CHAPTER XXVII 



CASINO GAMES 



Russian Prince of Gamblers — The Rivals at Biarritz — General Berg's 

 Supper — Why he didn't play Baccarat 



At the clubs in Trouville and Dieppe there used to be 

 some merry evenings. In the inner club at the former 

 place, the " Union," women are admitted, and seveial 

 would pull out a big bank-roll and gamble with the 

 best of them. The majority of the principal owners 

 were at the tables, and some of the biggest " banks " 

 were given by them, these, including Baron Edouard 

 de Rothschild, the present head of the Paris house ; 

 M. Gaston Dreyfus, who owned Presto, the conqueror 

 of Pretty Polly in the Prix du Conseil Municipal, and 

 others. 



At Biarritz General Berg, a Russian, closely allied 

 by marriage with certain high personages, was the 

 chief banker. He would lose or win a fortune without 

 turning a hair. I was at Biarritz once when a big 

 fight was going on between the rival casinos. At the 

 " Municipal," run by " Papa " Bloch of the Dieppe 

 Casino, and the Cercle de I'Escrime in Paris, just 

 mentioned, ladies could go everywhere, but at the 

 rival show at the top of the town women were barred 

 from the cercle prive. Nevertheless, they wandered 

 about in the public rooms, playing the ridiculous 

 " ball " game which has succeeded the interesting 

 petits chevaux. 



Occasionally two or three men, tired for the 

 moment of play, would come out and spend a quarter 



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