GAMBLERS’ PAWNSHOP.

Shannon News, 6 July 1923, Page 3

GAMBLERS’ PAWNSHOP.

SECRETS OF MONTE CARLO! CROWN JEWELS ONCE PLEDGED. Monte Carlo suggests wealth and romance. Yet one of its most interesting buildings is a pawnshop—.a pawnshop that knows more strange secrets than any other place of its kind m the world. ' , It is a place of strange contrasts. Here you will find a man who gambles in thousands come to pledge valuables because he has had a bad run of luce at'the tables, and wants to continue the engrossing game,rubbing shoulders with a little washerwoman hard pressed to pay her Saturday night bills. A rich man comes to Monte Carlo to make a big fortune bigger. He loses He cashes his securities. Still he loses. He pledges his credit; his credit gets short—still he loses. His creditors get impatient—he has no • more ready money for the tables—then he vists the pawnshop. And there is no hoodwinking the pawnbroker !. He knows what he is handling’. . In the old days when the Russian Court circle used to visit Monte Carlo in a body, that pawnbroker, on more than one occasion, had Russian Crown jewels through his hands, pledged by an impoverished prince, whose wife and mistress used to accompany him to the ' tables and play opposite to one another —the former plainly and almost poorly dressed the latter a blaze of jewels bought her by the prince. On his second visit the once-rich man brings liis personal things, his silver or gold-fitted suitcase, his jewelled cigarette .case, his trinkets —his “ Treasures.” And the pawnbroker takes them all with the same enigmatical smile —he knows it will go on like this right down the scale —extra suits, boots, luggage, until his client is “.cleared out,” and has to b.eg for liis train fare home.

With a really fanatical and unlucky gambler arriving at Monte Carlo at the beginning of the season with several thousands in cash and drafts, the pawnbroker sometimes sees everything he owns, down to his spare shirts, within a month. The clients are, merchants from all over the ■world —the “lots” the most diverse things ever seen at an auction.

This is a queer old fellow, an habitue of Monte Carlo, who is a pawnbroker, though he keeps no pawnshop. It is doubtful whether there is anyone anywhere who has a wider knowledge of human nature of the reckless gambler, and he if is who is generally to be found hanging about those dark places where the “played-out" gambler repairs to blow his brains out —he who dissuades him,, he who shows him a way out. Two beautiful sisters —English women-* —had come to the end of their resources. Each had a child, two nurses and a maid, and they did not know where to turn for ready money. Both wore well known in London society. Someone put up to the elder sister an " infallible ’’ system for roulette. With £3O between them and the end of all things they set off for Monte Carlo.

They paid out £lO in advance on rent, and had £ls capital (their fares having, been paid by a benevolent father-in-law) with which to start their search for fortune.

Their “infallible” systems proved rather less disastrous than most. They won. They played steadily, sticking like glue to the system, and they doubled, 1 redoubled and doubled again their original capital. They even paid their bills.

But then they got reckless (gamblers always do !) and launched out in other directions, deserted their “ system.” They ended up with empty pockets and unpaid bills. Then in stepped the old, unofficial pawnbroker. The “unofficial pawnbroker” grasped the situation, advanced them their fares, _ establishing himself in the “ apartment,” taking the. babies and the nurses “ in pawn,” valuing them at the cost of the return fares, and charging Id. in the 1/- interest per week !

Among other strange pledges of this very strange man were a yacht, a bull terrier dog, a Rolls-Royce car, and a pair of parrots in a cage !