Part 24

In the ordinary coin-paying slot machine, the dial shows alternate reds and blacks, interspersed here and there with quarters, halves and, perhaps, $1. The player wins 5 cents on the black, 20 cents on the quarter, 45 cents on the half, and 95 cents on the dollar. The dials differ, but suppose there are thirty reds, thirty blacks, ten quarters, five halves, and one dollar. The chances are against you, then, on the red or black, 46 to 30; on the quarter, 66 to 24; on the half, 71 to 24, and on the dollar, 75 to 19. Most players, it is said, prefer the larger sums as a hazard in the coin machines, although the probabilities against them are much greater. Again, they are dazzled by the chance of winning a large sum at a small risk. Really, they are betting their nickel against 3 cents on the red or black, and against 2 cents or less on the larger sums.

CHILDREN THROW AWAY MONEY.

If the children knew this they would not fool away their money in the machines when they go for a boat ride on the lake, and it is reasonable to suppose that grown men and women would beware of them if they had learned to figure chances when they were in school. In the penny machines in the cigar stores the probabilities are harder to figure. You play a cent in the machine, and if you get two pairs from a revolving pack of cards, always exposing the faces of five, you win a 5-cent cigar. In most of the machines you must get "jacks up or better" in order to win. Any poker player will bet you a chip on any deal that you will not have as good as a pair of trays, and the chances that you will have two pairs as good as jacks up must be at least twenty to one.

Some of the machines consist of wheels of fortune which revolve from the weight of the penny dropped in the slot. In any event the child gets a penny's worth of goods, and there are chances to get two or five cents' worth. Gum machines give an alleged cent's worth of gum, with a chance for a coupon, which is good for a nickel's worth without extra charge.

How many steps is this apparently harmless form of amusement removed from the deceptive slot machines in cigar stores? And, in turn, how many steps are these cigar machines removed from those in the saloons? The boy who wins five cents worth in the candy store will take cigarette tobacco or a cigar, if the dealer be unprincipled. Next he tries for a cigar in a cigar store, and then for a cigar in a saloon. If he is lucky in the last named, he is asked to a friendly game of poker. Beyond asking if it is a pleasure to either lose to or win from a friend, and to express the opinion that even though the game be perfectly square, and there be no rake-off, it still remains true that the time lost, and money spent for drinks and cigars, far outweigh in value any pleasure that may be experienced.

CONFEDERATES USED.

Men who make a business of conducting and playing poker games stop at nothing to get the money. The expenses of running the place, and the free lunches, drinks and cigars dispensed must be paid for by some one, and the proprietor is not in business to lose money. The game in which there is no rake-off cannot possibly be square, and where there is a rake-off the odds against you are prohibitive, if you play fair. With seven men in a game of "draw," three of whom are "house" men, the amount which goes into the "kitty" nightly is usually about equal to the losses of the other cheat who dares not be found out.

CHEATING DEVICE IN A SLOT MACHINE.

Ordinarily the owners and saloonkeepers divide the winnings of all slot machines. In a fair machine the winnings fall into the receptacle A. Most of the money gambled by players found its way into this depository. It did not please the owner of this machine to share his profits equally with the saloonkeeper. The winning player was paid from the nickels which lined a zig-zag chute ending at C. The owner changed this scheme by inserting the secret bag B. Then he cut a hole in the chute at D. and arranged a spring which diverted one out of three nickels into B. As long as the chute was empty below the point of entrance of A the nickels kept on filling the zig-zag runway.

When the machine was seized, in the box where all the gains were supposed to be, $60.20 was found. These two sums represented the total proceeds of a day.

Confederates, mirrors, words, signs and hold-outs are used. A player dealing from a stacked deck will inform his confederate how many cards to draw by uttering a sentence containing that number of words. Men lounging behind a player will "tip off" his hand. Cards are marked in a manner imperceptible to the eye of the novice, and sometimes liquid refreshment is spilled on the table in front of the dealer, so that his opposite can read the reflections of the cards as they are dealt face downward across the board. The last-named scheme is used where the table has no covering.

There are many who believe that talks of crookedness at card tables are only sermons by "goody-goodies," who know not whereof they speak. Let the following advertisement, recently sent broadcast over the country by a large concern located in the business center of one of America's largest cities, refute such claims:

HOLD OUTS.

"CORRESPOND WITH US BEFORE BUYING OF OTHERS."

We have the finest line in the country, and every machine is made to get the money--not for ornament, and accuracy. Is as perfect as a watch. Works with a knee movement, and by a slight movement everything disappears. If they have played cards all their lives they will stand it.

Our price only $125.00.

The circular also mentioned dozens of other crooked devices at lesser prices, and contained illustrations showing how the machines work. Can there be any doubt these are used when concerns devote their entire time to manufacturing them and can get such high prices?

