The New York herald., 1922-03-19
by MAY BIRKHEAD.

MONTE CARLO, March 2.
T HE Riviera season has reached
ITS height only within the last
= week, and. according to the
figures from Monte Carlo, it compares
more favorably with last year than
was anticipated Last week the Of
ficial figures at the Casino had reached
41,275,000 francs. and on the same
date year ago they were 48,000,000
The actual number of persons gam
bling probably exceeds that of last
year, but the difference of more than
100000 francs in the winnings of
the house is due to the fact that there
have been few big games.
Yesterday there were 1900 visitors
standing in line waiting for cards of
entrance to the rooms, which would
prove that gamblers are more numer-
GUS than ever. but they do not play
for the high stakes The gaming
tables at all the casinos and clubs at
every point along the Riviera are en-
tirely surrounded night and day, and
relays of croupiers are calling out the
results and dividing the winnings i'm
perturbably and incessantly. regard
less of what the game may be.
Trente ct quarante and roulette con-
| tinue to be the favorite games at
Monte Carlo, though the baccarat tables
are not lost sight Of. especially If Mr..
Vagliaao, the wealthy Greek ship builder
Of Deauville fame, Is in evidence He Is
one of the habitues Of Monte Carlo, and
1t is only when he Is present that the
big baccarat room of the Sporting Club
is open. He always takes the bank, and
1t is only this one game that runs high,
comparatively speaking, but even then
it does not run into the millions, as 1t
did before the war or as it did in Deau-
vile two seasons ago. when Mr.. Vagli-
ano was one of the big players.
Tendency to Economic.
To the newcomer the gambling prob
ably seems high enough, but to the sea-
soned ones 1t is interesting to note that
the universal tendency to economic, in
these hard times. is reflected even in this
little world, where ordinarily all sense
of values seems lost. Despite the lack
of high stakes, there have been as many,
If not more. hard luck stories going the
rounds as Of old. Women have gam
bled away their jewels and their auto
mobiles. Only last week a French
woman, who is always present at the
gaming tables in Deauville in the sum-
mer and on the Riviera in the winter,
sold beautiful car to pay her debts.
She was heard to say that she was
trusting to luck that her Cuban sweet
heart would present her with another.
but he had had the same misfortune at
the tables. And it is easy enough to
pick UP an extraordinary bargain In fur
fo nn1
makes 1t a habit to get into converse
ton with the gamblers.
At the clubs of Nice, Cannes and
Mention baccarat only is played owing
to the fact that Monte Carlo has the
exclusive rights for roulette and trente
| ct quarante, and when baccarat is
played at Monte Carlo It Is only In the
Sporting Club and not in the Casino.
The baccarat rooms In the Nice casino
have been filed to overfiowing during
the carnaval week, but there. too. the
gambling has not been for such tremen-
dous stakes. One bank reacheA 200, 900
francs, but 1t was exceptional.
Americans Give Dinners.
The gala Saturday night dinners at
the Casino in Cannes usually draw the
baccarat players. as well as the dancers,
from all the other points on the Riviera.
Last Saturday night proved the record
maker when there were more than 900
diners. Among the Americans giving
dinners were Mr.. and Mrs. John r.
| Drexel, Mr.. William Hude Nelson, Mr..
and Mrs. Perry Belmont, Princess
Christopher Of Greece and her son and
daughtcr-in-law, Mr.. and Mrs. William
b. Leeds: Mr.. and Mrs. Spencer Eddy.
Mr.. and Mrs. Claus Spreckels, Miss
Maxine Elliott. Baronne de villiers du
TERRACE, who was Ruth King. The din
ner was exceptionally pretty. with the
women wearing the favors of the even
Ing, which were green and blue mousse
line de sole capes, which were made AID
distributed by Paul Poiret. The diners
were as much interested in seeing this
well known dressmaker turning waiter
by distributing favors in a resta urar I
as they were in the dinner itself.
The dinners at the Casino in Nice
during this last carnival week have been
even more of a success than those Mt
/ Cannes. There were more than 5000
persons present at the first redoute at
the Casino last Sunday night. The whole
building was decorated with g-een and
mandarin lights, which were the colors
OF the day. and every dancer wore cos
tunes made OF materials of the sarne
colors. The floor was a swaylng silken
mass OF color and II was ono OF the most
brilliant gatherings that has been seen
at Nice for many a day.
These nightly fetes and ball I'm Nice
to celebrate the carnival have been a
wonderful success ard next week II is
expected that the crowds will be even
greater. as further influx of English
visitors Is expected, now that the royal
wedding no longer will keep them in
London. Americans have perhaps not
been 20 numerous at the fetes as they
had been In previous years, but the few
who have been noted, even through th"ir
masks. are apparently enjoying the
picturesque scenes and entering into the
spirit of the carnival as II they were
natives of Nice. Mr.. Joseph Ritter of
New York and Paris was heard TO say
that he had not missed single ball or
fete during the entire carnival, he had
danced until five o'clock each morning
for the last week, had had a different
fancy dress costume every night. had
ridden on the floats, had danced with
the nicoise in the streets and had
thrown several hundred pounds Of con-
fetti and had enjoyed every minute OF T..
Miss DressIer Entertains.
Further evidence OF d big season has
been the number OF diners at Ciro's in
Monte Carlo for the last week. A thirty
years record was broken last night,
with 1I5 diners. and II Just happened
to be on the restaurants thlrtieth an
nversary. And all the other restau-
&c lAI 90