Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-27

Bookies Gripping
In Lost Outpost
BY MORRIS SIEGEL


LAS VEGAS, New. Mar 27-Raymond Floyd, the
nobody" who grabbed off the recent Pensacola Open and
with place in the Desert Inns $4,000 Tournament of
Champions next month"; ineligible to sample the principal
attraction of Las Vegas
At 20 the surprise Pensacola champ qualified to chal-
lenge the Undetermined golf course, but not the more
hazardous gambling facilities They require qualifying
round of at least 81 years.
Vegas is a heaven for the betting man. Let him name
the game and he get faded round the clock few
spots offer odds crossing the main street. the Las Vegas
Strip.
The latest rundown shows privately owned vehicles
Us favoite the pedestrian It's even money to be
tagged by a taxicab
Besides craps blackjack, poker slot machines and
keno Accommodations also include nearby Boulder Dam.
Here spectators who plunged too heavily trying to make
eight the hard way take the final plunge This is
complimentary convenience offered by thoughtful casino
operators aiming to please their guests.
However there survival odds The chance is
considered too one-sded for betting purposes the only
game in town off the boards.
HERE IN VEGAS as the world over in gambling
capitals the house has the customary homecourt advan
tage This edge includes stamp machines where players
must put up IS cents to win S0-cent special delivery
number making it 75 proposition The ODDS are 5-4 1or
eight-cent air mail stamps, which go for 10 cents.
Among those who not on the favorite side OF the
odds for change the ctys eight sports bookmakers,
who have another large grippe against the Government
The Feds, who deal themselves in on all wagers, are
gripping the bookmakng business by taking 10 per
cent tax bite. they say.
They are also keeping tourists away from Las Vegas
wall the bookies, who feel that gambling is Just as
important to the tourist trade here the White House.
the Capitol and the Washington Monument are to the
Nations Capital
HERE'S THE WAY the Government tax works. A bettor
wagering 500 event puts $1l0 to $780, the booieS
unique conception Of even-money proposition. The
book pays the Government 10 per cent of all gross bust
ness but not with his money He passes the $1 tax onto
the bettor who has wagered $21 his portion Of
"even-money" 500 wager.
why should guy who wants to bet horse, ball
game what have pay the Feds 10 cent in Vegas
when all he has to phone Los Angeles for buck and
get the bet tax ree? asks the sports analyst" at the
Santa Anita Turf and Sports Betting Parlor.
'They legazed betting in Nevada" he continued "but
the Government making 1t so tough might have to go
illegal Just to keep in business Several Of the books,
faced with competition from illegal out-ofState operation,
absorbing the tax Of their better customers.
"It cost me $4,000 year out Of my own pocket to
pay the Federal taxes for betor who refuse to pay he
moaned at amt fair, but how squawk? That's the
trouble with buying Of those $50 gambling stamps
of the threehour time difference, the books
open at 10 am Vegas time to accommodate clientele who
bet Eastern tracks Available also odds on ball games
even spring exhibitions top golf matches hockey basket
ball. football TV fights and just about anything in sports
wagerable.
Z Most places advertise in newspapers-Some even on
sTv I'VE don't push basketball though" one bookie
planned "You know, the scandals and all that 1t amt
The books compete for business One place, for
example, noting no action on Washington, Kansas City
and Boston in the pennan at prices ranging from
1000 to 500 to /, has made threepiece package He's
made the three teams entry at the bargain price OF
1OO-1. Still there are no takers.
MOST OF THE BOOKNAKERS here are not in Las
Vegas by choice They refugees from Kefauver
mittee hearings and more recently from the Kennedy
breakdown.
Here they are legal, adjustment number of them
find 1t difficult to make Their books examined by
Federal and State authorities Legally they can't accept
wagers by phone formerly their chief of business
although most do
Each customer receives receipt for the amount he
wagers 1t is bookkeeping chore the illegal book didn't
have to bother with.
: There not many restrictions the scope Of
wagering permitted Almost everything goes Definitely
against State law election bets and wagering
Nevada college and high school sports.
you know they want to keep everything clean here"
is the explanation Asked If it really "cean" out here
the booie replied whats the difference they make it
look like It,"
They would prefer to be back in New York. Cleveland,
Chicago Philadelphia But the Feds making hotter
every day. they're stuck in Nevada the only State where
gambling is legal.
do like itP" said T gotta like It, This is the
last outpost, buster"