The New Deal

Wired Magazine ^ | 02-01-2004 | Carlos Serrao

[em2vn]

The New Deal Carlos Serrao Blackjack is a simple game, but blackjack tables are fast becoming sophisticated hotbeds of surveillance technology. Casinos now monitor cards using invisible codes, track chips with radio-frequency tags, and scrutinize players through facial recognition software. The odds of winning are getting worse, too. Play at your own risk. 1. Spying on Players The second you walk into the joint, cameras record your mug and plug it into a facial recognition database. With thousands of electronic eyes scanning a casino floor, security can probably tell who needs to clip their nose hair. But they're looking for cheaters. When the database finds a match, a large fellow in a dark suit may boot the suspect. 2. Stacking the Deck A new technology from MindPlay reads invisible codes on cards as they're dealt from the shoe. The system knows, in real time, what players are holding and betting. Casinos can snare card counters by comparing their play with known counting strategies. MindPlay also helps dole out fairer comps because it tracks how much cash players drop. 3. Following the Money Conventional gaming chips are made entirely of plastic or clay. Newer chips in some European casinos conceal radio-frequency tags that make it easy to track inventory, betting patterns, and VIP status. A cashier can count 100 of the RF-tagged chips in seven seconds. So far, they're deployed solely in Europe, but US casinos will be on board this year. 4. Shaving the Odds A natural blackjack traditionally pays 1.5 to 1. But in recent years, casinos have discovered they can get away with lower payoffs - and players don't seem to mind. An ace plus that face card you just got may pay only 6 to 5: A $10 bet that once earned $15 yields only $12. Casino owners are laughing all the way to the bank.

[em2vn]

A great magazine with good articles about the modern world. This one will make me consider another trip to a casino.

[tbird5]

"and players don't seem to mind"

with their social security money, why should they care

[billorites]

"This one will make me consider another trip to a casino."

I was convinced after pre-algebra.

[templar]

The system knows, in real time, what players are holding and betting. Casinos can snare card counters by comparing their play with known counting strategies.

Basically then, if I,m understanding this rightly, anyone that knows how to play the game is banned from playing and only those that do not know how to play are allowed to play.

[skinkinthegrass]

...count nose hair?..

Heaven help Ya, If you keep one hand close to your side...got any nervous habits?...really paranoid.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

We live across the Colorado River from Laughlin Nevada and we go to the casinos all the time, never gamble period, and are always winners.

We eat the best food at the lowest prices in the US, can you say steak and lobster at $3.95, Steak and eggs as well as ham & eggs breakfasts for 99 cents.

For $11.95, all you can eat fresh flown in sea food at the buffet with raw oysters on the half shell, king crab legs, peeled jumbo boiled shrimp, four kinds of mussels, the sweetest clams, prime rib, unreal deserts, &c, &c, &c.

As I said, we never gamble but sure love it that the suckers dumping their losses make it possible for us to be a winner each and ever time we enter the casinos.

[sharktrager]

There is a difference between knowing how to play and card counting. A card counter actually has an edge over the house that, if they are good, is fairly significant. Knowing how to play well tips the odds somewhat and can, with smart betting, give a player a small edge.

[freebilly]

A card counter actually has an edge over the house that, if they are good, is fairly significant.

Gee, we wouldn't want someone sharp enough to count cards to take some of the Casino's money. That's cheating! Everywhere else in America it's known as accounting....