Okay, Who Cooked the Golden Goose?
Part II

Generating all kinds of long and profitable rolls, and augmenting your income from Precision-Shooting is great.  Many former unbelievers have become faithful fervent apostles after proving to themselves that influencing dice-outcomes is not only possible, it’s PROBABLE.  The more they practice, the better they get, and that is fantastic.

I’ve long promoted Precision-Shooting as a way to profit from this game, and I haven’t changed my position at all.  However, if you show up at the casino as part of an organized “raiding party” then they’ll call out the cavalry to protect their fort and the booty of cash that you are looking to grab.  On Irishsetter’s excellent Message Board, and in Part I of this article, I’ve tried to temper my comments, but on the other hand, it is a SERIOUS matter that jeopardizes what we are trying to achieve.

Take one look at the counter-measures that the casinos employ against Skilled Blackjack counters, with everything from Facial-Recognition software, random-shuffling, shallow deck penetration, multi-decking, no mid-shoe game entry, dealing past certain players, limited betting ranges and Continuous-Shufflers, all the way to the outright barring of some players.  It doesn’t take a big leap of imagination to relate that to craps.  They’ve already looked at the subject, but they didn’t think that it was going to be such a BIG and SUDDEN HIT.  

About two months ago, the leadership of this fine country thought that they were taking terrorism seriously.  However, we found out that we didn’t take it as seriously as some other zealots took terrorism.  The events of 09-11-01 changed my view of things, how about you?  Do you look at terrorism a little differently NOW?

Okay, so this past weekend, a group of people raided a few casinos in Las Vegas.  Yes, they won a pile of money, and I’m sure that they are enjoying that money as we speak.  Just because they’ve made it harder for every other dice-setting player who follows in their wake…why should they care?

If they weren’t going to ever play in any casino anywhere in the world ever again, I could see their point of view.  I’m pretty sure that isn’t the case.  Some may say, “Oh, I only play in Vegas a couple of times each year.  I usually play at one of the Grand Casinos in Louisiana and Mississippi.  Why should I care about anybody who plays in Vegas?”  Hey, guess what?  Park Place Entertainment controls that tasty pot of honey too.  Harrah’s tracks more than 16-Million players nationwide.  Welcome to the 1984, buddy!

Any casino can bar you from setting the dice.  They can bar you from playing altogether.  They have the right to do it, and they WILL do it.  Why put them into a position where they are forced to do that.

So, Mr. Mad Professor, how are they going to ban me if they don’t know who I am?

Good question.  At first glance, it makes a bit of sense to play anonymously.  You would figure that if you don’t use a Players Card when you play, then they’re never going to know your name.  Well let me tell you a little known fact.  If you turn the Pit down when they offer you a Players Card or to put you on their mailing list, or to give you a coffeee-shop comp, then you can be SURE that YOU are definitely going to be flagged by security, and your video image will be locked into their data-bank immediately. 

The cameras track your every step from the parking garage, to the tables, to the washrooms, to the cashiers cage.  Then they’ll just wait and watch and wait a little more.  Oh, by the way, does your car have license plate on it?  Have you ever redeemed a coupon for one of their Fun Books?   Oh, you’re staying in the hotel, but you think that a Players Card would make it too easy for them to track your play?  They’ve learned as much about you off of your Visa or Mastercard, than your neighbor knows about you. 

When they are satisfied that you potentially pose a threat, they have the right to pass you over when the dice come to you to shoot.  It has happened, it is happening, and it will definitely continue to happen, especially if you make yourself a target.  The casino can tell you that they would be more “comfortable” if you took your play elsewhere.  Or they can forcibly “86” you from their joint altogether. 

Previously I mentioned the various corporate-casino chains like Boyd’s, Mandalay Resorts, MGM-Mirage, and Park Place Entertainment.  You can add the eight Station Casinos, the five of Coast casinos, and you have close to forty casinos in Las Vegas that are controlled by a handful of operators.

