famous investors who died broke-part 2

famous investors who died broke-part 2

fiction
edward w pritchard

Dame fortune smiled on the gambler Charles Deville Wells, the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo. Small time grifter who spent lavishly but always endowed with high hopes, British born Wells for a brief time was the toast of France. He came to the casino fortified with investor money he had bilked from others by promoting his singing jump rope but instead used the money at the roulette table as he often did. However, on this trip in 1891, luck indeed smiled on him. Five times in a row Wells bet on number 5 and that number hit each times. He turned the bilked 5,000 pounds into a million francs. Then a few months later he won big again. No one could figure out his system. Was the casino in on it to promote breaking the bank, literally throwing a shroud across the roulette table until the house could raise the money to pay him. Perhaps the roulette wheel itself was faulty, although the house routinely interchanged the wheels among the various machines. A dishonest employee? The French are known for their skeptical nature, surely they thought to check into his secrets. In any event Wells had his fame, beautiful women winked at him and a famous song was written about him. [The man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo-1892]. On his last trip to Monte Carlo Wells system whatever it was failed and he went broke. Over the next thirty years of his life Wells spent several years in jail for stock fraud and eventually died down and out in Paris in 1926. But oh what a ride he had back in the 1890's when he sailed into Monte Carlo that second time in a yacht with a beautiful woman and the whole town wanting to be his friend. As for dieing broke- C'est la Vie, mon cheri
end part 2

once in a while a screamer

once in a while a screamer

fiction
edward w pritchard

Once in a while a screamer would fly through the air when the conquering armies for sport shot their enemy against the mountain side. Sometimes the victim would pray and sometimes curse and swear. Rarely, only rarely a victim would shout out a number, and the soldiers would stop what they were doing and all eyes would watch the catapult as the flying numerologist prophesied. If it was Friday and payday for the soldiers that number that the flying terrified victim of the catapult screamed flying to his death against the mountain side would be bet over and over by the superstitious soldiers in their roulette or craps games.