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Sunday, June 27, 2021

'Put and Take' Gambling Fad Hits Charlotte, June 27, 1921

New Gambling Device Is Rage. . . “Put and Take,” Popular New Game Gets Attention of Judge Jones

The latest “fad” in the city is “Put and Take”—which “put” four young Charlotte men into the police court Monday morning where $5 was “taken” from each by Judge Laurence Jones.

The young men were brought in by Officer Earnhardt for shooting crap, but on the stand they confessed that they were really playing “Put and Take.” A look of utter bewilderment overspread the face of every lawyer and police officer in the court room. For several minutes blank astonishment alone was noticeable in the court room.

Suddenly a bright look came into he eyes of Judge Laurence Jones and he said:

“I know what that is. Believe me, you can lose a pile of money at it. Let me see that thing.”

The “thing” was handed to him. And the eager souls in the court room crowded around. It was evident that the solution could best be secured from an examination of the defendants, and one was put on the stand.

D.B. Smith, local attorney, took the “thing” and approached the witness stand. He held it up to the light. It resembled a small steel top. On its six sides were cut the following:

“Put One,” “Take One,” “Put Two,” Take Two”, “Put All” and “Take All.”

GAME IS EXPLAINED

“What does 'put one' mean?" he asked the defendant.

“It means that whoever is spinning the top puts in a nickel, dime or whatever he is playing for,” returned the defendant. “Take one means that whoever is spinning the top takes out that amount from the pot.”

“Well, what does 'put all' mean?” asked Mr. Smith.

“It means everybody puts in a nickel,” replied the defendant as the laughter went up in the court room. "Take all means that the person who is spinning to top takes the entire pot.”

As the questioning continued, it was brought out that the small gambling device was a means by which “filthy lucre” could exchange hands so fast that it might be mistaken for a sleight-of-hand trick.

This is the first time “Put and Take" has put the players in court, but the fad has taken in Charlotte. At first the small tops were hand made and cut from wood, but, as the fascination of the game grew, small steel or bronze tops of fine workmanship began to appear. The game has become so popular and so widely known that at least five Charlotte stores have the tops for sale. Poker, dice, and other forms of gambling are tame to the new “Put and Take.” According to reliable experts, the small top is beginning to be as common as a pocket handkerchief in the “jeans” of those who enjoy the thrill of a game of chance. The game is said to have New York, Chicago and many other large cities in its grip.

SOME GO HIGHER

Instead of “Put One” and “Put Two,” some of the tops have “Put Three” and “Put Four” on them, and when six or seven people are playing with a dime as the unit of exchange, the game reaches big proportions. One local man has seen a game of this kind where $20 was considered a small amount in the pot at one time. The entire crowd would keep “putting” until the floor would be literally covered with money. Suddenly some lucky player would spin the top, and as it rolled over on the side to do its last fantastic motion, the magic words “Take All” would cast almost a spell over the assemblage. The lucky player would then scrape up enough cool cash to take a summer vacation.

Officials of the police court are wondering who will be taken next in “Put and Take” and put before the judge. Was Monday morning’s incident a forerunner of “Putters and Takers”? Will gambling be revolutionized?

“We shall see what we shall see,” said Judge Jones with a merry wink.

From The Charlotte News, Monday, June 27, 1921

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