Biased Dice ...

We have identified casinos that are methodically using unbalanced Biased Dice to increase their house advantage at craps.   Over the past 2 years, we have assembled a Biased Dice Research Team which includes over a dozen dice detectives with professional resumes that include:

- a double PhD tenured Math professor;
- a NASA aerospace scientist;
- a retired plastics engineer;
- a mechanical engineer;
- an electrical engineer;
- 2 finance majors;
- a CPA;
- a computer geek;
- and 4 craps players that live and play in Las Vegas almost every day of the year

(collectively we have 8 regulation size craps tables).

Casinos and gaming commissions do not see using unbalanced dice as an illegal act, but simply changing the odds in the same fashion as 6:5 Black Jack --- Giving the house more favorable odds with 6:5 BJ.  As noted somewhere,

"You may have noticed the disturbing proliferation of 6:5  Blackjack in Las Vegas. ... Let us be very clear; 6:5 Blackjack is not Blackjack at all"

YET, people still play BJ in Las Vegas -- the change had very little measurable effect on the attendance at the BJ tables and no casinos were threatened with losing their license.

Casinos count on the casual player in a whirlwind visit to the casino not recognizing which days biased dice are used.  Those of us that play more than 300 days a year see the difference.

We have come to the conclusion that most casinos are using unbalanced dice to alter the odds MORE to their favor ..... this is easy to prove to yourself.   Loaded dice or weighted dice will be heavier on one side. The extra weight may be something very heavy like lead, gold or platinum so it only takes a small amount to change the odds. The weight is often placed nearer one corner or edge rather than at the center of one face. Transparent dice do not prevent loading because the actual spots can contain the weight. Check if the spots are deeper on some sides than others, although this is no guarantee because a well made gaffed dice will look straight and even.

Pictured above is all you need to verify balance -- a dice balancing caliper. You can clamp a die into the caliper and give it a spin. If the die always stop at the same position, there is a problem with the balance.

Once our Biased Dice Research Team had verifiable tangible proof that the Las Vegas casinos were cheating, we decided that it was time to blow the whistle.  That is when we ran into a bureaucratic circus similar to what Father of the Underwear Bomber ran into when he was trying to report his son's Christmas day attack to the CIA.

First we had a member of our Biased Dice Research Team contact the Las Vegas FBI where we were told by a female agent that they referred all casino related problems to the Nevada Gaming Commission.  When we told the FBI agent that we felt that the Nevada Gaming Commission was part of the overall problem and that was like "letting the fox guard the hen house" they simply responded with a

"Well, we are short staffed and only have enough agents to concentrate on gangs and drugs that are entering from Mexico."

So, we then decided to talk to the head Fox in charge of the Hen Houses by sending the following letter to the Nevada Gaming Control Board:

Date: Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Subject: INFORMATIONAL SEMINARS - Discussion Topic
To: "Nevada Head Fox"

Dear "Fox",

We would like to congratulate you for your Informational Seminars and your efforts to keep Las Vegas casinos a first class operation parallel to no other destination in the world. 

We are responding to your July 21st letter as an interested party because we do not want everyone’s favorite vacation site to turn into a ghost town due to corporate financial pressures and greed that have literally ruined other corporate giants like Enron, Arthur Andersen, WorldCom, Barings Bank, Wall Street Investment Bankers and Mortgage brokers.
  

Issue:    Las Vegas Casinos are systematically using biased dice in an effort to cheat their customers and increase profits.  Furthermore, the down economy has tempted most casinos to use the biased dice more often to manage cash flow and guarantee fewer losses.

Various Nevada casinos are systematically using biased dice to influence the outcome of a random game.   These unfair dice are mostly used every weekend, holidays and especially when marketing promotions have targeted high rollers into the casino.

Objective:   To create a legal atmosphere in Nevada (specific dice statutes similar to those in Colorado, New Jersey and Australia) whereas fair dice are used 24/7 and enforced by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

A few organizations realize what is being done.  This has been verified by the proper use of a dice balancing caliper.  I believe this should be handled “internally” and at a state level before the media obtains this information.  We do not want a public perception that Nevada is cheating at a game of chance or even more of the tourists will not play the games when they visit.

