The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1933-11-01
-IM- s
MezO York
BY PAUL HARRISON

New York.-Accordin TO the
way the sure-thlng gentry put II,
New York 10 q town largely peo-
pied BY suckers and tin-horn gam
blers. And that isn't az outrageous
libel as you might suepect. A
little observation will convince even
an. amateur diagsostician that tho
gambling fevez, possibly aggravat-
ed by excitement ever better
times, is running high.
The epidemic isn't at all par
ticular wherN Il strikes. While a
clubman from his easy chair, tele-
phones his broker to buy 500
shares Of Caviar common, O porter
In the same establishment IL cali
ing his bookmaker to invest two
dollars in his Judgment of the
ed Just Too Bad in the fifth race
ut Empire City =. In certain
tastefuly appointed apartments
just Off Park and Fifth avenues,
evening.clad gentlemen attempt
| to guess the destinies of perverse
little white balls clicking around
In rouette wheels. Along Broad
way, meanwhile, operate "cap-.
pers" for other lairs OF Lady Luck.
'You want little action for your
money, brother? I know place
that's on the up-and-up. ! took
more'n two hunnert smackers outa
there last night, an I'm just on my
way back now
| ..
New ''Deal"--and Old
III the days Of checkepe6 vests
and handle.bar mustaches, the
sure-thing boys would tell with de-
light, and without qualm for the
technical principles involved, Of cer-
tain stars Of the profession who
could deal any hand they chose
with an innocent deck of cards;
and by dexterous manipulation
could roll, slide or spin any num-
Der OF an honest pair OF dice
It's a lost art now, though. Mod
ern gamblers are only the attend,
ants of q shyster robot. an i'm
placable scientific marvel which
shoots cards up sleeves and under
tables, causes dice to perform in
uncanny ways, and roulette balls
to dive into predetermined slots.
Hundreds Of such devices ara
manufactured and sold in New
lYork, and even advertised as CAD
gets with which you may "amuse
and astonish your friends"
|
For Charity's Sake ttr3
Gambling's In vogue at charity
carnivals these days, with chuck
a-luck and spindle devices spinning
dizzily for this or that worthy
cause, but with tho percentage no
less heavily in favor Of charity ;.
In the offices Of the downtown
betting commissioners, wagers are
being laid on everything from foot
ball games to the mayoralty con-
test. And the American branch Of
Lloyds will bet you, at alarmingly
low odds. that the next European
war will not break out within eigh-
teen months =.
Crap games flourish In dis.
reputable sidcstrcct dOOrwnys.
and from the ages OF some Of
The players You gather that
New York Nrchins must learn
to count almost before they
can talk go.
Five Winners In 100000 p'
Nearly every factory and Of
fee has a lottery-ticket agent
among It's employees, and just now
these earnest statesmen are remind
Ing their customers that five New
Workers. actually did win fortunes
ranging UP to $4,000 In all in
ternational sweepstakes the other
day. There were, Of course, moro
than 100000 New Workers who
bought tickets but didn't win any
thing. And several thousand 9TH
ers who bought counterfeit tickets
and couldn't possibly have won.
Ono of the unluckiost of sweep
stakes gamblers, though, was u
Brooklyn woman who was notified
last year that she had won $4,000.
Her picture got into the papers;
she had 81 proposals OF marriage;
and was Just planning trip
around the world when word came
that II was all mistake--she
hadn't won after all i. She didn't
tell the newspapers about that.
though. and since then her house