GAMBLING MAD

Hokitika Guardian, 20 February 1930, Page 7

GAMBLING MAD

RIVIERA GOLD RUSH

The Riviera. lias gone gambling mad,

and breathless scenes, in which hundreds of thousands of pounds change

1 hands, are being enacted at the new | Casino, “Palais de Mediterranee,” the I most luxurious in the world, built by ) Mr Frank Jay Gould; the American multi-millionaire. Throughout a recent week until the early hours of the morning, play went on continuously, croupiers sleeping in snatches as crowds of gamblers swarmed to the tables. There has never been anything like 1. in the gambling annals of the Riviera. For more than 150 hours, with only a live-hour break, the Casino was the scene of the. wildest gambling ever known. Mr Gould made elaborate precautions to prevent “gate-crashers” getting into the gambling rooms but so congested were the crowds that the principal players were forced to enter and leave the establishment by lifts at the side of the building to prevent them being mobbed. WOMEN PLUNGERS. It started when a battle developed between two great gambling syndicates, one Anglo-French and the other Greek, and since then betting lias gone on for enormous stakes. It is believed that the men behind the Anglo-French Syndicate are the same who won £216,000 at the Biarritz Casino last August.

The British woman, Mrs George P. Wakefield, daughter of the late Mr Bernhard Baron, tobacco magnate and philanthropist, who won 2,000,000 francs (about £16,000) during play, maintained her previous luck, and is the biggest winner at the Casino. £BO.OOO IN ONE NIGHT. Each night tlie great duel proceeded, the antagonists being calm, while the spectators were roused to a feverish pitch of excitement as the stakes mounted. It is estimated that 15,000,000 (£120,000) changed hands in one day. The. minimum stake’of 100 francs (16s 8d) was increased to 5000 francs (about £10) during the week. One night play totalled £BO,OOO and £400,000 was played during the week.