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| The gaff? |
Say it went something like this:
A Crown Casino VIP Host explained to upper management that a high roller client has some superstitions about the shuffle process because the cards were shuffled in a different room ahead of time. The player requested that someone they trust (the VIP Host) be allowed access into the shuffle room to verify that everything is on the up and up. Not wanting to deny this big money player his sense of security, rules were bent to accommodate the request.
This allowed the VIP Host to either record video from inside the shuffle room or somehow obtain recordings from the surveillance system. The specific shuffle machine referred to was the Shufflemaster Deck Checker pictured at left.
If you look at it, you can see the Ace of clubs right on top of the pile. I’m not familiar with the specifics of the machine, but I believe that once a set of cards is verified to all be present (up to 8 decks) a serial number is assigned to that shuffled set of cards. That number and the order of the cards were then passed on to the player and he would play in the high limit room.
All he’d have to do then is wait for that set of cards to show up or, if the casino wanted to be really generous, he could fall back on the superstitious act established earlier and say he’d like to pick the set of cards that felt lucky.
Apparently, the high limit room might have some of these pre-shuffled sets of cards locked in boxes just waiting to be used. A very knowledgeable surveillance expert pointed out to me that these shuffle rooms are ridiculous and should not be used by casinos. All of these pre-shuffles should be done inside the gaming pits where the games are being dealt and played.
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