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Show BooFShops Abound in . Los Angeles By HENRY MrLEMORK United Press Sporta Writer LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1 This Is the hoss player's paradise. It Is his Elysian field, his Valhalla, Val-halla, his seventh, eighth and ninth heavens. In other cities the hoss player must consume precious energy to lose his money. He must go to the race trarkjrwalk way, way "over a block or two lo find a " secretive bookie. But not In Los Angeles. Here In tliie city of the four square gospel betting on horses makes rolling off that celebrated log an arduous task In comparison. Bookmakers' shops are as numerous numer-ous here as jewelry shops on the Ponte Vecchio In Florence and bookstalls along the Seine in Paris. All Varieties They are of all shapes and sizes. Soms ars small and dignified and look like the old-time speakeasy. Others are large and gaudy and resemble the homes of movie stars. The most frequented, however, how-ever, are the ones built on the Gothic lines of a hamburger and barbecue stand. Situated on corners, cor-ners, they feature free parking and curb service. All a bettor has to do Is drive in, honk his horn, and out comes a "waiter" with all the odds, from the morning morn-ing line down. From there on the procedure Is exactly the same as if the transaction trans-action involved a sandwich. The waiter says: "What'U it be?" The bettor then names his horse and hands over the amount of his wager, if the bettor wanta to he may wait and hear a "call" of the race, as all the betting booths subscribe to a service which gives them a running description de-scription of sll races. At the finish of a race the bettor, if he wins, is paid the figures posted on the mutuel board at Tanforan, Bay Meadows or whatever California Cali-fornia track Is operating at the time. Out here they tell the story of the old gentleman, with a fine set of whiskers, who, mistaking a bookie shop for a quick lunch emporium, drove in and ordered: "Ham on rye, please." "What track's 'Ham on rye running on, and In what race?" asked the "waiter." Take Lots of Money It Is estimated that the bookie shops number in the neighborhood neighbor-hood of 350, and that they are taking between '1500,000 and II.-000,000 II.-000,000 a day out of Los Angeles. They are a recent innovation, being be-ing the bright Idea of a young man who, after studying the state laws, could see no reason why bettors couldn't be accommodated accommodat-ed Just as efficiently as purchasers purchas-ers of neckties, garters and handkerchiefs. hand-kerchiefs. The first shop was established here during the recent re-cent Bay Meadows meeting near San Francisco in a grocery market. mar-ket. The attorney general ruled the business is a legal one. How long It will remain "legal" la a matter of conjecture. It is legal, according to the attorney geneml. only no Ion? as the bonl:-i" bonl:-i" ts!:e the monry r;iv?n thrm end. by wire or telephone, bet it through the mutuel machines ft the track. It is no secret that sll the bookies don't do this. Some of them prefer to handle the bets themselves, being unwilling to take only the small "brokerage" fee of 10 cents on each dollar wagered. May Hurt Attendance The real test will come when Santa Anita opens. Santa Anita is near here and depend on the Los Angeles bettors. When a bettor goes to Santa Anita he must figure on paying out the following money before he can make a bet: Transportation . $1.00 Grandstand (clubhouse is 13.33) I1.M Program I .15 That makes a total of 12 80. It is not unlikely that many players will stRy in Los Angeles and use the money saved to make an additional wager. If too many of them stayed away the track would die. But an organization backed with Standard Oil, Southern Pacific and Fleishhacker money is hard to kill. There is a belief here that Santa Anita officials will find a way to stop the bookie shops. |