The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-03-12
In New York
By PAUL HARRISON

New York-Gotham's current re- form wave has not washed up, for public inspection, any of Broad ways better known gentry-of- chance. Nor is it likely to. At least one gambler, T hear, is parading the Main Stem with a thick sheaf of currency, offering attractive odds that he won't be- come involved with the police. ~ z
 Broadway gamblers, of course, are regarded with considerable tolerance by the midtown citizen ry. Nearly all of them are believed to be honest, according to their lights. They prey mostly on we'll to-do individuals who can afford to pay for their thrills. Several have been credited with healthy consciences, returning losses which might have left occasional victims in desperate plights.
 They are, in short, on somewhat of a level with the late Garfield, or the current Colonel Bradley of Palm Beach. Briadway's men of chance are colorful fellows, care ful to preserve their Robin Hood- ish traditions by ostentatious gifts Of century notes to broken down NNtO.S otto ChoiuS SlIlS WHOSe mothers have to go to Arizona for their health.
 Winning Ways.
 Nick the Greek is the best known favorite of fortune just now, mostly because he is suave and sleek and well-mannered, great fellow at the night clubs, and one of the Main Stems smoothest dancers. He also is a lavish distributor of $100 bills.
 Titanic Thompson runs more to the spectacular. with all manner of freak bets. Titanic would have been a devil in the Klondike; here he is limited to such sissy wagers as that the tenth woman to pass a given point on Forty-ninth street will be a blonde. He also Is an excellent golfer. but seems little ashamed of it, and doesn't bet much on his game. His chief de- light is wagering $5,Q00 that he can spit nearest a crack in the side- walk.
 Butch Towers (to look at him, you'd know he couldn't have been nicknamed anything but "Butch") used to be a vaudeville actor, and so is something or favorite with showfolk today. He still loves the profession and engages in numer- ous philanthropies among the ''at- liberty" troupers. Tn fact, he'd still be, an actor but for the fact that he'd have to lose so much valuable gambling time on stage.
 Downed By His Bettcrs.
 If etver 8 man lent credit to the gambling profession, Joe ("The Heat") Mastick did. Broadway is full of legends about him-about his daring and his honesty and all that. Won all sorts of crazy bets. he'd bet theat the fifth taxicab passing a certain corner would be a blue one, or would have a flat tire, or would carry three zeros in It's license number.
 Joe the Heat used to conduct quiet games at various places in rialto side streets, and never was accused of malpractice. Winners at his games were always conducted to the very doors of their homes by homes by @ couple of Joe's lieutenants, thus scotching all ugly suspicious of holdups by a game keepers hired thugs.
 Joe did very well indeed until he was taken up by some society people. Women found him fas- -cinating person, and men honest ly liked him.
 During weekend yachting party, the men asked Joe to sit in a poker game. He declined. They pleaded with him to be a sport, and he humiliated himself by saying that some of the gentlemen probably wouldn't want to play with e professional gambler. One of the guests. a wealthy, ugly-tem- pered politician. loudly branded Joe as a coward. So Joe sat in. He won hand after hand, and 8 great many of the politicians dollars. The latter, in a drunken fury, ac- cused Joe of cheating, Joe arose. white-faced, put all his money on the table, and went out on, deck.
 "That proves it!" howled the politician. And although the other men of the party apologized for the incident. Joe's career was over. For months thereafter he was harried by police, bounded like Q criminal. So he stopped gambling and financed a private investiga- ton of the politician. Caught him red-handed, too. in the theft of city tax funds.
 Joe retired to little place In the country, where he now plays ehAnkara with tha natives,
 t.