The Hustlers by Douglas Thompson

Author:Douglas Thompson [Thompson, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan

‘Sometimes I hired out my own flat in Lowndes Square for chemmy parties. That was worth £60 a night to me. But mostly it was at other people’s houses that I did my gambling.

‘On occasion I could afford to risk as much as £2,450 on the turn of a card or a spin of the wheel. My winnings were tax free. So I was in clover. And I might have gone on being a gambling agent and hostess if it hadn’t been for a couple of nasty experiences. I do like my gambling to be above board. And I struck a couple of rigged games in one of the most fashionable homes of Mayfair.

‘At one of them I saw an Old Etonian, with a terribly upper-class background, take a dear old millionaire for a £2,000 ride. From the start the millionaire forced the pace. His winnings rocketed. Inside two hours he was £500 to the good. The others seemed almost happy at the millionaire’s run of luck. Then I became suspicious. I noticed a girl standing behind the lucky winner. She was looking at the cards he held in his hand. First she raised her right hand and touched her nose with two fingers. Then she touched her hips with her left hand. Glancing to my right, I saw her signals were being received by another player.

‘It was the end of the millionaire’s winning streak. From then on he began to lose heavily. First one pretty girl, then another, would sidle up to his side with a word of sympathy. They then would take it in turns to stand behind him to continue the tic-tac. He had obviously been specially invited to be “skinned”.

‘The riggers were my friends. But how I hated them at that moment! I wanted to cry out a word of warning but I knew that I dare not. I was forced to sit in silence and watch helplessly. Like a sportsman, the victim wrote a cheque for that amount and handed it over to his principal opponent. With a cheerful goodnight, he put on his coat and left.

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