The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1922-09-20
WOMEN PATRONIzE
BASEBALL POOLS
Of INTERNATIONAL
Gambling Operations Are Con-
Quoted Openly in Syracuse,
Rochester and Reading.
DECLINES IN BUFFALO
Toronto Pools Take 81 900 a
\, Week and Newark Spends
More.
Bg NEA Scrrice

BIZ NEA Scrrice
SYRACUSE, n Y, Sept ga
weekly harvest of many thousands Of
dollars in baseball pools Is taken out
of cities having clubs in the Interna-
tOnal League
LARGEST operations, conducted open
", are In Syracuse. Rochester and
Reading.
Women ara heavy patrons, especial
" IN Syracuse and ROchester-and in
Buffalo TO lesser extent Syracuse has
many women ''plungers-"
Buffalo for ten years OF more was
the most fertile field for baseball pools,
sales of tickets averaging $4,000 to
$500 daily, This has declined con-
siderably. other forms of gambling be-
ing more popular
Police Crusades Vain
Some 1900 people buy tickets reg
ularly in both Syracuse and Roches-
ter, spending from $500 to $4,000 a
week In each city. Reading baseball
pools run into the thousands Police
crusades have had little effect
Toronto pools take in about $1,000
y ~
Baltimore baseball pools are COM
parativeiy few, while Jersey City has
never played 10 much extent
Cities where baseball pools have de
cifned-Baitimore Newark, Toronto,
Jersey City and Buffalo-are noted
for popularity Of horse-racing betting.
The largest professional enterprises
are the Lyons pool, operated from
Albany: the Fort Erie pool, operated
strom Buffalo, and the West Utica
sbool. with headquarters IN Utica
The Lyons pool sdvertises weakly
prizes totaIling $4,000, the Fort Erie
pool SO, 900, and the West Utica pool
a smaller amount The latest Lyons
list states that it has paid a capital
prize OF s11,Tss.20 to one Billy
Kelly" but the circular fails to give
his address
All these pools operate IN numerous
cities through agents 1t is said the
Lyons pool sells s150,000 worth Of
tickets a week, and the Fort Erie
ESQ, 900 worth Syracuse and Eoches-
ter are profitable fields
Lyons tickets sell for 81 and TT.
Erie for 80 cents Hence, profits are
enormous, even after deducting sales
commissions and capital prizes The
lhief distributor IN a town gets AZ
eents on each So-cent ticket, and sub
AGENTS get cents
Women employees Of factories and
stores ara liberal patrons in these
eities, where small pools serve as
feeders Of the larger ones. Agents
lay a woman will often buy five tick
lts where a man viii buy one, es-
pecialIy after winning small prizes OF
80. SIS and s25 on a scent invest
nent.
The Lyons tickets are based on the
sumber Of runs scored daily in the
National and American Leagues. The
leans are numbered from one to six
seen. and each player draws six num-
ssrs blindly. Total runs count for
prizes on high score and low score,
and there are special prizes for mid
week and week end totals. The Ft.
|f-rie pool is the same except that
The drawing is not blind, and the In
bernational League and American AS
Tociation are used in addition to the
major leagues. making thirty-two
leans.
One man who admitted employing
twenty-five agents in Syracuse was ar
rested and fined $3.50. He said his
pwn commissions totaled 800 a week
and the pool operators guaranteed
the payment of all finest
Arrest Five at Rochester
Five were arrested in Rochester. one
being the general agent and another
> sub-agent. They We're held in $50
bail each-and jumped their bail.
Reading has five large pools, chief
pf which is the Pennsylvania Lottery.
with headquarters IN Philadelphia
operations Of which include pools on
baseball results and stock reports
Tickets are sold Ike bootleg liquor.
but Of the pockets OF cigar store clerks,
BARRIERS. walters and billiard room
clerks. Tickets. for 25 cents. include
teams in four leagues.