In the practice of their craft, journalists are frequently blessed by luck. It may take the form of a tip on a good story, a chance meeting with someone who turns out to be a Deep Throat, or simply happening to be on the scene when a big news event breaks. But, judging from the experiences of the staffers who worked on this week's cover story, journalists are no luckier when they gamble than anyone else. For example, before New York Correspondent John Tompkins began interviewing lottery directors, betting officials and sources on organized crime, he invested $1 in a New York State lottery ticket --the first he had ever bought. He won $2, with which he promptly bought two more tickets. One of those won him another $2. Feeling lucky, Tompkins took a third plunge--and came up emptyhanded.

Correspondent David DeVoss, covering the scene in Las Vegas, did not get off as easily, even with the benefit of expert advice. "There's no such thing as a winning gambler," a casino manager told him. Anxious to challenge that statement, DeVoss consulted a slot machine. Reports DeVoss: "The $15 I lost convinced me that casino managers are more truthful than casino marquees."

In New York, Senior Writer Michael Demarest, author of this week's cover story, Staff Writer Andrea Chambers, who wrote the accompanying boxes, and Reporter-Researcher Georgia Harbison soaked up some atmosphere by joining Tompkins in a visit to a local OTB parlor. They emerged unscathed, simply by not placing a bet. Demarest was not always so steel-willed. As a member of TIME'S London bureau in the late 1950s, Demarest closely followed the fortunes of a horse named Four Flusher (gambling argot for cheater), which was jointly owned by a few bureau staffers. "Out of loyalty," Demarest says, "I bet on the horse when I might not have otherwise. And I rarely won."

Senior Editor Ted Bolwell also brought some horse sense to the editing of the story. "When I bought a share in a horse," he recalls, "I thought I would have the inside dope. The dope turned out to be the horse--or me." Still, when Bolwell received a long-distance tip on a horse last week, he could not resist wagering a modest sum. The horse finished dead last.

Ralph P. Davidson

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