MONTE CARLO

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 155, 27 March 1926, Page 22

MONTE CARLO

METHODS OF BREAKING THE BANK ’

This is the heigiit of the Monte Carlo season -and hundreds of men and women are engaged in the exciting pastime of trying to break the bank. By the ’bank” is meant the sum of money with which each croupier starts the morning's play. If this sum — roughly £so99—is lost to one player, then a further sum has to be obtained from tile manager’s office and the bank is said to have been “broken.” Players at Monte Carlo, writes Mr. H. Meredith, may be divided into two classes—those who in their attempts on the bank’s mathematically impregnable position trust to luck, and th(*e who have evolved so-called scientific methods and ,“svstems.” Just what value these systems have is problem; sical, but some gamblers have certainly had extraordinary if short-lived success. Captain Bower, who died a few days ago, took to Monte Carlo in 1911 £27,000—a1l that remained out of £1,500,000 —and won £243,000. In 1885 the Grand Duke Paul won £25,000 in a week; a mysterious gambler named Darnborougli is said to have broken the bank and collected £lOO,OOO from Francois Blanc, the proprietor; and one man who went into the rooms with ss. in his pocket changed this into £lO,OOO. Wolfe Joel, the famous financier, won a small fortune in a few moments when the red turned up no less than 12 times in succession! But his luck did not hold, for lie was shot dead a few months later.

A Chilian merchant who broke the bank invested all his winnings in firearms for a South American revolution —which failed. INGENIOUS GAMBLERS.

All sorts of systems have been evolved by ingenious gamblers. Granted enough capital, one could double and redouble after losses and so make certain of victory. But a limit is placed on the stakes. Pierpont Morgan said he would certainly play if this maximum was removed. The management politely refused to withdraw this safeguard. As far back as the middle of the last century a Spaniard named Garcia used a system which repeatedly broke the bank, and when the maximum was raised for him his winnings approached a quarter of a million pounds! He left vowing never to play again. He built a church with his gains, and kept his vow for three years. Flattered by the attention of the Due de Morney he played with the duke’s money—lost it, tried to retrieve it with his own, and finished by losing all he had. He then sold his 'system for five francs to a Viennese lady, who thereby lost her forttine of £lOO,OOO. i Charles Wellsj the “Man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo,” pretended to have a system with which lie broke the bank no fewer than 12 times in one day. On leaving lie said he would return and break the bank again within an hour. He succeeded in half an hour. Next year he returned and broke the bank six times before his system failed and the bank took all he had. NOVEL SYSTEMS/ Systems based on figures must lose in the long run, but systems' based on mechanics may win. Years ago two Russian brothers noticed that owing to the additional rubbing required in the cleaning of one part of the roulette wheel, the numbers had a tendency to appear round a certain group. By backing these numbers they broke the bank until the wheel was changed. Jagger, an engineer, knowing that it was impossible to make a machine absolutely true, studied the wheels ,at Monte Carlo until he had discovered each one’s bias. When he started to play he had the infallible system and repeatedly broke the bank, winning £60,000 in four days. They tried to thwart him by changing the wheels—and failed. Then they foiled him by using the system now in force, or putting interchangeable parts between the numbers, so that the bias does not exist long enough to be discovered.