The "croupier" revolves
the wheel to the right. With a quick motion of his middle finger
he flicks a marble, usually of ivory, to the left. At the Vesper
Club, always up-to-date, the ball was of platinum, not of ivory.
The disc with its sloping sides is provided with a number of
brass rods, some perpendicular, some horizontal. As the ball and
the wheel lose momentum the ball strikes against the rods and
finally is deflected into one of the many little pockets or
stalls facing the rim of the wheel.
There are thirty-eight of these pockets; two are marked "0" and
"00," the others numbered from one to thirty-six in an irregular
and confusing order and painted alternately red and black. At
each end of the table are thirty-six large squares
correspondingly numbered and coloured. The "0" and "00" are of a
neutral colour. Whenever the ball falls in the "0" or "00" the
bank takes the stakes, or sweeps the the board. The Monte Carlo
wheel has only one "0," while the typical American has two, and
the Chinese has four.
To one like myself who had read of the Continental
gambling-houses with the clink of gold pieces on the table, and
the croupier with his wooden rake noisily raking in the winnings
of the bank, the comparative silence of the American game comes
as a surprise.
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