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Holy Craps! How a Gambling Grandma Broke the Record (154 rolls w/out a 7 at a craps table)
Time Magazine ^ | May 29, 2009 | Claire Suddath

Posted on 05/30/2009 6:24:20 AM PDT by Arec Barrwin

Friday, May. 29, 2009 Holy Craps! How a Gambling Grandma Broke the Record By Claire Suddath

It sounds like a homework problem out of a high school math book: What is the probability of rolling a pair of dice 154 times continuously at a craps table, without throwing a seven?

The answer is roughly 1 in 1.56 trillion, and on May 23, Patricia Demauro, a New Jersey grandmother, beat those odds at Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. Demauro's 154-roll lucky streak, which lasted four hours and 18 minutes, broke the world records for the longest craps roll and the most successive dice rolls without "sevening out." According to Stanford University statistics professor Thomas Cover, the chances of that happening are smaller than getting struck by lightning (one in a million), being hit by an errant ball at a baseball game (one in 1.5 million) or winning the lottery (one in 100 million, depending on the game). (Read "When Gambling Becomes Obsessive.")

(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: craps; gambling; odds
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Compare the 1 to 1.56 Trillion Odds to winning the lottery, which is "only" 1 to 100 million
1 posted on 05/30/2009 6:24:20 AM PDT by Arec Barrwin
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To: Arec Barrwin

Seems those are better odd than us ever seeing zer0’s BC


2 posted on 05/30/2009 6:28:16 AM PDT by Las Vegas Ron (zer0 is doing to capitalism what Kennedy did to health care)
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To: Arec Barrwin

How much did she win? Did Time even bother to find out? Does she own the casino now?


3 posted on 05/30/2009 6:29:00 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: Arec Barrwin

Maybe she brought her own dice.


4 posted on 05/30/2009 6:31:57 AM PDT by Tai_Chung
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To: 1rudeboy
How much did she win?

Ditto.
5 posted on 05/30/2009 6:34:59 AM PDT by TheLawyerFormerlyKnownAsAl
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To: Las Vegas Ron

Maybe these were affirmative action dice


6 posted on 05/30/2009 6:35:04 AM PDT by C210N (A patriot for a Conservative Renaissance!)
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To: Tai_Chung

I can guarantee you the casino changed dice many, many times


7 posted on 05/30/2009 6:35:19 AM PDT by Arec Barrwin
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To: Arec Barrwin

I just found my long lost Grandma!


8 posted on 05/30/2009 6:37:46 AM PDT by Man50D (Fair Tax, you earn it, you keep it!)
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To: TheLawyerFormerlyKnownAsAl

Even if she didn’t report it to the press, you know the casino did (for the publicity). Journalistic negligence, in my opinion.


9 posted on 05/30/2009 6:39:36 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy
She did an interview on Fox and she said she wasn't going to tell anyone how much she won.

Smart woman.

10 posted on 05/30/2009 6:41:35 AM PDT by Semper911 (When you want to rob Peter to pay Paul, you'll always have the support of Paul.)
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To: Arec Barrwin
I would loved to have been there. Damn.

Craziest thing I ever saw in craps was a guy shooting alone who rolled three '12s' in a row. No horn bets or hardways out on the table.

I looked at the stickman, he looked at the banker, banker looked at me, nobody looked at the shooter, and all of us around the table just shook our heads.

You won't likely be seeing something like that again soon.

11 posted on 05/30/2009 7:28:31 AM PDT by The KG9 Kid
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To: 1rudeboy

“Demauro declined to reveal how much money she won, but gambling experts estimate that if she made good bets, her winnings were probably in the hundreds of thousands; expert bets would have put them in the millions.”


12 posted on 05/30/2009 7:32:50 AM PDT by maggief
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To: maggief

You actually read the article! What a concept. :)


13 posted on 05/30/2009 7:33:59 AM PDT by don-o (My son, Ben - Marine Private First Class - 1/16/09 - Parris Island, SC)
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To: don-o

I skimmed it, and was wondering what the number was. The casino should be broadcasting it from the rooftops.


14 posted on 05/30/2009 7:35:15 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: don-o

LOL!

I had the same question. :)


15 posted on 05/30/2009 7:35:34 AM PDT by maggief
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To: maggief

I asked if Time bothered to try and find out the number.


16 posted on 05/30/2009 7:37:21 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: Arec Barrwin

“Demauro’s 154-roll lucky streak, which lasted four hours and 18 minutes, broke the world records for the longest craps roll and the most successive dice rolls without “sevening out.” According to Stanford University statistics professor Thomas Cover, the chances of that happening are smaller than getting struck by lightning (one in a million), being hit by an errant ball at a baseball game (one in 1.5 million) or winning the lottery (one in 100 million, depending on the game). (Read “When Gambling Becomes Obsessive.”)”

Reading the last sentence it sounds like she’s being sent to the cornfield.


17 posted on 05/30/2009 7:38:24 AM PDT by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, then writes again.)
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To: Arec Barrwin
What is the probability of rolling a pair of dice 154 times continuously at a craps table, without throwing a seven?

This is not the right question, as anyone who knows the rules of craps will agree. The probability of rolling the dice at least 154 times before sevening out is about 1 in 5.59 billion. It's still a long shot, but that trillion figure is bogus.
18 posted on 05/30/2009 7:38:40 AM PDT by The people have spoken
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To: maggief

I don’t blame her for declining to state her winnings.

She would have hundreds of long lost relatives who need financing for a “can’t miss” business deal.

Not sure how the pros would handle the betting, but I would siphon off 20% of winnings after each throw. You would have quite a pile when you eventually crapped out.


19 posted on 05/30/2009 7:39:39 AM PDT by neocon1984
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To: Arec Barrwin

Simply incredible. Shooting an hour without sevening out is a milestone few ever achieve, but rolling to hit your point for over 4 hours is simply amazing. The area around the table must have been packed.


20 posted on 05/30/2009 7:40:54 AM PDT by TADSLOS (Powell/Whorealdo 2012- The New GOP Dream Ticket)
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