CHARITY GAMBLING TEMPTS CROOKS

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 23, 27 January 1934, Page 19

CHARITY GAMBLING TEMPTS CROOKS

Gambling in private houses, a means of raising money for charity which is growing in popularity both in Mayfair and in the suburbs of London, brings with it difficulties of which the organisers of the earlier parties never dreamed. \ ' ■

These meetings where people can capture the thrills of the Continental casinos and at the same time help their favourite charities are organised with scrupulous care to eliminate undesirable persons and the possibility of crooked play.

- One of the greatest of the difficulties which face the organisers is the selection of croupiers for the tables. There are rarely sufficient skilled members of the party to undertake these duties, and at times it has been found necessary to call in professional croupiers.

1 The buying of the cards for the cheniin-do-fer games is usually left to one of the organising committee, and one of these who has been concerned with the arrangements of many of these parties revealed to a "Daily Mail" reporter how, with the assistance of a sharp-witted shop girl in a London store, he learned»of a plan which might have resulted in huge wins by unfair means at the arranged party.

"Naturally I have to consider every single detail of the arrangements so that the party can be conducted with absolute honesty," he qaid. "I realised that if a player skilled in the palming of cards possessed a pack similar to those in use, and chose to use his skill in unfair play, he could win. huge sums of money.

"He could, for instance, in chemin-de-fer, be moving aboufthe tables until he saw one with a big bank. Those seated round the table might not exercise' their prior right to call 'banco' and that would let our dishonest friend in. He could lean over and call 'banco.' Cards would be given to him. He would step back, and in so doing drop his cards to the floor. To substitute his concealed cards for those dealt to him would be simple. ; Thus he could take : a big bank by cheating.

■. "One or two incidents had, in fact, .made me suspicious,, and when next 1

went to the store to order crfrds for a gambling par,ty I took' the shop girl into my confidence.

"The following day I received a telephone call which sent nib off at full "speed to the store in question.

l'l found" two men waiting at the card counter for a supply of cards like those I had ordered. They had mentioned my name and asked for cards identical with those I had selected. The shop' girl made some excuse for delaying the production of the cards and had telephoned me.

"One of tae men was an outside croupier of whom I had had my suspicions, and the other a frien,d of his whom I had seen, at the' tables.

"I tackled them, but although . they denied my accusations they decided that they did not require any cards after all, and left the store hurriedly.

"Our parties are gathered by invitation, and if any of the people we know well bring guests for whom they are prepared to vouch we admit them.

"Even so, it hs impossible to eliminate the undesirable element altogether, and if the parties go on, as their popularity indicates they will, committees will have to exercise great care in the framing of their plans."

At the moment there seems littlelikelihood of police interference with the ■ charity gambling parties. They are held in a different house every time, which is their safeguard.

Sir John Gilmour, Home Secretary, when asked in Parliament if his attention had been called to a meeting in aid of charity in Grosvenor Square on December 7, when - games of chance, chemin-de-fer, and roulette were played for high stakes, said he was informed by the Commissioner of Police that the police had no evidence that unlawful gaming took place at tho meeting. In any case it'would; be-outside the realm, of practical politics to take proceedings, in respect of games played on a' limited occasion in a private house which is not a common gaming-house or a- house kept for the: purpose of -gaming, .-■- — ( .- ■ •'■