Roulette - It Really Happened - How?

Over superbowl weekend, my brother and I were in Vegas. The brother (Mike) is a big roulette fan and has a series of numbers he plays on each and every roll. As we were walking through the casino, we noticed the strange sequence of numbers (previous rolls) on one of the roulette reader boards. There was a LARGE crowd at the table. A bunch of my brothers numbers were showing and we both commented that it was his 'board of a lifetime'.

The first 13 numbers showing on the board were in the following sequence

2
2
2
11
11
11
8
8
8
25
25
19
19


Yes, 3 three-peats in a row and then 2 sets of doubles. Play was stopped several times as 3 bosses hovered around the table trying to figure out why all the numbers were repeating.

Of course, the numbers my brother always bets on in roulette are 2,8,11, & 19. He was not able to get in on the action as the table was so packed (people were standing 2 & 3 deep). People were yelling at the top of their lungs each roll as everyone at the table was betting on the last number rolled each time. I've never seen stacks so high on a roulette table.

Is there a way to determine the probability of 13 consecutive roulette rolls resulting in repeats or triples?

Thanks in advance guys for any input you might have.

Quote: KnotGillty

Is there a way to determine the probability of 13 consecutive roulette rolls resulting in repeats or triples?

Your question is not well defined. So ...

For the given sequence, the format is XXXYYYZZZWWRR

If we assume all of X, Y, Z, W, R are different ... and you were to start fresh and ask what is the probability going forward of getting that specific pattern for the next 13 rolls ...

p = (38/38)*(1/38)*(1/38)*(37/38)*(1/38)*(1/38)*(36/38)*(1/38)*(1/38)*(35/38)*(1/38)*(34/38)*(1/38)

= 0.00000000000017484291030681

Every sequence is as equally unlikely as every other sequence ... but <something> has to happen ...

--Ms. D.

Appreciate the reply DG.

But what does 0.00000000000017484291030681 equate to if put into different terms (ie . . . one in how many million, billion, or trillion)?

Thanks

Quote: KnotGillty

Of course, the numbers my brother always bets on in roulette are 2,8,11, & 19. He was not able to get in on the action as the table was so packed (people were standing 2 & 3 deep).

I'm sure you didn't just walk away. So, how much money would your brother have lost playing his numbers on the next 10 spins?

Quote: PapaChubby

I'm sure you didn't just walk away. So, how much money would your brother have lost playing his numbers on the next 10 spins?

He usually buys in with 500 or a thousand and plays $5 to $25 average bet for each of his numbers.

The crowds remained at the table and he eventually went to another table.

Each spin was taking about 3 times as long as normal due to payouts, stacking the chips so high on specific numbers, and the brass behind the wheel making sure payouts were accurate.

Quote: KnotGillty

Over superbowl weekend, my brother and I were in Vegas. The brother (Mike) is a big roulette fan and has a series of numbers he plays on each and every roll. As we were walking through the casino, we noticed the strange sequence of numbers (previous rolls) on one of the roulette reader boards. There was a LARGE crowd at the table. A bunch of my brothers numbers were showing and we both commented that it was his 'board of a lifetime'.

The first 13 numbers showing on the board were in the following sequence

2
2
2
11
11
11
8
8
8
25
25
19
19

What numbers spun while you were watching this table?
I am almost certain that you had to watch at least a few spins?
Did they continue?

Quote: KnotGillty

Yes, 3 three-peats in a row and then 2 sets of doubles. Play was stopped several times as 3 bosses hovered around the table trying to figure out why all the numbers were repeating.

As my wife and friends are Roulette players I have seen this "multiple repeating history board" display many times (at least 10 times) before and it has to do with the numbers NOT actually repeating that many times. The optical reader for the marquee (history board) is malfunctioning. It adds an extra repeat. I even asked a dealer one time at a dead table that had something like the sequence you saw and she told me that sometimes the reader "freaks out" and everything on the board is a repeat.

Quote: KnotGillty

Of course, the numbers my brother always bets on in roulette are 2,8,11, & 19. He was not able to get in on the action as the table was so packed (people were standing 2 & 3 deep). People were yelling at the top of their lungs each roll as everyone at the table was betting on the last number rolled each time. I've never seen stacks so high on a roulette table.

I think repeats were happening but not exactly as depicted on the history board. Numbers do repeat at Roulette in a short series of spins and most players take notice and bet that it keeps happening and when you add in the extra numbers from a malfunctioning optical reader, anything can then happen.

But if it actually happened, then you had to see a once in a lifetime event.

*Paging DJ* *Paging DJ*

Those numbers are his side-bets dream. I'm sure he would kill for a picture of that display.

Quote: cellardoor

*Paging DJ* *Paging DJ*

Those numbers are his side-bets dream. I'm sure he would kill for a picture of that display.

I was about to ask....

Sigh. I'll bet a dollar that he didn't get a photo.

Quote: guido111

What numbers spun while you were watching this table?
I am almost certain that you had to watch at least a few spins?
Did they continue?

I watched 5 rolls, the 11, 11, 2, 2, 2 rolls on the wheel. Those 5 rolls probably took about 45 minutes. After that I left and my brother stayed. I did not see the prior events. There was no way to get in on the game, and I don't even play roulette, so I eventually left to find a blackjack table.

I didn't specifically ask if there was an earlier malfunction of the board. However, based on the tremendous crowd that was also in awe, along with the excitement after each spin, along with so many execs behind the felt making phone calls and examining the equipment (wheel & ball), combined with the tremendous amount of chips stacked on the previous winning number each time, it seemed reasonable to think that the board was correctly showing the numbers that were rolled before we arrived.

This happend at Mandalay Bay over superbowl weekend on the roulette table closest to the Mlife Players Club booth.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Sigh. I'll bet a dollar that he didn't get a photo.

You're a winner TB. I didn't get a photo. But that board, and the discussions I had with my brother about it, will be engrained in my mind forever.

To say my brother was in disbelief that he missed that whole run of his numbers is the understatement of the year.

Quote: KnotGillty

Appreciate the reply DG.

But what does 0.00000000000017484291030681 equate to if put into different terms (ie . . . one in how many million, billion, or trillion)?

1-in-5719419780000.

The probability of just about any other sequence you may see up on a roulette wheel, after-the-fact, will be MUCH less likely than this one. For a "typical" 13 number sequence, its frequency is 1-in-344498041000000000000. Next time you look up at the roulette numbers and they seem random to you, marvel at the rarity of the outcome you are witnessing, and ask, is the wheel biased? I mean, that particular group of 13 numbers has almost no chance of ever turning up, how did it ever happen?

--Ms. D.

I think there was an error in the reader, recording each number two or three times. Once I saw a reader board in Reno where every number hit in pairs. I asked the supervisor about it, and he said it was an electronic glitch in the reader.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Sigh. I'll bet a dollar that he didn't get a photo.

By now I should think you'd bet more :P

Quote: Wizard

I think there was an error in the reader, recording each number two or three times. Once I saw a reader board in Reno where every number hit in pairs. I asked the supervisor about it, and he said it was an electronic glitch in the reader.

Yeah, we were in disbelief too.

We watched the last 5 numbers come up in succession as I stated earlier.

Unbelievable stuff. I'll never forget the crowd and the reactions.

Thanks for the clarification on the odds. That is all I was really seeking.