Bad checks, loaded dice
and coin flips
24 December 1999
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
Trick question. If a friend and I flip a coin in
the air and bet on its result, would the coin be
considered an unlawful gambling device? Josh L.
A coin itself is not a gambling device per se
because it was created and designed for a
specific purpose. However, the coin becomes an
illegal apparatus, subject to forfeiture by the
state, when it is flipped in the air and wagers
are made on its eventual outcome.
Dear Mark,
How does a pitboss on a crap game identify
loaded dice? Donald M.
Called the "Spin" or "Pivot" test, a boxman on a
crap game will hold the dice loosely between his
thumb and forefinger at diagonally opposite
corners and gently spin the dice. A fair cube
will spin smoothly and its revolution will stop
in a natural way. A loaded die, because of the
extra weight, will pivot back in a distinguished
manner at the end of its rotation.
At home, you can test for loaded dice by filling
a tall glass with water and dropping the cubes
in gently. Repeat this action several times with
a different number on top. If the same number
appears repeatedly, they're loaded. Why? Because
the weighted dice will turn toward the bottom as
they fall each time.
Dear Mark,
While at a party for the final game of the World
Series, I bet an acquaintance, not friend, $300
on the game. He took Cleveland, lost, and paid
me with a personal check. Yes, the check
bounced. Do I have any legal recourse against
him? Billy C.
Sorry, Billy. Unless you own a casino, accepting
a check to cover a gambling debt is not
collectable in a court of law, even if you made
the bet in Nevada where sports betting is legal.
Dear Mark,
What do you think of all the new games that keep
popping up on the casino floor? Lyle O.
This past week I noticed yet another new game,
21 Stud, that offers a bonus jackpot for a
naturally dealt, no draw royal flush. Casinos
get goo-goo-ga-ga about introducing any game
that will induce additional play. Their
marketing department goes head over heels
highlighting the fact that if you get a natural
royal flush, you will be paid 1,000 to one. What
they forget to tell you, this column continually
will. The chances of getting a naturally dealt,
no draw royal flush are 659,740 to one.
For a new game to survive in today's tough
gaming market, table games must have some sort
of progressive or jackpot to generate play.
Unfortunately, the odds are usually long and
tall against the customer. Be an educated
player, Lyle. On all these new games and side
bonus bets, you might as well pass.
Dear Mark,
How come some slot machines advertise a
relatively high payout but still send you home
devoid of casino loot. Pearl R.
Pearl, the answer, in one word, is what makes
every casino owner's pockets bulge with your
cash-CHURN. That higher payout rate only applies
if you don't continue to bet your winning
credits. Unfortunately, that's not the way most
people play. They recycle (churn) their money
back through the cybernetic one-armed bandit.
Casino operators have long realized the
advantage they have between an advertised payout
and the coinage they eventually reap. How so you
ask? By comparing credits won versus credits
paid out. Player behavior is such that credits
won are generally replayed, and replayed and
replayed again, resulting mathematically in a
much greater chance of eventually tapping out.
They may advertise a 95 percent return, but
after the churn takes place, you'll generally go
home lighter in the wallet.
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