Chat with my Roulette Dealer today...

Interesting comment from my Roulette dealer here in the Midwest today...

He shared that his management had adopted a policy within the past six months that any dealer who rolled the same number twice consecutively was to switch ball sizes before the next spin. When I asked why given that the game is completely random, he said the casino feared a dealer's ability to create a run of numbers. A couple months ago at this same place, one of the more senior dealers told me that one night in mid-2010 he had hit the same number SIX times in a row.

That will happen around 1 in 79 million 6 number sequences. Not knowing how many roulette tables there are or how many spins per hour/day/year there are per table, I would surmise that that happens multiple times per year.

Quote: midwestgb

he said the casino feared a dealer's ability to create a run of numbers.

Management fears do not have to be sensible or even sane. Most cheating at a roulette table is team players engaging in varying blocking moves while someone past posts. It doesn't involve some dealer who can hit the same number even though he isn't even looking at the wheel for three seconds prior to its release.

Quote: midwestgb

A couple months ago at this same place, one of the more senior dealers told me that one night in mid-2010 he had hit the same number SIX times in a row.

I saw that in Vegas once, they hit not one number but the zeros
6 times in a row. By the 4th one people were piling chips on the
them. As I recall the pit had the dealer switch balls for the last
3 spins and it still hit one of the zeros. They were having cows,
a huge crowd was around the table and big screams when it
hit the 5th and 6th time. Casinos hate losing, it takes all the
fun out of providing an 'entertainment venue'.

You're talking about Harrahs in KC. It's poorly managed.

Some tiny casinos will even change dealers on a repeating number provided someone was betting heavily on it. They are really scared to lose!

You'd think that they'd love the free publicity it creates.

If casino management does sometime superstitous or retarded under the guise of game protection, that really affects nothing as to the randomness or game protection, ignore it or laugh at it. Look at the idiots for who they are, especially in casino operations.

Bingo

Thanks, K!
I've always felt that you either trust mathematics or trust superstition, and as a casino worker, I see a 51% to 49% split from casino management on this.

Quote: Paigowdan

Thanks, K!
I've always felt that you either trust mathematics or trust superstition, and as a casino worker, I see a 51% to 49% split from casino management on this.

You're kidding. To what extent do they trust superstition?

Quote: Keyser

You're talking about Harrahs in KC. It's poorly managed.

Nope, but down the street.

I do agree with you about the K.C. Harrahs though. Terrible management and reknown for their poor treatment of their employees ... :-(

Quote: EvenBob

Casinos hate losing, it takes all the fun out of providing an 'entertainment venue'.

Of course they do. They probably hate losing as much as you or I hate losing. Losing sucks no matter which side you're on. What they should realize, though, it that they have the advantage in the long term and a big losing day really does not matter, and not freak about it.

Quote: teddys

What they should realize, though, it that they have the advantage in the long term

They know that far better than we do. But they still want to win
all the time and it really bugs them when they don't. Its called
greed.

A European roulette wheel has thirty seven numbers. True odds of 36 to 1 but pays 35 to 1 - the house edge. Were the dealer able to exercise any control over the wheel whatsoever, he could tell his mate 'I won't spin zero or thirty-two', apparently affording them a 35 to 1 payout on true odds of 34 to 1. The dealers would be rich and the casinos would close in a week. Why is this not the case, because dealers have no control over the wheel.

True, Dealers have no ostensible control over the wheel. Apparently, my friendly casino proprietors suspect otherwise... ;-)

Quote: THESWEENEY

A European roulette wheel has thirty seven numbers. True odds of 36 to 1 but pays 35 to 1 - the house edge. Were the dealer able to exercise any control over the wheel whatsoever, he could tell his mate 'I won't spin zero or thirty-two', apparently affording them a 35 to 1 payout on true odds of 34 to 1. The dealers would be rich and the casinos would close in a week. Why is this not the case, because dealers have no control over the wheel.

In a week? Nah. At 34 spins per hour per table, you'd be looking at 2 net units of profit for the player per hour on average (33 losses of 1 unit, one win of 35 units). Even at the table maximum, that's a few hundred dollars per player per hour on average. They might stop offering the game, but that wouldn't bankrupt the house.

Quote: FleaStiff

Management fears do not have to be sensible or even sane. Most cheating at a roulette table is team players engaging in varying blocking moves while someone past posts. It doesn't involve some dealer who can hit the same number even though he isn't even looking at the wheel for three seconds prior to its release.

I love this, because although the story doesn't involve roulette, in my opinion it was the same thing.

At Rhythm City in Davenport, they had 3-card poker. The policy was on any bet over $25(Max $50) on the Pairs Plus, if a player was dealt a 3-of a kind or Straight Flush, they would change both sets of cards (They used the old Shufflemaster machines, you know, the ones that broke down ALL the time and couldn't tell you what hands were going where like they can now!).

I saw a guy playing $50 a hand, and he hit a straight flush. They counted the cards down (Understandable) then proceeded to change the cards (not needed, but ok...). After about 10 minutes, he resumed playing. Within 20 minutes he hit ANOTHER straight flush... counted the cards down, then CHANGED THEM AGAIN! AFTER 10 MINUTES!!!

Gosh, I'm sure they were thinking, we really don't want those "lucky" cards to be going out again. The dealer I was playing with on the BJ table agreed that the policy was so stupid... but that was the policy!