Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-03

the patrons Of county fairs, Whrl within
earshot Of the roulette tables.
In the IS bars lining both sides of the
mass street one may drink and gamble only
between dances. and if man is accom-
panying no one he may have for partner
any one of hundreds of bieary-eyed hoStesses.
Walters glide about. balancing jugs of foaming
and potent beer with the fineSSe of jugglers,
and piano players cigarettes dangling from
their lips, sit Imply in their chairs, occa-
sienally running the tune with one hand while
they take a swig from the pitcher at their
side. OFF the back streets are rows OF cabins
inhabited by files de joie, surely an eyeful for
the Summing Middle westerner who wishes to
know If such things really true.
Out Tia Juana does not hold the tourist.
You see them about it is true-ladies above
middle age, with small round hats pinned onto
buttresses Of hair, their pocketbooks firmly in
one hand, seemingly timid and frightened, VINO
approach the slot machines and take their
chance. But the nervousness of Tia Juana the
blubbering DRINKS, the vulgar mouthings Of the
unwashed, repel them-repel them to Aqua
Calente.
Aqua Caliente is not raucous. Indeed, 1t tries
to be fashionable, TO cater only to those TO
whom slot machines are vulgar. There Is a
feeling Of safety inside its bounds, q certainty
that no unshaven laborer will approach and ask
too, is the lure of the celebrity. The motion
picture stars do not stop at Tia Juana-not
since Aqua Calente, scant two miles away,
was built; and there is always the chance OF
seeing q few of these demi-gods in the flesh,
even. perhaps, being their natural selves.
There is an aura of responsibility about Aqua
Calente: there are no signboards, no gimcracks,
no GOV dancers, and, If you will notice, men are
not allowed to enter the casino without jackets;
the shirt-sleeyed must remain in Tia Juana.
No signs point the way to the casino. 1t Is
an unobtrusive part Of the landscape, and one
must inquire of servant. done up in Spanish
velvet trousers and belted with wide scarlet
sash. 1t is all very decorous and reassuring.
Inside the main gambling room it is, for the
most part, quiet and sedate No credentials are
required; any one may enter-provided, OF
course that the men are coated This Is rather
startling 10 Americans who have experienced
the difficulty of entering such places In Miami
Beach; Il is surprising even to those who have
paid the nominal admittance fee ct Monte
Carlo.
Except for the dice tables, all the games are
well conducted. The gamekeepers speak In low
tones; the cToupiers operate with the downcast
eyes proper to q man taking your money. The
players, too, are well hammered, and when one
who has had too much drink becomes o bit out
spoken the tables are closed to him. But ut
the dice tables-and incidentally, Aqua Caliente
is the only gambling house Of pretentions
which accommodates the followers Of the gal
looping cubes-the players intone the age-old
htany Of craps. 1t is customary to hear men
addressing the dice: Come sevenl" Fighter
from Decaturl" but it is quite surprising TO
hear these hobo enunciations crackle out of the
Threats Of women in decollette, of Illinois
schoolma'am and the heads Of ladies' aid
societies.
Many of the spaces at the roulette tables
occupied by men and women TO whom the play,
obviously, is new. They stand for as long as
deTstand. Occasionally you notice the lady be-
hind you put her dollar down on a mark and