SECOND-CLASS HOUSES.
There are many establishments of this description in the city. They are
neither so elegantly furnished nor so exclusive as to their guests as
the first-class houses. There is also another important difference. In
a first-class house, the visitor is sure to meet men who will deal
fairly with him; and if he loses, as he is almost sure to do, it is
because he is playing against more expert hands than himself. This is
what is called a "square game." Everything is open and fair, and the
bank relies on the fickleness of the cards and the superior skill of
its dealer. In the second-class houses, however, the visitor is
literally fleeced. Every advantage is taken of him, and it is morally
certain that he will lose every cent he risks. In first-class houses,
one can play or look on, as he pleases. In second-class houses, the
visitor who declines to risk something is in danger of personal
violence. He will be insulted by the proprietor or one of his
myrmidons; and if he resents the insult, his life hangs by a very
slender thread. The "runner" system is practiced very extensively in
connection with these houses. The visitor is plied with liquor
unceasingly during his stay in the rooms, and the losses of the
unfortunate man during this period of semi-unconsciousness are
frightful.
Many persons coming to the city yield to the temptation to visit these
places, merely to see them.
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