I would like to meet with you in person to illustrate the aforementioned concern, preferably in private before this issue is added as a topic in your Informational Seminars.

Until we meet, below is a brief summary of the issues that led to this statement by Cy Ryan in the October 12, 2008 Casino News (Carson City, NV):

Casino win on Strip declines 8th straight month

“For the eighth consecutive month, winnings at Strip casinos declined.

The state Gaming Control Board reported today that the win at the 41 casinos on the Strip totaled $494 million, down 7.43 percent from a year ago. Statewide, casinos posted an 8.1 percent decline.

… The $934.1 million was the lowest winnings month since June 2006, …

The positive signs were in craps with winnings increased by 59.4 percent and the sports pools inched up 0.7 percent. Winnings in the 21 games dropped 13.1 percent; roulette was off 4.8 percent; and keno fell 23 percent."

The craps winnings were abnormally out of place compared to the rest of the industry and it is our belief that this is happening due to the use of unfair dice.  As you mention in your July 21st letter, “… there are a number of other areas where regulatory concerns have surfaced.  Either through lack of knowledge or apathy, licensees are creating regulatory challenges in areas requiring corrective action.”  

Unfortunately the financial pressures of the current economy coupled with the statutory risk to reward ratio encourages cheating by the casinos.  The risk of ever getting caught using Biased Dice is very minimal and even if the casino is caught, the $10,000 penalty of maybe getting caught once a year is well worth the $100,000 plus each casino protects every day biased dice are used. 

The penalties for cheating in Nevada are outdated and only discourage cheating by patrons while the lack of enforcement actually encourages corporate greed on a much larger scale (by comparison you will be fined $16,000 for making one pre-recorded solicitation phone call):

NRS 465.088  Penalties for violation of NRS 465.070 to 465.085, inclusive.

1.  A person who violates any provision of NRS 465.070 to 465.085, inclusive, is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished:
(a) For the first offense, by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by both fine and imprisonment.
(b) For a second or subsequent violation of any of these provisions, by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, and may be further punished by a fine of not more than $10,000. The court shall not suspend a sentence of imprisonment imposed pursuant to this paragraph, or grant probation to the person convicted.

2.  A person who attempts, or two or more persons who conspire, to violate any provision of NRS 465.070 to 465.085, inclusive, each is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imposing the penalty provided in subsection 1 for the completed crime, whether or not he personally played any gambling game or used any prohibited device.
(Added to NRS by 1981, 1292; A 1985, 970; 1995, 1295)

 
According to the Nevada Gaming Commission, there are no Dice technical specifications or requirements in Nevada.  However, there are very valid reasons New Jersey enacted very specific Dice Regulations over 30 years ago.  For some reason these New Jersey dice specifications were amended just over 2 years ago to allow more tolerance, coincidently about the same time biased dice were introduced into the casinos.  (See http://www.state.nj.us/casinos/actreg/reg/docs_new_adopted/a460115.doc )

      19:46-1.15  Dice; physical characteristics …
            Effective:  06/05/78
            As amended, effective:  12/16/91
            As amended, effective:  10/19/92
            As amended, effective:  01/19/93
            As amended, effective:  10/06/97
            As amended, effective:  08/20/07

Colorado adopted the same dice laws as New Jersey earlier this year when they initially allowed craps into the state:

 47.1-1280 DICE; PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

(1) BE FORMED IN THE SHAPE OF A PERFECT CUBE AND OF A SIZE NO SMALLER THAN 0.750 OF AN INCH ON EACH SIDE NOR ANY LARGER THAN 0.775 OF AN INCH ON EACH SIDE;

(2) BE TRANSPARENT AND MADE EXCLUSIVELY OF CELLULOSE EXCEPT FOR THE SPOTS, NAME OR TRADE NAME OF THE CASINO LICENSEE AND SERIAL NUMBER OR LETTERS CONTAINED THEREON;

(3) HAVE THE SURFACE OF EACH OF ITS SIDES PERFECTLY FLAT AND THE SPOTS CONTAINED IN EACH SIDE PERFECTLY FLUSH WITH THE AREA SURROUNDING THEM;

