The Morning Astorian

One System That Won.

"He who breaks the bank today will be broken by the bank tomorrow," was a favorite saying of M. Blanc, founder of the casino at Monte Carlo. There have been many systems that were called infallible invented for the purpose of breaking the bank from the D'Alembert to the Rosslyn and Labouchere, but only one of them all has ever given the keepers of the bank a moment's real anxiety. This was the discovery of a keen eyed old lady who observed that if the croupier spun with certain numbers opposite him certain other numbers inevitably won. As a matter of fact, it was all very simple. The roulette wheel had become warped and was not quite round and thus invariably stuck at easily ascertainable figures. This little discovery put 300,000 francs into the pockets of the old lady and her accomplices before M. Blanc bought the secret for 70,000 francs.

—Westminster Gazette.