Let’s look at a much smaller example.  Binion’s Horseshoe is one of the last independent casinos still living and breathing in an otherwise big-business environment.  They take security and “game integrity” VERY seriously.   I play there almost every day, or at least four or fives times each week.  The tables are pretty good.  The dealers are very skilled and professional.  It’s an old-style house where they base comps on the Floorman’s “eyeballs” more than on what the computer says.  I would venture to say that the boxmen are some of the most astute in town.  Now, every other boxman, floorman, and Pit Boss who works for someone else in town would disagree with me on that point.  But one point is indisputable, and that is that the Horseshoe, more than any other casino, relies on craps to generate a HUGE percentage of its revenue.  It’s a VERY important source of their revenue, and because of that, “game protection” becomes critically important.  Yes, they have a Players Card available, but they were one of the last places to accept modern technology.  With their lower reliance on computer systems, they are more player-observant than most other places in town.  Most casinos recognize a player by the name and number on his or her Players Card.  At the ‘Shoe, they recognize the face before they even know the name.

In one way, the other major properties are catching up to Binion’s low-tech approach with a decidedly high-tech solution.  Most have installed Facial Recognition software from Biometrics.   Imagis is another distributor who has made major inroads with many casinos across North America. Visionics has one of the most advanced systems on the market. It is linked to not only other participating casinos, it is also linked with Law-Enforcement data-bases.  This trend is growing.  They are currently upgrading the “digitization” processing capacity of their hardware in both the Blackjack Pits and the main casino entrances.  Why provide them with the motivation to upgrade the cameras in their dice pit too.

I won’t bore you further with the technological side of things.   If it facial-recognition technology is of interest to you, a simple search on  Google.com will more than fill your available reading hours for a while.

If you act like a gang of dice-setting terrorists, the casinos will treat you like a herd of Taliban-thieves.  Flaunting what you are doing by say, “Ha, ha, ha, look at our skills, we’re gonna take this place for every last chip,” only serves to give them reason to do it.  It makes a sad commentary about the maturity of the people using that approach.

I want to talk about how to minimize the reasons for a casino to bring heat to bear.  There is enough money in the casino coffers to go around, but it’s HOW you get it, that determines whether or not you’ll be able to continue doing so for a long time.

I WANT people to profit from this game.  I’m all for that, and it is exactly what these articles are all about.   On the other hand, why the hell would you want to kill the goose that lays all those delicious golden eggs?  It makes no sense at all. 

So the question is, how do we make this good thing LAST?  Here are a couple of suggestions:

Ø      Dice-setting is a money-earning skill that should be wielded skillfully like a scalpel, not a telephone-pole-sized baseball-bat.  Use it subtly like a surgeon, not like a crack-addicted purse-stealing junkie whore.

Ø      Don’t attack in gangs.  While you may feel more confident in a group, your collective play and methods will be more noticeable.

Ø      Don’t talk about dice-setting or ANYTHING related to it while you are in the casino.  Do me a favor, will you?  Please re-read that first sentence again.  I can’t emphasize that enough.  Thank you.

Ø      When the dice are running great for you, blame it on or thank “LUCK” as the source of your good fortune.  Let your ego be fed by the earnings that you walk away with.  Yeah, it’s great to take full credit for a great roll, but if you credit your dice-shooting skills, it doesn’t take a genius of a Floorman, Boxman, or Pit Boss to make a mental note of it.  If the casinos are on the look-out for guys like you, why not just put a big pink and mauve flashing neon-sign around your neck, then you won’t have to shout about it anymore?

Ø      Beer and Liquor may be part of the entertainment-package when you go to a casino, but it makes some people loose-lipped and braggardly.  I’m sure that’s not you, so enough said about that subject.

Let’s make money quietly while we’re in the casino.  Those are just a few of the ideas that come to mind immediately.   Let’s all use common sense when it comes to using craps as a long-term source of fun, entertainment and income.  And please don’t prove the old idiom that says," Common Sense AIN'T THAT COMMON."