(4) HAVE ALL EDGES AND CORNERS PERFECTLY SQUARE AND FORMING PERFECT 90 DEGREE ANGLES;

(5) HAVE THE TEXTURE AND FINISH OF EACH SIDE EXACTLY IDENTICAL TO THE TEXTURE AND FINISH OF ALL OTHER SIDES;

(6) HAVE ITS WEIGHT EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE CUBE AND NO SIDE OF THE CUBE HEAVIER OR LIGHTER THAN ANY OTHER SIDE OF THE CUBE;

(7) HAVE ITS SIX SIDES BEARING WHITE CIRCULAR SPOTS FROM ONE TO SIX RESPECTIVELY WITH THE DIAMETER OF EACH SPOT EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF EVERY OTHER SPOT ON THE DIE;

(8) HAVE SPOTS ARRANGED SO THAT THE SIDE CONTAINING ONE SPOT IS DIRECTLY OPPOSITE THE SIDE CONTAINING SIX SPOTS, THE SIDE CONTAINING TWO SPOTS IS DIRECTLY OPPOSITE THE SIDE CONTAINING FIVE SPOTS AND THE SIDE CONTAINING THREE SPOTS IS DIRECTLY OPPOSITE THE SIDE CONTAINING FOUR SPOTS; EACH SPOT SHALL BE PLACED ON THE DIE BY DRILLING INTO THE SURFACE OF THE CUBE AND FILLING THE DRILLED OUT PORTION WITH A COMPOUND WHICH IS EQUAL IN WEIGHT TO THE WEIGHT OF THE CELLULOSE DRILLED OUT AND WHICH FORMS A PERMANENT BOND WITH THE CELLULOSE CUBE, AND SHALL EXTEND INTO THE CUBE EXACTLY THE SAME DISTANCE AS EVERY OTHER SPOT EXTENDS INTO THE CUBE TO AN ACCURACY TOLERANCE OF .0004 OF AN INCH; AND

(9) HAVE IMPRINTED OR IMPRESSED THEREON THE NAME OR TRADE NAME OF THE CASINO LICENSEE IN WHICH THE DIE IS BEING USED, AND A UNIQUE SERIALIZED NUMBER.

                                   
However, Colorado in its infinite wisdom decided to expand the New Jersey laws by giving them teeth:

47.1-1281 DICE; RECEIPT; STORAGE; INSPECTIONS AND REMOVAL FROM USE  …

(4) …
(A) PRIOR TO USE IN A GAME, THE MANAGER ON DUTY OR PIT SUPERVISOR SHALL INSPECT THE DICE WITH A MICROMETER, BALANCING CALIPER, A STEEL SET SQUARE AND A MAGNET OR ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT APPROVED BY THE DIVISION.  A BALANCING CALIPER, A STEEL SET SQUARE AND A MAGNET, SHALL BE KEPT IN A COMPARTMENT AT EACH CRAPS TABLE OR PIT STAND AND SHALL BE AT ALL TIMES READILY AVAILABLE FOR USE BY THE DIVISION UPON REQUEST.
…
(5) THE LICENSEE SHALL REMOVE ANY DICE FROM USE ANY TIME THERE IS ANY INDICATION OF TAMPERING, FLAWS OR OTHER DEFECTS THAT MIGHT AFFECT THE INTEGRITY OR FAIRNESS OF THE GAME, OR AT THE REQUEST OF THE DIVISION.

We have interviewed 6 different Las Vegas casino floor supervisors that admit they are in charge of measuring the dice and each has admitted that they do not use a dice balancing caliper to measure the dice.  Additionally, we have interviewed the chief operator of a dice company that supplies dice to several Las Vegas casinos and he admitted that he does not have a dice balancing caliper in his entire dice factory and boasted that he did not need one since his dice were near perfect.  He immediately grabbed a stick of dice from his production, measured them with a micrometer to show how near perfect they were then put them on our dice balancing caliper only to be shocked that they were extremely out of balance.  He went on to defend himself by stating that there were no dice regulations in Nevada that required him to produce balanced dice. 

