Protect yourself at all times, part I

[The following article is excerpted from Frank's new book Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players!]

In the casino's deserted bathroom, usually one that was out of the way and not often used, they would come up behind a man as he stood at the urinal and they would grab his throat in the classic police sleeper hold...and squeeze the breath out of him. The man would fall to the floor and his wallet, rings, necklaces and watch would be stolen from him. The thieves would walk out of the bathroom and escape into the night. Even if someone else should walk into the bathroom and see this, it rarely resulted in the "incomer" doing anything for fear of his life.

A woman is not safe in the ladies' bathrooms either. Some casinos have those pocketbook holders on the door or near the door inside the stall. A reach inside by a thief outside the door can easily grab the purse and that thief will be gone in a flash. This is often done even in crowded ladies rooms, as it takes but a second to accomplish.

The man and wife are checking in and a pleasant man or woman strikes up a conversation as they wait in line. His crony stands to the side of the couple and surreptitiously opens her purse and takes out her wallet. He walks away after closing her purse. No one is the wiser until the couple goes to the room and they discover that the wallet is missing.

The above three paragraphs are just preludes to the array of crimes (and other problems) you face in casino environs each and every day. Rarely are casino criminals captured because most of the security for the casino exists to protect the casinos from cheaters, mistakes or various types of criminals at their games. But in the bathrooms, in the lobbies, in the elevators, in the hallways and in the rooms there is little protection since crimes can be committed so fast that security, if it is even carefully watching these areas, doesn't have the time to react.

Outside those casinos can be even worse as violent crime manifests itself more readily out there. In the casinos, a thief pummeling someone takes too much time, but out in the street or in the self-parking garages vicious criminals can seriously hammer a victim -- and they often do serious damage. In Atlantic City, in the streets and sometimes even on the usually secure Boardwalk, the scum of the earth looks to slime its way to your good fortune, often assaulting you in the process.

Casino towns such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, indeed most casino venues, are bright lights to the ravenous moths of criminality. While we players are attracted to casinos to win money from Lady Luck's largesse, these human predators are attracted to us in order to take our money and our jewelry and perhaps our health as well.

So let's go through some of the ways the criminal enemies of the player go about their nefarious business.

The Men's Room A: In the men's room, do not stand at the urinals when doing your business. You are an easy victim then. Someone stands behind you and chokes you into unconsciousness. Use the toilet in a stall to urinate. There is usually no security in the bathroom except in those upper echelon hotels that have a couple of bathroom attendants and/or shoe shine set ups. Don't go to the out-of-the-way bathrooms where few men go. These are great criminal lairs.

The Men's Room B: "Hey, guys, anyone want to go to the bathroom?" Yes, you hear women say this to the other women all the time but men usually make private pilgrimages to the john. Don't. There is safety in numbers. Short of having a gun, a would-be robber isn't going to tackle two or more men. It's too dangerous for him.

The Ladies' Room: The ladies' rooms without attendants are easy targets too. Women and purses are an alluring combination. Don't hang your purse on those stall doors. Always hold your purse. Thankfully many casinos now have stall doors in the ladies room with the hook in the middle of the door. Short of being Elastic Woman, few thieves can reach over and down that far. So in these stalls it is probably safe to hang your purse.

Purse Position in the Casino: In the casino, keep your purse on your body in such a way that the criminal would have to carry you away along with your purse in order to rob you. If you play the slot machines, it is not wise to put your purse between the machines. It can be stolen from different directions if you do that. A person talks to you and you turn your head, while his or her accomplice just grabs the purse and runs away. The purse can sometimes be stolen from behind the machine as well. At craps, some women will put their purse on the drink rail. Bad choice. At blackjack and other table games where you sit, wrap the purse on the chair in such a way that a thief would have to pick up the entire chair -- with you in it -- to get at that purse.

Top Pocket: If you carry cash, do not put it in your pants pockets. Make sure you have a shirt with a front pocket that can be securely buttoned. Put your money/wallet in there. It is usually too daring for a thief to face you and rip off your pocket to get to the money. If you have a devious sense of humor, you can stuff a cheap wallet bulging with fake bills and put it in your back pocket. When a pickpocket opens the wallet, there are the fake bills for him to curse over.

Want more fun at the criminal's expense? Put some scentless powder on the bills and inform the criminal in a note that the powder is a deadly poison and he must get to the hospital's emergency room immediately or die. OK, OK, so much for fantasizing. One last note, you should wear pants that have buttons on the pockets. It is just an added line of protection. Cargo pants fit the bill quite nicely.

Get the Edge! Join Frank Scoblete in Las Vegas, October 21, 2011 for Advantage-Play Friday.