Airball Roulette Question

IGT makes a popular roulette game that has a real wheel and a ball that shoots onto the track with compressed air. The wheel is surrounded by computer touchscreen consoles. These are very popular and its hard to get a seat at times. At the casino I go to the timer gave us 35 seconds to place a bet. The ball would shoot onto the track when there was 10sec left on the clock. Now they've changed it so the ball doesn't shoot out until the clock has run out. In other words, after the ball is in motion, we can no longer make a bet. I was told this was done to thwart visual ballistic players. Has anybody else had the timer changed in their casino? Is VB really that much of a problem?

Quote: EvenBob

Are visual ballistic players really that much of a problem?

Yes. And 10 seconds is a HUGE amount of time for such a player.

A remember hearing about people with cody computers, and controls in their shoes, well over 20 years ago. On one foot they tapped out when the ball passed a specific point, on the other foot they tapped when a specific number passed that point, and in just a few taps, they'd get a result - although I don't remember how the computer output the answer.

Bottom line, they got their bets down in time and made a fortune. Casinos responded by shortening the time from the spin to the "No more bets".

I'm kinda surprised that, given the history, that IGT would have given 10 seconds at a table that has NO assigned staff...

Quote: DJTeddyBear

A remember hearing about people with cody computers, and controls in their shoes, well over 20 years ago. On one foot they tapped out when the ball passed a specific point, on the other foot they tapped when a specific number passed that point, and in just a few taps, they'd get a result - although I don't remember how the computer output the answer.

Breaking Vegas: "Beat The Wheel." And it was more like 35 years ago. :^) I don't remember all the specifics, but the computer was able to narrow it down to five or seven spaces, communicate the center of the range, and they'd bet the numbers in the range. And they did it all with about 20 pounds of analog computers (or very crude digital).

I'd bet that a modern smartphone with a videocamera could be programmed to do the same thing with the same accuracy, with no tapping or decoding required.

Quote: wildqat

Breaking Vegas: "Beat The Wheel." And it was more like 35 years ago. :^) I don't remember all the specifics, but the computer was able to narrow it down to five or seven spaces, communicate the center of the range, and they'd bet the numbers in the range. And they did it all with about 20 pounds of analog computers (or very crude digital).

The ploy never quite worked. Too many bugs and malfunctions with the hardware.

The method they used would predict an octant where the ball was most likley to land. Naturally they had to bet all the numbers on that octant.

In an episode of the original Mission: Impossible, they did something very much like it. Except all the gear was contained in Cinnamon's purse, and the exact number was displayed on her watch. Of course it worked every time and they broke the bank (they had to in order to prevent a weapons sale). Poetic license aside, it was a very good episode. Oh, they also cheated at baccarat somehow.

Quote:

I'd bet that a modern smartphone with a videocamera could be programmed to do the same thing with the same accuracy, with no tapping or decoding required.

Sure. That's why you're not allowed to use your cell phone at the tables.