Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-06-12
Lotteries
Flourish Near
Golden Gate
Tickets Indicate
Gambling Popular
BY DAMON RUNYoN

of the speculative spirit exist
ing among its citizens that is
being submitted to me by my
readers there.
] have before me slips indi-
eating that the numbers game
fiourishes in the vicinity of the
Golden Gate and that Chinese
lottery prevails, though to what
extent in dollars and cents, I
am, OF course, unable to state.
The numbers game wherever 1t
operates is always a cheap
proposition, though the aggre-
gate handle in a city the size
of San Francisco could be large.
IT was vastly overestimated
In New York. in my opinion,
when il was in the newspaper
headlines through the Hines
trial. Tom Dewey was inclined
to depict 1t in enormous sums
when he was prosecuting the
political leader and he may have
been right though it seemed to
me that actual proof disclosed
the gross operation per year as
considerably less than the mil
lions the headlines suggested.
The numbers game Is strictly
a Understandings thing which
In New York had its greatest
vogue in Harlem and II takes
lot of small change like that to
make up a million. / speak of
the operation in the past tense
although ! am told that II still
goes on throughout the big
town. There is Always some one
around willing to take a chance
to snare a wrong dollar.
THE very cheapest form Of
Il the numbers game anywhere
Is the boleta of Miami and other
Southern citoes, which is con-
fined largely to the colored
population. The drawing is
simple matter, q small cotton
cloth sack of numbered wooden
pellets being tossed from hand
to hand among a crowd until at
the command Hold it," the per-
son then In possession Of the
sack clutches one pellet, which
is then cut out, cloth and all,
and is the winning number.
Oddly enough, there seems
less chance of chicanery in a
boleta throwing" than in any
other form of the numbers
game, although / would not
vouch for the honesty of any
racket of this nature. II has
been my observation that the
best any player of an illegal en-
terprise can hope to get Is the
worst OF IL. The very illegality
argues against a square rattle
for the player.
THE Chinese lottery of San
u Francisco seems, TO be
somehow based on the days of
the month. The slips before me
are in English and Chinese
with certain calendar numerals
punched out, and i assume these
were the winning numbers.
However, there is nothing on
the slips to inform me as to the
method of operation, though the
prizes seem to be $4,000 and
$50, 900. and / gather that the
drawing is monthly.
I imagine that the documents
that are quite mysterious to me
would be as clear as crystal to
any citizen of San Francisco
who plays the Chinese lottery,
and the printing in two Ian
guages suggests that the lottery
Is not limited to just the chill
dren of the Flowery Kingdom.
AS for the San Francisco num-
bers game. which appears to be
apportioned TO units called
Clubs" one CLUB" declares a
membership Of 40,569.
THIS CLUB" announces that it
Il is positively not connected
with any other Club" which
leads to the inference tn a I
the operation goes beyond the
membership stated. The slip
at hand publishes winners as
of May Is, .1942. with the next
event" for June 8.
II speaks of numbers drawn
but not sold% so I judge the
game is operated with an
angle somewhat different from
the New York dodge which once
employed the clearing house
numbers as published in the
newspapers and pari-mutuels'
payoffs to determine its winner.
The biggest prizes in the San
Francisco drawing of May Is
were apparently 5000, $4,000,
$1,000, $1,000. $1,000. and $500.
The addresses of the lucky
parties are given.
Then there is a list of several
hundred others, without adj
dresses who also seem to have
been winners of something.
though just what is not stated,
and here am still having diff
ficulty mastering support for
my federal lottery idea.
Copyright. 1912, by King Features
Distributed by International News SERVES