Casino Gambling by Mark Pilarski

It lays it plays?

Dear Mark, I put a $100 bill on the crap layout and immediately thereafter, the three rolled making me an instant loser. It is not the poor timing I am complaining about, but what I actually wanted was change for my hundred as I am normally a $5, pass line bettor. My question is, are not dealers automatically supposed to exchange my money into chips? Jay M.

Depends, Jay, on where you put your $100 on the layout. Was it directly on the pass line? It is important because the old adage "money lays, it plays" is a cliche that can play--and pay--the casino. True, some casinos automatically change you up into gaming tokens whether you put your hard-earned money on the layout or the pass line, but the word to notice here is "some." In many casinos, putting paper currency on the pass line indicates to the dealer that the cash is betting, and when the dice roll (naturally turning a losing 2, 3, or 12 when you over-bet), you've got little recourse and are at mercy of the solemn gent manning the box and having an Excedrin day. If the dealer grabs the C-note you dropped in front of you on the layout, but NOT on any of the possible wagers, you have a legitimate beef. The film can be reviewed--of possible help (see below)--but that does not immunize you for your failure to tell the dealer you want chips in exchange for your currency. On a stentorian game like craps, you need to yell out, "Change only, please." Many a player has tossed a Ben Franklin on the crap table for change, but didn't ask for it--assuming he was facing a psychic dealer--and has been rudely parted from good ol' Ben.

Dear Mark, I was involved in an incident on a roulette table that involved another player claiming my two $25 chips on black as his, plus the winnings. The dealer immediately called over the pit boss to sort it out. He told us he would call upstairs and see whether the game was on film and would ask them to review the tape. He came back and stated that they were not taping the game, and his decision was to pay the winning bet, and we were to split it, which meant just getting my money back. I was under the impression that everything that goes on in a casino is on tape. Was this a wrong assumption? John A.

Partly, still, your question, John, does not state if the pit boss asked the dealer what each of you had previously been playing. If you had been betting $25 checks on the outside for half an hour, while the other person had been playing the inside numbers with roulette chips, that pattern might have led to an appropriate decision independent of rolling cameras.
The video cameras concealed in those large plastic smoke-colored bubbles suspended from the ceiling can scan every square inch of a casino. They can even zoom in and read the serial number off a twenty-dollar bill. These cameras are manned 24 hours a day from a control booth by trained surveillance employees. Cameras are pointed on progressive slot machines, the cashier's cage, counting rooms, table games, or anywhere that peering eyes might help discourage larceny. What the casino doesn't have is a crew of 200 people staffing 200 cameras and reviewing 200 VHS films. Consequently, not everything that goes on in a casino can be filmed for possible review.
When an incident occurs, management can call surveillance to see whether the episode is on film. If not, the Wisdom of Solomon (your friendly pit boss) will make a judgment call which, by definition, cannot please all players.

Gambling thought of the week: "The exhilaration of this form of economic existence is beyond my power to describe." -- Nick "The Greek" Dandalos

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pilarski@markpilarski.com
http://markpilarski.com

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