I was walking down Canal when I saw a small gathering. it was 3 shell with bottle caps, nothing new, but..... it was on a small piece of card board that the guy was holding. So, in one hand, a piece of cardboard with the caps on it, while the other hand was moving them around. Very creative, I thought to myself. I can't recall but I believe he used two shills and one lookout. I would have played, but plenty of dark alleys down there, and I'm not a fan of being in the middle of a group of guys. "tried it 15 times, just not for me." (thanks gazzo for that line)

This way of handling the shells was in the Osbourne book in 1938... Also described was a small board which the operator strapped to his arm (although this was obviously incriminating evidence)...

ajp

I just saw a shell game on the streets of Copenhagen. He (they) played it kneeled down over a carpet sample on the street, using matchboxes and a paper wad for the "pea."

What I found interesting was his handling. As he tossed the boxes back and forth, almost 3 card monte style, as he was moving one box he'd "bump" another one with his knuckle causing it to "flash" the load briefly. All my guesses from a distance were accurate, and it seems he was playing it straight at the time, but the shills were winning and losing quite nicely, waiting for me to reach for my wallet. I didn't stick around long enough to see the "real work" in action. He looked up just once to invite me to take a guess, but my wallet wasn't fat enough to withstand it so I politely declined and kept walking.

My brother told me he lost money to a guy on Fisherman's Wharf running the shell game. I said, "Let me guess, he had a pizza box with newspaper in the bottom, three plastic bottle caps, and a rubber band knotted into a ball." My brother's jaw crawled halfway down his chest and he said, "How did you know that?"

My brother went on the explain what you just described. He said the guy held the pizza box on one hand and moved the shells (caps) with the other. A cop came by and he said the guy just vanished. He dropped everything (except the money) and it looked like nothing more than some litter on the ground.

Another friend of mine lived in New York and said one of his favorite things to do was to watch the monte throwers on the street. He would watch them for a few moments and then, as he turned and walked away, he would mutter into the lapel of his coat. He said the monte gangs would scatter like roaches when you turn on the kitchen light.

Yep....i live on canal street and know the guys you are speaking of.....actually almost all of the crew that was with around him was "with" him...and you were smart not to play....they re not there to cheat you or hustle you.....theyre gonna mug you bro....beware of the french quarter and stay near the crowds....