The sleeve hold-out above mentioned, is made of a hair cloth sideway, about the same size as a deck of cards, with its narrow sides laid in fine, plaited folds, so that it will either lie flat or expand. This is sewed in the sleeve of the coat or shirt and reaches from the cuff to the elbow joint. One of the wide sides is sewn or pasted to the cuff, both ends being open. At the elbow a strap fits around the arm, to which is attached a metal tube that reaches down to the near end of the sleeve, with a pulley attached to the end. A short wide elastic is also attached to the strap, and to the elastic is fastened a metal clamp that holds the cards. A cord is attached to this clamp, which runs down and over the pulley, then back to the elbow through the metal tube, thence to the shoulder, through the clothing to the body, thence down through the loop at the heel, with a hook attached to the end. The cord passes through a flexible tube from the elbow to the ankle. This tube will bend easily, but will not flatten, and is attached to the clothing with string ties to keep it in line with the body. Its use is to prevent the cord from ticking or binding.

To work this hold out the hook at the end of the cord is fastened to the loop of the shoe on the opposite foot. When the feet are spread apart the act causes the cord to draw the clamp referred to down through the sideway and to the near end of the sleeve. Any cards that are in it will reach into the palm of the hand, where they can be taken out or placed back into the clamp. By drawing the feet together again the cord relaxes, and the elastic will draw the clamp and the cards it contains back up the slideway to its place near the elbow. There are other similar hold-outs. Don't let them hold you up.

MARKED CARDS.

Marked cards are known among gamblers as "Paper," and are considered an article of utility in draw poker. The dealer, should he be a second dealer, will deal second to himself instead of reading the hand of his opponent's, thus giving himself a pair, two pair, threes or whatever he wishes. Marked cards are used by those who are not second dealers, as they are often able to fill a hand by holding a card in the hand to correspond to the card on the top of the pack, and in any case enabled to read opponent's hands and play accordingly. They are perhaps the greatest advantage to a professional second dealer, as by drawing a bob-tail card of any kind he can spoil the chances of an honest player, however, skillful. People at large are becoming aware of many of the schemes used in swindling, but so fast as the public becomes acquainted with a scheme, the shark invents something to take its place or practices the old one until he has it so fine under his manipulation it is hardly recognizable. A professional gambler is soon known. Even if he is never detected cheating, he is given credit for it.

CARDS MARKED WITH FINGER NAILS.

This is a mark put on the cards during the progress of the game, with finger nail or thumb nail. It is put on so that the gambler may know just what his opponent holds. The ace is marked with a straight line or mark in upper right hand corner. The king, is a straight line about one-half inch long in the center of the card. The queen is a straight line a half inch longer than the king. The jack is a straight line about the center of the card. The ten spot is designated by a straight line or mark in the same position as the ace. The nine spot is a slanting line in position of king. The eight is a slanting line in position of queen. Seven is a slanting line in position of jack. The six is denoted by a straight line in position of ace, running across the card at right angles to the ace mark. The five is same as six in position of king. The four is the same as five and six in position of queen. The tray is same mark in position of jack. Deuce is a cross below the jack sign. The mark denoting the suit of the card is placed in the center of the top of the card. Hearts are designated by a perpendicular line at the center end of the card. Clubs are shown by a horizontal line in the same position. Diamonds are shown by a slanting line in the same position. And of course, as hearts, clubs and diamonds are marked, a card without a mark would be a spade. This is one of the most dangerous tricks, as it is done during the progress of the game, and unless some one knows something about it, it would never be detected.

THE DOUBLE DISCARD.

This is used by many of the gamblers, and is done through the neglect of the players. The man doing this will always draw three cards, no matter what he may hold in his hand. It is done by placing the cards he wishes to keep on top of the ones he wishes to discard, and laying them down beside him, ostensibly discarding them. As he is given his three cards he looks them over and has eight cards out of which to pick his hand. Suppose in his original hand he held three diamonds and a club; he places the three diamonds beside him and calls for three cards, holding one diamond and the club in his hand. When his cards are dealt him he has five cards out of which to pick two diamonds. He selects two cards and discards three cards; at the same time he picks up the three cards that he discarded first. Very few are expert enough to this trick without detection.

CHECK SIGNS.