Basically, the use of unbalanced biased dice “Alters the normal criteria of random selection, … which determines the outcome of a game” (NRS 465.085) and gives advantage to the casinos.  John Scarne addresses this advantage to the casinos in his book Scarne on Dice.

There is much more to discuss, but I will close for now,   If you should have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email me.  Once again we would like to thank you for your assistance and efforts in keeping Las Vegas from turning into a parking lot carnival.

Respectfully yours,

BDRT
Interested Party

..... the Gaming Control Board Member "Head Fox" referred the above letter to one of his Senior Enforcement Agents in the Reno office ..... and here is what one of our Biased Dice Research Team members shared with me, reprinted here with his permission:

From:  "Senior Fox"
To:  BDRT
Date:  Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 4:28 PM
Subject:  Informational Seminars/biased diced
mailed-by:  gcb.nv.gov

Dear BDRT,
 
Board Member "Head Fox" has referred your e-mail on biased dice to me for further inquiry.
 
Please contact me at the Reno GCB Enforcement Division office at your earliest convenience. My direct telephone number is (775) 823-xxxx and I can be reached M-F from 8a-4p.
 
Sincerely,
 "Senior Fox"
Senior Agent
NSGCB/Enforcement Division
Reno Office
(775) 823-xxxx

..... and after several email exchanges, our Team member asks if the NSGCB Senior Agent could bring a dice balancing caliper, and below is his response to our associate -- note the investigative tone in the queries -- suddenly the messenger becomes a possible suspect if he answers the questions in a certain way:

 From:  "Senior Fox"
To:  BDRT
Date:  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Subject  RE: Informational Seminars/biased diced
mailed-by gcb.nv.gov

Good morning BDRT,

I can bring the caliper and, is it safe to say, you’ll be bringing the other inspection instruments?

In the meantime, I have several questions:

1.    The name of the casino that the dice came from
2.    The manner in which they were collected
3.    Can I borrow them for further inspection (if necessary).
4.    Who else, if anyone, will be present at our meeting?

Next week, the only day that I’m sure to be in the office will be on Monday, September 21. Please call between 8am and 9am (Pacific time). From Tuesday on, I’ll be out of the area..

As to a suitable LV location, let’s meet at the Xyzzz on Abcccc.

Thank you,

"Senior Fox"

Senior Agent
NSGCB/Enforcement Division
Reno Office
(775) 823-xxxx

After the 3 hour meeting with the Nevada Gaming Commisiion, we interviewed our Biased Dice Research Team member that participated.  His conclusion was that Nevada State Gaming Control Board is paid for by Casino gross gaming revenues and therefore knows exactly who they must protect -- the Casinos.  Thus the proverbial Fox guarding the Hen House.   Basic summary notes from the meeting:

• NSGCB Agent was more interested in who the messenger was instead of possible crimes being committed by the Casinos,
• Wanted to know if our messenger was a member of GTC (Golden Touch Craps group associated with Frank Scoblete),
• NSGCB Agent explained in so many words that their duties were to protect the casinos from Casino staff and patrons from stealing casino revenues.
• Agent gave a 15 minute presentation on how shaved dice would not alter the odds of craps.   We then tried to tell him that we were not talking about shaved dice, but unbalanced dice.  Agent seemed to have trouble understanding the difference between shaved dice and unbalanced dice;
• NSGCB Agent wanted to know when and where Biased dice would be used -- we gave him days and times that 6 casinos would normally use unbalanced dice and he promised to audit their dice;
• Agent said he would be available to audit dice from any Nevada casino within 30 minutes of receiving a call if we suspected Biased dice.  An auditor would arrive at the casino and give the Pit Supervisor a 5 minute warning that he would be confiscating the dice from the table, thus allowing the Casino a chance to get a new stick of dice so as not to interfere with operations;
• We presented our unbalanced dice evidence from 6 casinos -- showing how the standard dice balancing caliper (pictured above) clearly proved that live casino dice were unbalanced and being used to change the odds;
• Then the Auditor explained how he would conduct the audit upon arriving at the casino -- he would first put the dice in a micrometer --- he demonstrated with our bad dice.  He showed us how the dice were almost perfectly square -- again we had no argument with his findings.   Then he pulled out his 50 year old all metal dice balancing caliper that weighed nearly 5 pounds and proceeded to spin the unbalanced dice --- the result was that the official NSGCB dice balancing equipment DID NOT WORK. 

