Golden Touch Crew Coming to Chicago

The Golden Touch Craps Crew is coming! The most successful dice-control experts in the world, led by Frank Scoblete, the nation's No. 1 best selling gaming author, will conduct a seminar in Chicago the weekend of Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27. For prices and packages log on to www.goldentouchcraps.com or call 1-866-SET-DICE.

Members of the Golden Touch faculty recently participated in challenge matches against three Las Vegas casinos. The matches were taped by the A&E Network for a future television special. I can tell you that the Golden Touchers won, but seeing how they pulled it off will make for entertaining viewing.

Scoblete takes the position that controlling the dice is the only way to get a long-run edge over the game of craps. The Golden Touch method not only teaches the technique, but also how to bet when unskilled random shooters roll the dice as well as how to fully exploit those shooters who are controlling the dice.

Which brings us to an interesting question: If enough people successfully master the art of dice control (and it isn't easy) and casinos perceive they're losing an edge at their craps tables, will they alter the way the game is played?

As it stands now, there are only two rules of protocol which shooters must observe. First, they must handle the dice only with one hand and they must hold the dice over the layout at all times. Second, the dice must be thrown down the center of the table and they must hit the pyramid contoured foam rubber padding against the back wall of the table.

The shooter is given as much time as he or she requires to "set" the dice on the layout before picking them up and rolling. This setting procedure is one of the components of proper dice control technique. For example, making sure the "three spot" is on top on both of the cubes and holding them together so that they form a "V".

Casinos, if they think dice setting is compromising their profits, could decide to prohibit dice setting. "Just pick 'em up and roll 'em" could be an enforced rule.

After Edward Thorp's 1962 best seller Beat the Dealer popularized card counting at blackjack tables, single-deck games disappeared in favor of six and eight-deck shoes. Expert card counters were even barred from playing. Will expert dice controllers meet a similar fate?

Frank Scoblete, the dean of the Golden Touch Craps Crew faculty, offered his views on the subject:

"Like card counting, which created an economic boom for the casinos from people who thought they could do it but couldn't, very few people who take dice control instruction and attempt a controlled throw will succeed. But as more and more people think they can win, craps play will escalate and so will the casinos' profits.

"I think we will see an explosion in craps play in the next decade even though a fraction of a percent of that play will be from players who can indeed win over an extended period of time. It is my hope casinos will never tinker with the game. To do so will kill it. The allure of craps is the idea that you take your fate into your own hands every time you pick up the dice and roll them. Otherwise it's like playing a slot machine."

During the card counting revolution, teams of master blackjack players attempted to make controlled assaults on blackjack tables in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. After a couple of successful invasions, the casinos quickly frowned upon the practice.

If a team of proven dice control experts were to ever monopolize a craps table and start making inordinate profits, I think the casino operators would quickly move in and "discourage" team play. But "Lone Ranger" dice controllers will in all likelihood be tolerated.