OK, so I walk into Harrah's Casino in East Chicago...

[NNN0LHI]

...or Trump Casino in Gary, IN or any of the other casinos in the Chicago area. I get on the blackjack table and I am rolling. I don't mean just holding my own either. I am talking hot. Hotter than a three peckered billy goat. Can't lose. Lose one hand and win the next 4 or 5 consistently. I am up big. And getting bigger by the hour. Might be racking up a couple of hundred grand an hour or so. No cheating, no card counting, just on it. Whats going to happen?

Nothing will happen and they will let me keep playing until I can't stay awake and have to leave? They are going to politely ask me to leave after a certain period of time? If I don't leave am I going to find a thug on each arm escorting me out the door?

This is a purely hypothetical question as even though I have been to both these casinos and others in the area I have never gambled at any of them. Went with someone else and ate, drank, and people watched. Had a pretty good time. But the question I propose above always crosses my mind when I am there. Any ideas what the answer would be?

Don

[GOPisEvil]

1. If you're too hot, you'll probably have your table shut down.

You will more than likely be asked to leave. If you don't leave, they may call the cops and attempt to have you arrested for trespassing. The bottom line is that the casinos consider themselves private property and reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.

[Fiona]

2. they'll watch you closely

and see if you vary your bets much, but if you don't, and just keep winning, they wouldn't do anything. But it's hard to imagine winning a couple of hundred grand at blackjack unless you're playing really big limit.

[Awsi Dooger]

5. Correct, varying your bet size would be their focus

That is the principle of card counting, significantly upping your wager during the plus scenarios.

If they didn't recognize you and determined you were not counting and it was mere short term luck, they probably would not oust you. In fact, it's likely they would encourage you to continue playing and to return. They understand the percentages are in their favor in the long run. You might even get a comped room and meals for a considerable period, maybe a week or more, if you were up several hundred grand.

Of course it depends on the casino and the competence of the higher ups. I live in Las Vegas and have seen instances like GOPisEvil mentioned, where someone overreacted and booted a player simply on the basis of an immediate winning streak. One sports betting degenerate who regularly shows up and blows segments of his wealthy family's money was kicked out of Harrah's (Las Vegas) sportsbook several years ago after he won big on one college football Saturday. That was a welcome bonanza for the Barbary Coast, who knew the guy was a loser and raked in all his Harrah's profits plus plenty more via the NFL games one day later.

On edit: I forgot to mention they would shuffle the deck and change dealers abnormally often. Anything to disrupt your winning streak.

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. I am such a gambler...

Was once in a casino in the Caribbean (nearly 25 years ago). People staying at my hotel talked me into it. Damn hotel (first time on the island, never stayed at the same place again) wouldn't let me into the bar without a skirt. Actually refused me entry until I changed...was supposed to meet the people staying at the hotel, who were strangers to me, but from the Chicago suburbs. Nice people.

Fortunately, I had a skirt. Then they talked me into heading to the casino. (Thank the gods I was in the skirt, more damn dress code...)

I put a quarter into a slot machine, lost it, and said...enough if enough.

To answer your question, from what I have read, many of the casinos try to sucker senior citizens out of their money. But I don't know...have only been to the one. And have no interest in going to one again.

[Ready4Change]

4. Don't worry about it.

There's a reason why casinos are big business, why many groups fight and fight HARD to be able to create them. It's because they make money, consistently. And there's only one reason for that. The odds are with the house. ALWAYS.

Gamble long enough and you will loose as much as you want.

[NNN0LHI]

6. I knew a guy drove his $40,000 Mercedes to Vegas and came back as a....

...passenger on a $300,000 Greyhound bus. Don't ask me how he did it.

Don

[Awsi Dooger]

7. I have seen much worse than that

Hundreds of thousands turned into nothing, then nowhere to stay and resorting to begging or minor criminal activity.

Of course, one friend of mine hasn't worked since '94 and several years later paid for a home built from scratch for $400,000, now worth almost $1 million. That was purely on sports betting profit. He grew up in poverty in the Buffalo area and now is so intent on the finer life that every meal is at an upscale restaurant. Whenever he asks to meet me for dinner or lunch, to handicap the football slate, I flinch but then he laughs and says, "Don't worry, it's on me."

[Ready4Change]

8. It'll evaporate.

Gambling money is fairy gold. It doesn't last, and usually leaves you in worse shape than you started.

[drdon326]

9. Nothing will happen....because it aint gonna happen.

I've been a student of blackjack and card counter as well...even in the BEST of times with perfect card counting , your advantage is 60-40.

The house is not stupid...generally the more money your willing to play, the less decks and therefore the easier it is to card count.But the corollary to that is when the deck heads "south" (dealers advantage) your stuck playing the higher table bet.

Now the worst of all worlds....they have "running shufflers" where the cards are in constant shuffle and the same cards that was in the last hand shows up in the next hand.....making it immposible to card count.

And one last thing....when your hear about big winners at casinos, what are they playing?

see if you know.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. They Might Change Dealers or Reboot the Decks

They might watch you carefully, but the watchers are pros. They can tell if someone is running a system or cheating, or if they're just running a hot streak.

It depends on the table, how much you're up, and stuff like that. Casinos don't automatically shut down a winner. There's PR value in having someone word of mouth their success. Part of the cost of doing business, for them, is to have some winners, even some big ones. The profit margin isn't having NO winners, but in having more losers than winners.

So, unless you were talking $1k bets and you were up a hundred grand, you might be able to run that hot streak a long time.

BTW: I should say that i've never played blackjack in the casino either, but i have played roulette and have done very well and never been the slightest bit rushed, examined, or pressured. I even take notes when playing more than one table at a time and nobody has ever said a word to me.
The Professor