This is a set of signs made with the use of checks. In making these signs a white check counts one, a piece of silver or a colored check counts five; often when colored checks or silver are not handy, matches are used instead. The count of checks corresponds to the size of the cards. One colored check would denote a pair of fives, or three fives, when used in a certain way, which I will endeavor to explain fully. Of course, all these different signs are used between two men, who are in league with each other in order to cheat a game. The first sign in this set is the sorting of cards, which means that the hand is no good. Should this sign not be given, the partner will look for the sign denoting what is held. When one man wishes to show that he has a pair, he holds the check or cards in the right hand, slightly to the left of his body. For instance, a white cheek held in the right hand, nearly in front of the heart, would denote that a pair of aces were held. Two checks, a pair of deuces, and so on to eleven, which signifies jacks; twelve, queens, and thirteen, kings. For two pair, the head pair is shown, the checks being held squarely in front. For instance, aces up would be shown by holding one white check up in front of the body. For three of a kind, the same sign is used, merely the check is held a little to the right of the body. Three colored and one white would signify that a straight was held; four colored and one white would signify that a flush was held; five colored and one white check would signify that a full house was held; six colored and one white would mean four of a kind; two colored checks, together in the palm of the hand, means a straight flush.

USES TO WHICH A PACK OF CARDS MAY BE PUT.

A pack of cards may be used as a Bible, a prayer book, and an almanac. As a Bible and prayer book, the ace should remind you that there is one God; the deuce, of the Father and Son; the tray, of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; the four, of the four evangelists--Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; the five of the five virgins, who had filled and trimmed their lamps; the six, of the command to labor six days a week; the seven, of the seventh day, which God blessed and hallowed; the eight, of the eight righteous persons who were saved in the ark, Noah, his wife and three sons and their wives; the nine, of the nine lepers who were cleansed by our Savior and never thanked Him for it; the ten, of the ten commandments; the king, of the Great King Almighty: the queen, of Sheba, who visited Solomon; Solomon was the wisest man living, and she was as wise a woman as he was a man; the knave, of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed our Savior.

As an almanac, count the spots, and you have three hundred and sixty-five, the number of days in a year. Count the cards, and you have fifty-two, the number of weeks in a year. Count the suits, and you have four, the number of weeks in a month. Count the face cards, and you have twelve, the number of months in a year. Count the tricks, and you have thirteen, and you have the number of weeks in a quarter.

THE BILL HAND.

You have often seen a lot of poker players playing with a lot of checks stacked up in front of them and a few bills or greenbacks spread out in front of them, between checks and themselves. A player having his checks in this manner needs watching, for it is easy to slide a full hand or four of a kind under those bills whenever an opportunity occurs. Whenever a good fat pot appears he can use this hand which he has under the bills by simply putting his hand on top of the bills and turning them over, which brings the good hand on top and poor ones under the bills. He always makes a practice of laying his cards down on the bills, and other players see it at different times and will think nothing of it. The only way to detect this is by missing the five cards out of the pack, and one has to be a expert to miss five cards out of fifty-two without counting them, and after playing a good hand in this way he must get rid of the deal hand, which is under the bills, in order to get ready to collect another hand for the next play. The principal thing about this work is to do it at the right time and with the right people.

TOOTHPICK OR CIGAR SIGNS.

A gambler will use a set of signs made with a cigar, pipe or toothpick to show his partner what he holds in his hand. The signs are as follows: The cigar, pipe or toothpick placed in the left side of the mouth signifies a pair. On the right side two pair; in the center of the month means threes. To signify that a straight is held the cigar is moved up and down with the fore finger. Working in the same manner with the first and second finger denotes a flush. With the third finger denotes a full house. With fourth finger means four of a kind. To show the size of the hand the fingers are placed on the cigar, pipe or toothpick in the following manner: Suppose a pair of aces are held, the cigar is placed in the left hand corner of the mouth and touched with the first finger of the right hand. Aces up or three aces can be shown in the same way. The first finger denoting aces, the second kings, the third queens and the fourth jacks.

GAMBLING DEVICE SWINDLE IN ARMY AND NAVY.

Scope of Fraud World-Wide--Soldiers and Sailors Victims of Contrivances.

On May 19, 1906, Detective Clifton R. Wooldridge, with ten men, swooped down on: H. C. Evans, 125 South Clark street; George De Shone, 462 North Clark street; Barr & Co., E. Manning Stockton, 56 Fifth avenue. The offices were raided and sure-thing gambling devices valued at $5,000 seized and destroyed. H. C. Evans was arrested and fined $200; George De Shone was arrested and fined $100, and E. Manning Stockton arrested and fined $25. Afterwards E. Manning Stockton was indicted, arrested and gave bonds, which he forfeited and then fled.

Disclosure of conditions which so seriously threatened the discipline of the United States army and navy that the secretaries of the two departments, and even President Roosevelt himself, were called upon to aid in their suppression, were made in the Harrison Street police court following this arrest.

It was charged that a coterie of Chicago men engaged in making and selling these devices had formed a "trust," and had for years robbed, swindled, and corrupted the enlisted men of the army and navy through loaded dice, "hold-outs," magnetized roulette wheels, and other crooked gambling apparatus.

