MAKING A SYSTEM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11872, 25 January 1902, Page 2 (Supplement)

MAKING A SYSTEM.

HOW THE BANK AT MONTE CARLO

WAS BROKEN. Nice November 24.—1n spite of all the natural scepticism which the very word " system" usually evokes old frequenters of Monte Carlo " still recall a fact well-known, to them,, though unfamiliar to the general public. In 1882 a sturdy, resolute Yorkshireman, who hailed from Bradford, thfi city of spinning mills, did actually break the bank, or at least, did win a considerable fortune with his system.

Its working, or rather the preliminary investigations, single-handed, were so severe a strain, coupled with the succeeding daily excitement, that the plucky plunger did not live many years to enjoy his hard-earned rest. He died at Nice four or five years after of heart disease. His name was daggers. His partner, a Dutchman, who ran oft" with an Irish lady, and invested her fortune in the venture, was seen in Paris much later looking sleek and prosperous.

Many witnesses remember the excitement that grew latterly round the three players, for the Irish lady became one of them. Their persistent success caused an inevitable rush to their table, people standing in rows six deep, and struggling to throw their money on when and where the players staked. But it was difficult to follow them, for they played on many numbers en plein, and the moment they were ready the ball was spinning. WORKING AT PLAY. The plan of Mr. Jaggers was this:' Starting from the premise that few humanmade machines can be absolutely flawless he began taking accurate statistics himself of different tables. He thought lis found one to suit his purpose, and he took its statistics, noting down the numbers as they fell from the first ball to the last. Hard work, since he could neither eat nor drink betweenwhiles, and seldom sit down, there being a stringent rule against chairs being occupied by non-players, and he had 110 money to stake with.

He led this wearying existence, it is believed, 'for over six months. His investigations then proved to him, to his complete satisfaction, that in one cylinder, which he followed from table to table (for all were changed occasionally, and be knew it by the grain of its woodwork), the ball fell by preference in nine of its cells, so nine of its numbers in varying degrees came np oftener than the remaining twenty-seven numbers. In other words, instead of each number coming , within a given space of time, say a week, once in thirty-six spins, nine numbers come more frequently, and others more rarely. When that fact was to him incontestable he set about finding, if not a syndicate, at least a partner, able and willing to risk sufficient capital to play on these nine numbers and share profits with him. But the many old players he approached would have none of it. A HUN" or NUMBERS. They declared, and, as a rule, with reason, that numbers could, would, and did come or stay away frequently beyond the average for" months, and then right their balance, making up for lost time with a vengeance, and then woe to the punter who was calculating on their previous performances continuing. Disconcolate at seeing wealth just eluding his grasp poor daggers went on piling up his daily statistics, until he casually made acquaintance with the runaway Dutchman. This man listened, saw, and believed. The pact was made, and the play began.

It succeeded admirably; some of those nine numbers always came up more frequently than the remaining twenty-seven, though, as even they fluctuated daily, it was difficult for people who only followed Jaggens and Co.'s steady, constant play for an hour or so not to lose. Many did, and were highly disgusted thereat. This fact only strengthened the mystery. The croupiers and the administration fully believed that the tide would turn. Also, the administration fully valued the effects of such an advertisement. So the croupiers were told to be complaisant and allow time for staking, etc. Moreover, they were quite unaware that J aggers and his partner were playing with one cylinder, and that, when one month they were at one table and another month at another, this cylinder was their attraction.

One day the lady player foolishly opened the eyes of the administration. For some reason, perhaps for repolishing, because the mechanician with his spirit level had discovered a dofect, the precious cylinder was removed altogether. In tears the indiscreet lady went to a director and implored its return, saying:"We can only play with that cylinder." This gave the clue. Mechanicians from Strasburg were called in. All the cylinders were adjusted daily (and are still), and were also daily changed. daggers' game was up. But his fortune, if not colossal, was sufficientand was made. He and the Dutchman divided between them £120,000.