Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-10

the wife replied, "Bue you see, GEAR, an ehooS
foolish people go in and gamble ana tnats
where the casino makes its money.
Refusing to enter the baccarat rooms after
lunch madame said she would wander around
the building for an hour. The story Is pfleI'
She lost $50 at boule, all Of which went TO the
house kitty. He lost $500 punting at cnemm-
de-fer-a goodly portion OF which went 70 Ihe
kitty When they compared notes later on tney
were convinced that running a gambling casino
was one of the most lucrative businesses IN the
world Which isn't so.
a Riviera casino is one of the most COM
Ylcated delicate mechaniSns on the contl-
nent Consider one famous establishment tnat
is now making a bid for fame. There are Oh
chefs in the kitchen. The cuisine Is one OF tne
best in France The service Is excellent. Inc
wines are moderately priced The dining room
seats 1000 Often the cooks alone outnumoer
the diners. And the season iaSIS ou' 0
five months.
The theater seats 800 and operates to all
tastes from movies" to the finest opera. three
imported orchestras supply the dance music IN
the afternoon The director and his associates
ORGANIZE charity balls, sponsor race meetings.
beauty contests automobile shows, carnivals
and what have you There is a private oe-
tectiye force second to none in the world
travel and information bureau. taxi COM
pany for the convenience OF late guests
school in which croupiers are trained
One other item Gamblers are of all ma
ti1HAIities Consequently the men who come
in contact with the public must be hngulstS-
English. German, italian and Spanish, at least.
That is rather difhcult because French law de-
nnands that 80 per cent of them be French
WITH that as a basis consider few figures.
w Last year there were 1855 casinos IN
France reporting gambling pronts TOT the year
az sic 900 OO0 This was decrease OF S5OOOOo
from the previous year. The report STATES Chas
Fra~a uanfta
vidiue YOU deduct So 600 900 national taxes ana
~ 600 600 municipal taxes and an indefinite
amount given yearly for charitable purposes.
In other words 1856 casinos netted less than
SIS 900 900 last year.
Both taxes run on progressive hres so lie
Touquet-Paris PLACE, leading the hst WIN
slightly more than 100000 kitty. paid more
taxes than the SO casinos that tailed the list
with total receipts Of 100000.
Two other tax items The state collected
$55O,0OO on the playing cards used by the
casinos and $750O00 on the entrance tickets.
Competition is terrific. One casino palo
$4,000 for weeks fashion show. Its rival
spent $22 900 to bring an opera cast from La
Scala Both ventures were marked down as
a total lost That is. the receipts from the
special opera provided just about enough 10
paySfhe regular overhead in the theater. while
the 500 600 came out of a special fund. How
many big money gamblers these special at
fractions drew Is a question that even the Oh
rectors are unable to answer.
The Monte Carlo Casino Of course does not
figure I'm the French report. Capitalized at
slightly more than 81 O00. 600, it pays annual
dividends of nearly $25O0, 900. Four hundred
thousand entrance cards were sold last year.
But since many of these were weekly, monthly
or yearly tickets, it Is estimated that 25OOO 900
people passed its doors The gamblers nave
their choice of thirty roulette tables, seven
trente-et-quarante tables and three baccarat
games The minimum play at roulette runs
from 20 cents to 81, with maximum OF $1,2SO
At Accent minimum table the bank opens
with about 5000 to back it. The a0-cent
minimum tables get $4,000 and the "a tables
get $4,000 In the Sporting Club the tables
start with $25 900. Now, when you figure that
100000 people bought tickets last year and
that some came back often enough to make the
total entrance number about 25,OOO0OO, ana
thak science demonstrates that roulette yields
a sweet little percentage on each turn of the
wheel it would seem that So, SOC, 900 is a small
dividend
To bear that out is the fact that hundred
tourists from q world cruise stopped in the
casino one day, spent an hour at the tables
and left SO 600. And the group OF hundred
was lost among the other hundreds
THAT'S the gambling story The business
story is different. The casino employs
28T6 persons, ranging from street sweepers to
nurses doctors. musicians actors, croupiers.
bankers, statisticians. Only $40 persons are
concerned with gambling. These scarcely count
in the expense list, because the croupiers
would 90 on strike Immediately if the manage
ment tried to put them on a wage scale. They
live royalty on tips.
But the rest of them get paid. And to pay
Raoul Gunsbourg, who directs the opera; Rene
Blum of the treater and Serge de Diaghilew OF
the ballet costs money The croupiers are ex-
pensive in q different way. The casino trains
cr0upiers at a special school and only tenth