The "crooked" gambling "trust" in Chicago spread over the civilized world, had its clutches on nearly every United States battleship, army post, and military prison; caused wholesale desertions, and in general corrupted the entire defense of the nation.

TRY TO CORRUPT SCHOOL BOYS.

Besides the corruption of the army, these companies are said to have aimed a blow at the foundation of the nation, by offering, through a mail order plan, for six cents, loaded dice to school boys, provided they sent the names of likely gamblers among their playmates.

This plan had not reached its full growth when nipped. But the disruption of the army and navy had been under way for several years, and had reached such gigantic proportions that the military service was in danger of complete disorganization.

Thousands of men were mulcted of their pay monthly.

Desertions followed these wholesale robberies. The War Department could not find the specific trouble. Post commanders and battleship commanders were instructed to investigate.

The army investigation, confirmed after the raid and arrests, showed that the whole army had been honey-combed with corruption by these companies. Express books and registered mail return cards showed that most of the goods were sold to soldiers and sailors.

FORTS INFECTED BY EVIL.

Fort Riley, Cavite, P. I., Manila, P. I., Honolulu, the Alaskan army posts, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Reno, Fort Logan, Columbus Barracks, Fort McPherson, were among the posts where hundreds of dollars worth of equipment was sent, and where thousands upon thousands of dollars a month was the booty obtained by the Chicago trust on a commission basis.

Battleships in every squadron, the naval stations of this nation all through the world, navy yards, and other points where marines are stationed, have been loaded with the devices.

It was found, upon investigation, that "cappers" were selected from the enlisted men. Agents, who ran the games on commission, were also found. These men, dazzled by financial prospects, deserted in droves.

MANY VICTIMS SUICIDES.

The men who were fleeced and had their small pay taken from them month after month, became reckless. Some ended as suicides. Hundreds became unruly and were subjected to guard-house sentences. They deserted in their despair. The conditions in the navy were even worse. Scores of the battleship crews would be in irons at a time.

To the honor of the service, it was found that no officers had ever participated in the corrupting vocation. It was the rank and file who "fell for it," as the gamblers said. They became either tools or victims, to the extent, it was estimated, of 60 per cent.

KING DEATH.

AN AVERAGE OF 200 SUICIDES A YEAR AT MONTE CARLO--MANY BODIES ARE SECRETLY THROWN INTO SEA BY AUTHORITIES OF THIS, THE WORLD'S GREATEST GAMBLING HOUSE.

PARIS, Nov. 20.--Three thousand known suicides and murders have been committed in Monte Carlo in the space of fifteen years. The known suicides average fully 200 a year, and some weeks there have been as many as three a day. The Casino authorities do everything to hush up scandals and news of tragedies. A large force of plain-clothes men are engaged to either prevent suicides or to hurry the body of the dead unfortunate out of the way. It is estimated that more than one-half of the tragedies of Monte Carlo are never heard of except by the Casino staff. The corpse is rushed quietly to the morgue--a secret morgue. Here it is kept some time to see whether relatives or friends are going to interfere or kick up a row.

BODIES THROWN IN OCEAN.

Every once in a while a small steamer slips out of the harbor at dead of night. Its cargo is secured at the secret morgue. At sea the bodies are thrown overboard, duly weighted, without toll of bell or muttered prayer. There are countless graves of unknown dead in the Monte Carlo cemetery. But these are only those whose death has become known to the public. The Casino authorities have a special bureau, whose duties are to relieve persons ruined at the tables. The ruined gambler can get from this bureau enough money to take him to his home, or to some spot far from Monaco. Few know of this, perhaps, or there would not be so many deaths. The "dead-broke" gambler is taken through many inner chambers and before stern-faced men, to whom he has to tell his history in detail. He is also confronted with the different croupiers, who testify as to whether he really lost as much as he may claim.

BANISH THE DEAD BROKE.

Then the wretched man has to sign a document banishing himself forever from Monaco. His name and particulars are written in the "black book," his photograph is taken and given to the doorkeepers and other officials to study, and then the man is taken to the railway station, a ticket bought, a few dollars given him, and an official escorts him as far as the frontier. Should he return it would not avail him. The police would turn him back again into France or Italy. It is related that an American who was "broke" and anxious to get back to the United States heard of this feature of Monte Carlo. He had not gambled there because he had no money, but he managed to make his way to Monte Carlo and demanded to see the authorities. He coolly asked for a steamer ticket to New York. Inquiries revealed that he had only just arrived in Monaco, and had never put a foot inside the Casino, but despite this the authorities gave him a steerage ticket to New York and saw him on his way.