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Is
Dice-Setting an Illusion?
Old
Mrs. Biddle was walking down the street carrying a small box with holes punched in the
top. A neighbor stopped and asked her, "What's in that box?" "A cat," was Mrs. Biddles
response. The neighbor then asked, "What
for?" "Well, I've been dreaming
about mice at night, and I'm scared of mice. The cat is to catch them." "But the mice you dream about are
imaginary," said the neighbor. Without
skipping a beat old Mrs. Biddle turned to her friend and whispered, "So is the
cat."
Dice-setting
is an illusion, said the casino manager, I tried it once, and it doesnt
work. The other day, I overheard those
exact comments as a Park Place Entertainment senior executive, and his casino manager were
talking to a Flamingo Hilton Pit-Boss. He
went on to state,
all casinos are pretty much the same, and so are all craps
playing conditions.
They
had been discussing the fact that they were contemplating moving the craps pit from
its current location in front of the casino cage, to a location closer to a
higher-traffic aisle near the front of the casino. With
that move, they intended to install a couple of shorter tables in place of their famous
LONG ones. A few months ago, I would have
delighted at that thought. However, ever
since Ive perfected the MPs Long-Ranger dice-throw as chronicled in Long Tables = Po$$ibilitie$
. I wasnt as enthusiastic.
The
Pit Boss agreed heartily that table-length meant nothing, except for the number of players
they could accommodate, and he reinforced it by saying that the dice always remained truly
random no matter how long the table was.
For
our sake, I hope that the suit and all the other pit critters and
decision-makers in a position of power continue to think EXACTLY that way. He went on to say that the shorter tables made it
easier for the dealers to service the game, and keep customers happy. The other two guys reasoned that happy dealers
generally make happy players, and that most, if not all players EXPECTED to lose money,
but it was the crews job to make the experience as pain-free and as pleasurable as
possible.
I
was delighted to hear that, especially after an organized group of dice-setters descended
on Vegas a number of weekends back. They
dinged a couple of casinos for some decent dollars, and for a short time, the heat was
turned up on dice-setters, especially the slow and indecisive setters. The dust has now settled, and there is even LESS
heat than before. Go figure!
The
things those casino decision-makers discussed, augurs well for the future of
Precision-Shooters everywhere, especially in Las Vegas.
Heres
why.
Dealer
skill-levels vary from place to place. Craps
dealers at Bellagio and Hard Rock earn in the $100,000 range per year, while craps dealers
at El Cortez have a hard time breaking through the $18,000 barrier. Their attitude, aptitude, skill level, and general
abilities vary greatly.
Dealer
skill has a strong influence on the speed, pace, honesty and integrity of the game. Dealers can actually contribute to dice-rolling
consistency and helping to maintain positive player attitude while at the table. The same goes for the skill and attitude of
box-men. Surly dealers usually mean a
hit-and-run attitude with the more astute players. A
pleasant staff has the ability to keep all but the most disciplined player at the tables
until their very last chip is squandered. Its
easier to lose money if the dealers make the playing experience pleasant. Its kind of like charming you to death. It takes a lot of discipline to leave a table
under those circumstances. The casinos
understand that.
Then
there is an opposite-world in the dice-dealers universe. My Italian compadres have an old
saying about a fish starting to stink from the head on down. If casino management has a bad attitude, then it
naturally and inevitably flows down to the front-line dealers and gets spewed all over the
customers in the form of bad customer-service. Usually,
its only the degenerate gamblers who stay at a table if the crew is nasty and
obnoxious. Perhaps they feel the need to be
punished for their gambling sins.
When
the casino management wipes their dirty shoes all over the heads of the dealers, you can
be sure that theres not going to be a lot of joy and love at the tables. The harshest dealers are usually in the houses
where management has the poorest relationship with their workers. It seems to be a universal phenomenon, not just in
the casinos, but in just about any workplace you go.
If management is terrible, then customer service is forced at
best, and downright obnoxious at worst.
Next
time you are at any casino, check how different levels of staff interact with each other. Then compare it to their dice-setting policy. There is definitely a correlation.
Oh,
and by the way, if anyone asks you about your skills; just say that dice-setting is just a
myth and an illusion. Theyll believe
THAT. Good Luck & Good Skill at the Tables
and in
Life. The Mad Professor
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