The State "Caliper" cups that held the dice were too deep so that the points of the dice could not touch the end of the cup, thereby forcing the 4 sides of the plastic dice near that point to rub against the metal cup.  Therefore, the metal cup would act like a brake against the 4 sides of the dice and prematurely stop the dice from freely spinning to a stop.  In effect gravity would not work on the official Nevada state caliper in much the same way gravity does not work on a car going down hill if one applies brakes to the wheels, thus stopping the car from freely going to where gravity would take it.

When we asked if the state had a newer or better caliper, the Agent answered that "the state only had 2 official calipers -- one in the Reno and one in Las Vegas and they were both exactly the same except that one was painted red and the other green."  The Agent then went on to explain that the state had no intention of getting new calipers -- that this was the official one to be used in all court proceedings. 

It was clear the state had no intention of getting the answer right.  Even after we explained what was wrong with his caliper.  Therefore calling a Nevada State Enforcement Agent to verify if casino dice are balanced is a waste of time.

Well, maybe we should do as God does .... or at least take the advise of an insider:

If taxpayers only knew just how shady the (Wall Street) markets have become, they would pull all their money out before you could say, “Let Me Know When It’s All Cleaned Up- And Only Then Will I Even Think Of Ever Investing Again.” Makes for a great T-shirt, don’t it?

I mean, who wants to play craps with loaded dice? It’s that simple. The only thing that separates Wall Street from gambling in Vegas in the first place, is that in Vegas, you are mostly at the mercy of luck. In the stock market, an investor armed with sufficient research and savvy is supposed to be able to have far more control over his “luck”, in predicting a stock will go the right way. Else, he would go to Vegas, put his money down - 50/50 - and pray.

Now, manipulation issues place Wall Street investing further and further into the Vegas gambling camp. So, a smart investor would simply say, “Well, if that’s the case, I’d rather go to Vegas - at least the food is better.”

For all those that doubt casinos would ever cheat, consider the words of a casino industry insider Bill Zender, former Nevada Gaming Control Agent and Director of Casino Operations at the Aladdin and author of How to Detect Casino Cheating at Blackjack.   In his summation, Zender again emphasizes that cheating by casinos is rare, but not out of the question:

"In 1979 I joined the Nevada Gaming Control Board as an agent with their Enforcement Division. During my period with the board I learn quite a lot about card, dice, and slot cheating, as well as internal thefts and major scams. I also got involved in giving game protection seminars for many of the law enforcement agency in Nevada and throughout the western United States. At one point I was assigned to survey all the casinos in the rural areas of Nevada and to make sure they weren't taking unfair advantage of the public. In doing so I prepared myself by going over the files of all cow county casinos from the period starting in the 1960's through 1979. In those files I read about the different casinos that had been closed over the years for cheating the customers, what the investigations had found, and what the Gaming Board had done to prevent it from happening again. I also got to inspect and analysis numerous cheating device that had been seized from both casinos and cheater. The education I receive from my time with the NGCB was invaluable."

Bill Zender's 2002 interview ...

That was last century -- this century, the Nevada casinos in conjunction with the NGCB are increasing the house edge by using unbalanced dice as a countermeasure against Craps Advantage Players.  The attitude of Nevada Gaming Control Board is that the assets of the state (and their salaries) must be protected from Craps Advantage Players.  Until just a few years ago, you could walk into a Las Vegas casino and see the dice being balanced in the pit.  In this century however, you will maybe see only 1 (Sahara) of the 30+ casinos in the Las Vegas area with craps tables utilize a dice balancing caliper -- just for show, because even they do not use the caliper correctly.

In fact you can take an unbalanced dice and spin it on different points and it will look like it is balanced to the untrained eye.

But now, that is simply my opinion, isn't it ....

Ciao,
Harley

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