table and the
colorless voices of game callers.
Bets Reach Thousands.
Four bankers, or "bookies," as they
are called here, stood about each OF
the two huge crap tables In front OF
each were thousands OF dollars IN bills.
| All of the players and bankers were
white, while the guards and lookouts
seemed to resemble giant Egyptian
slaves.
A floor manager made room for the
visitors at one Of the crap tables. 10
make a bet you had only to put your
money on the table. 1t was understood
without the necessity OF a word, that
YOU were betting with the man throw
ing the dice. The banker at your end
OF the table, as were the others, was
betting against the man then holding
the dice and covering all bets. A mu-
latto, who possibly had seen things in
the movies, wore a green eyeShade
cooked at rakish angle. His Job was
to read the dice aloud and reach tor
them with a rapier.
Stretched across the cloth was a
string Each dice thrower had to toss
across this to set the cubes spinning.
When, by accident, the string was not
crossed it was mo dice The string
to cause the dice to spin was to pre-
vent cheating.
Minimum Bet Is 81.
The only ante to the house was a
nickel made by each player as he took
the dice. The big revenue comes from
the commission on the winnings paid
, in to the owners by the ',bookies," the
privilege of betting against the dice
thrower and other players being let
out" as a concession to a number OF
professional gamblers.
Chance seems to be paying a debt
OF conscience. A taxi driver let his
money stay on the board, while it
doubled and quadrupled Occasionally
he would pull down" a stack OF bills
lust before the caller would stretch
out the rapier and say "Seven out. y
A well-dressed man with a substantial
bank roll was losing. Bets of hun
dreds were being made on each shot
| by other players who were ahead. The
minimum bet allowed on the table
was two dollars.
The taxi drivers pile began to as
sumo large proportions. He risked it
time and again against the house. With
his hat and coat off, perspiring with
excitement, he suddenly quit 81 won
| FIVE grand" he said to a friend The
bankers seemed to think this nothing
unusual and spoke no word to him.
Loses $4,000 in Few Nights.
Zone fan who has been attracted to
! the scene every night for the last two
weeks told the visitors that the house
! had been taken to the tune Of $780,
| 600 within the last few nights Their
luck is just turning and they are be-
ginning to get it back, he said One
of the bankers Richie Young, well
known south side gambler, made re-
peated trips to the vaults when the
tables began to spin against the house
| The tremendous business which has
been attracted to the big game" is
said to have caused the syndicate Of
politicians and gamblers to concen.
trate their attention and resources al
most exclusively to it, with the result
that, oldtimers say, it has everything
on the west and south sides pusheC
out of the running.