Casino Dice are on the Level
January 17 2008
Dear Mark: I'm a big Craps player. I was
talking to my Uncle (who is in naval
intelligence) about craps. He said they did
studies on dice and said there are easy
steps that can be done to “slightly” change
the outcome of rolls over a period of time,
such as: felt tip pen mark on one of the
dice, hitting a certain side with some
force, etc. My question is, do the casinos
do any of
these things? And if so, is it legal? John
K.
Here is the answer to both questions. No and
no, period!
Since every bet on the layout is stacked in
the casino’s favor, the owners have no need
to cheat further, so be assured, John, that
when you’re playing craps in a casino, the
dice are fair. Nevertheless, a dice mechanic
could still substitute a crooked pair for
the square pair. We know that although
gaffed dice do not behave in the same manner
on each and every throw, they do change the
odds in the gaffer’s favor, so in the
business we call them percentage or P.C.
dice.
There are a number of methods of gaffing
dice. The felt tip pen mark on one of the
dice I’m
unfamiliar with, but I believe what you
meant by hitting a certain side with some
force is called
“Tapping dice”. Tapping dice, or tappers,
are dice that have a hollow dumbbell-shaped
chamber
inside containing some mercury. When the
blob of mercury is centered in the chamber,
the die
is fair. But when the future ward of the
state wants the die to be biased in his
favor, he will tap
the die so the mercury pops into one end of
the chamber creating a weighted corner.
Most casinos today use transparent, numbered
dice with their proprietary logo on them to
reduce the chances of crooked ones being
introduced on the game. An alert boxman on a
crap
game will periodically “pivot” the die by
holding the die loosely between his thumb
and
forefinger at diagonally opposite corners
and gently spinning it. A fair cube will
spin smoothly
and its revolution will stop in a natural
way. A loaded die, because of the eccentric
weight, will
pivot back in a distinctive manner at the
end of its rotation.
I once had a sneaking suspicion that a pair
on a game I was boxing were foul, at a
charity event,
no less. So I filled a tall glass with water
and dropped the cubes in, duplicating this
action
several times, starting each trial with a
different number on top. But at the finish
line – that is
the bottom of the glass, the gaffers’
favorite same number appeared repeatedly,
confirming my
suspicion they were loaded, since weighted
dice do turn heavy-end-down each time they
fall.
Dear Mark: My accountant is waiting for all
of my 07 deductions and I’m wondering is
there a
simple way I can get my Win/Loss Statements
from the casino instead of the long wait
I’ve had
in years past? Sharon R.
You might want to look into whether customer
service at the casino where you play allows
you
to go online and just print your Win/Loss
Statements on the spot. I know that Harrah’s
makes
them accessible online by just logging into
your Total Rewards account and going to
either My
Harrah's or the Total Rewards section of
their web page. The link to your Win/Loss
Statement
will be located in the left menu under
"Total Rewards.” Up to the past five years
are available
online.
Possibly your favorite casino has something
similar.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: “It is
easy to smile at an insult and pretend it's
funny when the
person insulting you is hosing you with
money.” -- Alfred Alvarez (2001)
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