TABLE GAMES By Al Moe
LIVE VERSUS DIGITAL CRAPS What Is The Difference?
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or some craps players, there’s no difference between a video game, a digital craps table, and the real thing: three dealers with dice and chips flying across the layout. I disagree, but we get what we get most times in life. ARIZONA GAME CHOICES There are four types of craps games in casinos these days. The most generic is a single-player video game where you can make bets like Pass and No Pass, take odds, and bet the Field. The dice totals are computer-generated, and the game rates about a two out of ten on my fun meter. In contrast, players have enjoyed the “Giant Dice” electronic games in Arizona for several years now. They offer a group atmosphere, players sit at their own monitors, making most of the wagers found on a standard live game, and everyone watches intently as the dice bounce oddly in the plastic bubble. The downside is that it’s not a table with a shooter throwing the dice; you can only bet a fraction of what you can on a live game, and “It ain’t the same,” as several players have told me. Still, it’s twice as much fun as the video game. FULL TABLE CRAP GAMES With the adoption of real craps in Arizona late last year, players can get a better feel for a live game by playing at a digital craps table. It’s full-sized, and players do toss the dice, but there’s a strange disconnect having to place all your bets (under the pressure of a ticking clock) on a video screen at your own station. The game sports just one dealer stickperson who offers the dice, retrieves them, and calls out the totals. There’s little conversation, no banter, and some boisterous fun. Still, the dealers can offer help if you’ve got questions about the wagers available or how to shoot the dice. But don’t forget the shot clock is in effect! A real game, the standard offering in Vegas, takes three dealers and a Boxman to handle the action when crowds jam around
the table. In Arizona, with the new wager limits (technically up to $100,000 at baccarat, blackjack, craps, and roulette), bets start at a $25 minimum and top out at $2,500 on the new games. There are always three dealers on the craps tables for those limits – and no clock. You can place wagers, take ‘em down, or turn some off on the next roll. Try that on a video game! If you’ve got questions about a bet, want to take full odds on a wager, or need change, the stickperson will hold the dice up to let the inside dealers handle your action. That’s the service you need on a busy craps game. But the best thing about a live game is the player comradery, rooting their wagers to be winners. You can be loud, silly, and excited every roll. A bonus is the stickperson’s corny jokes, dice slang like two-way bets (you and the dealers), snake eyes (a single dot on each of the dice), and boxcars for a total of 12. You probably won’t hear my favorites like “nino-nineo, drunken wino!”, or “niner-niner, Boxman’s a whiner!” But you’ll hear “come-out roll, horn bet, high, low, and yo!” A busy craps game is off the charts fun. $
Writer Al Moe has worked in the casino industry for many years. He has lived and worked in Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe. He also attended the University of Nevada, Reno. He is an avid writer and blogger. His book, “Vegas and the Mob," is available online at Amazon.com. He is also the proud father of four beautiful girls.
16 Arizona Gaming Guide | January 2022 | azgamingguide.com
