Crazy Craps
by Sammy Chang © Gifts for Card Players
Being a former casino dealer, I have dealt my share of “bad beats” or “ai ya” hands (especially in Pai Gow poker) that have helped the house take a foreseeable “sure win” into a devastating loss; there is nothing satisfying about sweeping up a player’s chips into the chip tray or denying them a big bonus payout because my royal flush beats their straight flush.
But let’s talk about some of the happy times; not a casino dealer but as a fellow player as who doesn’t want to hear about a time someone you know took the casino down for a loss.
It was a Saturday night at the local tribal casino and I was shooting dice for about 5 minutes when a middle aged gentlemen stumbled towards our table; slightly intoxicated from a night of drinking, very winded due to the financial loss he had suffered at the Spanish 21 table nearby
He held his lone green chip ($25) and bemoaned the massive loss he suffered. How the money he gambled with was his rent money that was already late and due tomorrow or else he risked being evicted. He spun a tale about having to choose between electricity and heat for his apartment or his rent money, hence his trip into the casino.
He looked down at the odds and said, what’s the biggest odds at the table? The stick man said “12 – it pays 30 to 1”
He laid his last chip down and looked across at me and whispered “just one time”
I looked down at the dice. Did my usual routine and said “your money, your number” and threw the dice against the back wall of the table and rolled a 12.
The stick man said “midnight. 30 – 1. Pay the man 750 for midnight”
The gentlemen in a moment of greed, in a moment of shock said “let it ride, I have faith in the shooter”
I cautioned him “Sir, it’ll be hard to roll another 12 and let’s be honest, this should make up some of your losses”
He said “no, one-time”
I implored the pit to push away the man’s bet as he was clearly intoxicated within the moment and would face even deeper regret but the pit refused to push back the bet and said “the bet stands”
I picked up the dice one more time. I blew on it and whispered a quick prayer to the silent gods.
I rolled the dice. Lo and behold, I rolled a 12.
The pit immediately shut down the table to pay out the man
I hope this small win helped him get back on his feet.
