Note 12 — Chapter XIV · SHARPS AND FLATS

A friend of mine, who has just recently paid a visit to Monte Carlo, describes a method of cheating the bank which came under his notice during his stay in that hallowed spot. He observed, one evening, a man standing by a roulette-table, who persistently put down a five-franc piece upon the winning number, after it had been declared. Of course, the 'croupier' never failed to detect the manœuvre, and removed the stake. The fact which passed unnoticed, however, was that a gold coin, value twenty francs, lay hidden beneath the silver one as it was put down. Being commanded to take up the five-franc piece, the man did so without hesitation; but the gold piece remained on the table among the other stakes. When the winnings were paid by the bank, that particular coin was claimed by a confederate as being his stake, and was paid accordingly. In roulette, the winning number receives 35 times the amount staked; therefore the conspirators netted 700 francs each time they succeeded in this little operation. I should think the bank would not be long in discovering a robbery of this kind, if it were very frequently perpetrated.