Bettie: Preaching to the Choir

[Bettie]

Yes, it's preaching to the choir, but I thought I'd post this letter I read in the LVRJ letters to the editor:

Educated gamblers

To the editor:

Your July 26 article, "Tracking what's on the table," about the player-tracking system currently under development by three different gaming companies, only proves that the casinos' worst enemy is an educated gambler.

All the technology in the world won't do the casinos any good if the players refuse to play the games. A good case in point is the use of automated card shufflers, which, as the article points out, have been in use for more than a decade. The problem with these machines is that players don't like them. I've heard the dealers don't like them much, either. I play blackjack at several locals casinos, and I never see these machines anywhere.

Blackjack games with gimmick rules, such as the single-deck games that pay only 6-to-5 when you get a blackjack, don't seem to be very popular, either, and for good reason: The casino effectively triples its advantage over the player with this seemingly trivial rule variation. Gamblers would do well to stay away from such games.

The article also mentions "card-reading shoes." Did I miss something? Isn't it illegal for the casinos to use a computer to count the cards? Nevada law specifically prohibits players from using any electronic device to track cards, and casinos are bound to the same standard.

I'm sure they'll find a way around this minor legal problem, and they can get back to convincing the public that such a system would benefit gamblers. I am comped generously by the casinos I frequent, and the notion that they are going to implement a multimillion-dollar system in order to give players more comps is laughable.

Whatever happened to good old-fashioned, hand-held blackjack, dealt by a real person who shuffles the cards manually and then gives you the standard 3-to-2 payout when you get a natural?

The casinos are going to take all the fun out of the game, but only if we let them.

David Moore
LAS VEGAS

I'd like to believe that he's right; that locals casinso eschew the shuffling machines and that 6:5 blackjack isn't very popular, but he must not get out enough, especially to the Strip, where "educated gamblers" are few and far between.

Bettie

[Sun Runner]

Two things from me ..

Did I miss something? Isn't it illegal for the casinos to use a computer to count the cards? Nevada law specifically prohibits players from using any electronic device to track cards, and casinos are bound to the same standard.


Of course they are not and never have been. It's always been a question of what they could get away with and who screams the loudest. I think the same logic extends to chips with 'chips', but that is for another day.

> I'd like to believe that he's right; that locals casinso
> eschew the shuffling machines and that 6:5 blackjack isn't very popular, but he must not get out enough,
> especially to the Strip, where "educated gamblers" are
> few and far between.

You are so right and it is so dis-spiriting sometimes. I don't live in Vegas but educated gamblers in my neighborhood are few and far between. And ASMs! Try watching people flock to play CSMs for awhile and see how long your sanity remains intact.

Watching people sit down and throw money away bums me smooth out; yes I know it is their moeny I am taking home. I just wish they would wise up .. a little.