Find The Lady – A Gambling Story With London Color

Casinos

When I first started in Casinos I started at the bottom – more ways than one! The joint was probably the lowest end of the whole of London, and was strategically located in an increasingly insalubrious street.

Although the street was very short, apart from the Casino, it was boasted (if that is the word!) A massage parlor, a theater with an adult audience, a dirty book store, a gay club and an archway in which evenings were a The evening of the ladies for favourite pitch. It was even rumored to be the site of a murder not long ago, a fact that I had with my parents or they would have had kittens link vào fun88.

The feature which redeemed my mind and gave it a life and color was the corner of the regular pitch of the “find the lady” or three card trick gang. After several months I became very familiar with not just the gang itself, but how they ran their scam. There were seven members in the gang, three being lookouts, three in the crowd and one actually operating the game. The three in the crowd had two purposes, the first to shill, and the second to get the crowd interested, and the second to identify and then scam the mark. This is how it went: when one of the shills had a recognizable winning card, the simple expedient of one of the others distracted the operator while he was actually looking at the card, and asking for the mark. While he was on his finger he got his pocket out of his money. He would then go out and get his own money, and bet too much it was a “sure thing”. When the mark got his money down, well, the “sure thing” had turned into a sure loser. The mark often did not realize he had been scammed and lost his shill as well!

This activity was of course illegal, hence the need for lookouts and a safe location. The Pitch was a conveniently located pub with a very busy T junction. The police should have shouted out the word “Brother” and in about 3 seconds flat the pitch (a milk crate on a cardboard box) had been kicked over and the gang members had ducked into the pub. and often straight out the door on the other.

One of the keys to this operation was the fact that for a bet, a cash card had to be the chosen card, so there was a switch for ample time when people went into their pockets. One day I was in Soho and I saw another gang in operation, and went over to watch. I daringly plucked up my courage to make a bet! In those days I made about twenty-five pounds a week so the pound note clutched in my sweaty palm for a goodly sum. Folding it neatly, I placed it on top of my finger resting with the winning card. I never actually saw the card turned up so how did I know it was the winner? I knew because the operator said “Sorry son, it’s a five pound minimum!”

The Author is a 35 year old casino industry veteran who has devoted a site to his own experiences and those of his friends.