Is Wiz Renaissance Gambler?

I had no idea the Wiz won the $50,000 craps prize
at the Venetian in 2008. Then last year he won the
big BJ tournament. Is he the renaissance gambler
of Vegas? A renaissance man is somebody who's
an expert in several areas. Has anybody else won
both these contests before?

"It took a while to count everybody's chips, but I could see I had the most, by about $3,000. In the end I built my $10,000 in tournament chips to over $42,000. They announced all the winners, poured champagne, and took a lot of pictures. I felt like Charlie Brown would have if he had ever kicked the football. The thrill of victory was sweeter than the actual money."

I have to ask, were you later backroomed for any dice
sliding? This is the Venetian, where they backroomed
a high roller for not tipping security in one of their
clubs.

I used to play in a lot of tournaments, and that Venetian one you refer to is the only one that I won. Nope, I didn't dice slide. Speaking of tipping, I offered my host a $500 tip afterward -- and he refused it. You don't hear of a $500 tip being refused in Vegas every day.

I can't imagine playing in a tournament, the pressure
would be too great. And then to win, I imagine your
head wanted to explode.

Quote: EvenBob

I can't imagine playing in a tournament, the pressure would be too great.

It was tough. That was only my second craps tournament, and the first didn't go well. When I made it to the final table I had a lot of coaching by tournament experts beforehand. Still, craps tournament strategy is very complicated, and I wasn't sure exactly what the right move was. After the fact a much better tournament player gave a roll by roll analysis of it -- pointing out my many errors.

Its a real accomplishement, and I'm not saying
it because its your forum. You're not by any
means a pro craps player, yet you beat people
who are probably better than you. I wonder
if some players think you had an advantage
because you're the big cheese gambling math
expert. You know how superstitious craps players
are.

Quote: EvenBob

You're not by any means a pro craps player, yet you beat people who are probably better than you.

Now hold on there just a minute.

"Better than you?"

Craps is actually a simple game to play.

I cannot for the life of me see how someone could be "better" at it than another, provided they both understand the rules and play it smart.

Lucky, yes; better, no.

Quote: MrV

I cannot for the life of me see how someone could be "better" at it than another,

The Wiz himself said a 'much better player' pointed
out all the mistakes he made afterwards.

Quote: MrV

Now hold on there just a minute.

"Better than you?"

Craps is actually a simple game to play.

I cannot for the life of me see how someone could be "better" at it than another, provided they both understand the rules and play it smart.

Lucky, yes; better, no.

Better at tournament strategy, not better at craps. Tournament strategy is another game entirely. The underlying game (craps) may as well be tiddlywinks. Actually, that's a bad example because you probably can be better at tiddlywinks than someone else, while you can't make a better pass bet than someone else. Point is, knowing how much to bet, where, and when during a tournament does indeed have a meaningful impact on your expected finish.

What's the house edge on tiddlywinks?