Few can afford not to
care
2 September 2005
By Mark Pilarski
Before I Deal: The Biloxi Sun Herald was one of
the first newspapers to give this writer his
fledgling break and carry Deal Me In. Any writer
who syndicates a column will tell you that they
forever feel a special kinship to the community
where their column first appears. But even if
you have never been to the Mississippi Gulf
Coast region, few can view the staggering blow
dealt the area and not feel a need to pitch in.
The least I can do is suspend monthly billing
the Biloxi Sun Herald, indefinitely, and ask
instead that the Sun Herald disburse that money
to an appropriate relief fund to help those in
need. Yet, I suspect my column might not even be
carried for some time as the dozen gaming
establishments were severely damaged by Katrina
-- costing the state coffers a half-million
dollars per day in lost, desperately needed tax
revenues, not to mention the effect on the
14,000 people who work in the 12 casinos along
the Mississippi coastline. Why would anyone want
to publish the insignificant until the crippled
gambling industry gets back on its feet, which
could take months, potentially even years.
So how can you and I lend a helping hand? By
raiding that jar of quarters stashed in a
cupboard above the refrigerator; quarters
designated for some anonymous one-armed bandit,
now become quarters needed to ease the misery.
The American Red Cross is a good place to start
inserting that loose change. Their hotline
number is (800) 435-7669, (redcross.org).
Donations will provide clean water, food, and
shelter for the surviving disaster victims. For
your donation to go specifically to Hurricane
Katrina relief, write Katrina on the check.
Other relief agencies that have set up dedicated
websites and phone lines for donations to help
with rescue and rebuilding are the United
Methodist Committee on Relief: (800) 554-8583 (gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/hurricanes/2005),
The Salvation Army: (800) 725-2769 (salvationarmyusa.org),
Catholic Charities: (800) 919-9338 (catholiccharitiesusa.org),
Feed the Children: (800) 525-7575 (feeddthechildren.com)
and the National Voluntary Organizations Active
in Disaster, (703) 339.5596 (nvoad.org).
I hope the residents of Biloxi and Gulfport will
accept my sincere words of sympathy in
connection with the natural disaster that has
struck their area. I am incredibly aware that
Hurricane Katrina has caused immeasurable grief
and significant economic losses to hundreds of
thousands of citizens, but I will await with
great anticipation for that southern charmed
“come on down” call, so I can personally open my
wallet again and pump some much needed dollars
into their economy. Hopefully you all will do
likewise.
Dear Mark, Could you please explain a “Buy” bet
in craps and what is the house advantage? While
you’re at it, you might as well also describe a
“lay” wager also. Gary M.
A buy bet, Gary, is essentially the same as a
Place bet except that you pay a commission of 5%
on the amount of your wager. If you win, the
casino will pay you at the true odds, minus 5%.
You get your best cluck-for-the-buck when you
wager at least $20, because the minimum
commission the casino will charge you for making
a Buy wager is a buck, which happens to be 5% of
$20. The casino edge on any Buy bet for $20
works out to 4.76%, although the percentage
becomes higher on lesser wagers.
A Lay bet is the polar opposite of a Buy wager.
With a Lay bet, like the Don’t Come wager, you
are betting with the house and hoping that a 7
appears before a point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or
10). Like Buy bets, lay bets are paid off at
true odds, again, minus that commission of 5% of
the amount won. Lay bets also have a minimum
payoff of $20, because 5% of $20 is $1, and
that's the casino's minimum charge.
For instance, on the numbers 5 and 9 you will
have to Lay $30 to win $20, which gives the
casino an edge of 3.23%. For the 6 and 8 you
will have to lay $24 to win $20. Here the casino
advantage is 4.00%. The best wager to Lay is the
4 and 10. While you will have to lay $40 to win
$20, the house edge is reduced to 2.44%.
Gambling Wisdom of the week: “To have bad luck,
one must still have luck.” --Jewish Proverb
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