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Holy Craps! How a Gambling Grandma Broke the Record (154 rolls w/out a 7 at a craps table)
Time Magazine ^ | May 29, 2009 | Claire Suddath

Posted on 05/30/2009 6:24:20 AM PDT by Arec Barrwin

Friday, May. 29, 2009 Holy Craps! How a Gambling Grandma Broke the Record By Claire Suddath

It sounds like a homework problem out of a high school math book: What is the probability of rolling a pair of dice 154 times continuously at a craps table, without throwing a seven?

The answer is roughly 1 in 1.56 trillion, and on May 23, Patricia Demauro, a New Jersey grandmother, beat those odds at Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. Demauro's 154-roll lucky streak, which lasted four hours and 18 minutes, broke the world records for the longest craps roll and the most successive dice rolls without "sevening out." According to Stanford University statistics professor Thomas Cover, the chances of that happening are smaller than getting struck by lightning (one in a million), being hit by an errant ball at a baseball game (one in 1.5 million) or winning the lottery (one in 100 million, depending on the game). (Read "When Gambling Becomes Obsessive.")

(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: craps; gambling; odds
Compare the 1 to 1.56 Trillion Odds to winning the lottery, which is "only" 1 to 100 million
1 posted on 05/30/2009 6:24:20 AM PDT by Arec Barrwin
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To: Arec Barrwin

Seems those are better odd than us ever seeing zer0’s BC


2 posted on 05/30/2009 6:28:16 AM PDT by Las Vegas Ron (zer0 is doing to capitalism what Kennedy did to health care)
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To: Arec Barrwin

How much did she win? Did Time even bother to find out? Does she own the casino now?


3 posted on 05/30/2009 6:29:00 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: Arec Barrwin

Maybe she brought her own dice.


4 posted on 05/30/2009 6:31:57 AM PDT by Tai_Chung
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To: 1rudeboy
How much did she win?

Ditto.
5 posted on 05/30/2009 6:34:59 AM PDT by TheLawyerFormerlyKnownAsAl
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To: Las Vegas Ron

Maybe these were affirmative action dice


6 posted on 05/30/2009 6:35:04 AM PDT by C210N (A patriot for a Conservative Renaissance!)
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To: Tai_Chung

I can guarantee you the casino changed dice many, many times


7 posted on 05/30/2009 6:35:19 AM PDT by Arec Barrwin
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To: Arec Barrwin

I just found my long lost Grandma!


8 posted on 05/30/2009 6:37:46 AM PDT by Man50D (Fair Tax, you earn it, you keep it!)
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To: TheLawyerFormerlyKnownAsAl

Even if she didn’t report it to the press, you know the casino did (for the publicity). Journalistic negligence, in my opinion.


9 posted on 05/30/2009 6:39:36 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy
She did an interview on Fox and she said she wasn't going to tell anyone how much she won.

Smart woman.

10 posted on 05/30/2009 6:41:35 AM PDT by Semper911 (When you want to rob Peter to pay Paul, you'll always have the support of Paul.)
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To: Arec Barrwin
I would loved to have been there. Damn.

Craziest thing I ever saw in craps was a guy shooting alone who rolled three '12s' in a row. No horn bets or hardways out on the table.

I looked at the stickman, he looked at the banker, banker looked at me, nobody looked at the shooter, and all of us around the table just shook our heads.

You won't likely be seeing something like that again soon.

11 posted on 05/30/2009 7:28:31 AM PDT by The KG9 Kid
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To: 1rudeboy

“Demauro declined to reveal how much money she won, but gambling experts estimate that if she made good bets, her winnings were probably in the hundreds of thousands; expert bets would have put them in the millions.”


12 posted on 05/30/2009 7:32:50 AM PDT by maggief
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To: maggief

You actually read the article! What a concept. :)


13 posted on 05/30/2009 7:33:59 AM PDT by don-o (My son, Ben - Marine Private First Class - 1/16/09 - Parris Island, SC)
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To: don-o

I skimmed it, and was wondering what the number was. The casino should be broadcasting it from the rooftops.


14 posted on 05/30/2009 7:35:15 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: don-o

LOL!

I had the same question. :)


15 posted on 05/30/2009 7:35:34 AM PDT by maggief
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To: maggief

I asked if Time bothered to try and find out the number.


16 posted on 05/30/2009 7:37:21 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: Arec Barrwin

“Demauro’s 154-roll lucky streak, which lasted four hours and 18 minutes, broke the world records for the longest craps roll and the most successive dice rolls without “sevening out.” According to Stanford University statistics professor Thomas Cover, the chances of that happening are smaller than getting struck by lightning (one in a million), being hit by an errant ball at a baseball game (one in 1.5 million) or winning the lottery (one in 100 million, depending on the game). (Read “When Gambling Becomes Obsessive.”)”

Reading the last sentence it sounds like she’s being sent to the cornfield.


17 posted on 05/30/2009 7:38:24 AM PDT by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, then writes again.)
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To: Arec Barrwin
What is the probability of rolling a pair of dice 154 times continuously at a craps table, without throwing a seven?

This is not the right question, as anyone who knows the rules of craps will agree. The probability of rolling the dice at least 154 times before sevening out is about 1 in 5.59 billion. It's still a long shot, but that trillion figure is bogus.
18 posted on 05/30/2009 7:38:40 AM PDT by The people have spoken
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To: maggief

I don’t blame her for declining to state her winnings.

She would have hundreds of long lost relatives who need financing for a “can’t miss” business deal.

Not sure how the pros would handle the betting, but I would siphon off 20% of winnings after each throw. You would have quite a pile when you eventually crapped out.


19 posted on 05/30/2009 7:39:39 AM PDT by neocon1984
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To: Arec Barrwin

Simply incredible. Shooting an hour without sevening out is a milestone few ever achieve, but rolling to hit your point for over 4 hours is simply amazing. The area around the table must have been packed.


20 posted on 05/30/2009 7:40:54 AM PDT by TADSLOS (Powell/Whorealdo 2012- The New GOP Dream Ticket)
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To: Arec Barrwin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAWojREqyXk

Tell her, Frank.

21 posted on 05/30/2009 7:44:49 AM PDT by The KG9 Kid
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To: Arec Barrwin

She didn’t win anything . . . the 155th roll did her in ; )


22 posted on 05/30/2009 7:45:36 AM PDT by Juan Medén
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To: neocon1984

That’s about right. The way I play is I set a max lose and min win goal. Play til I hit either. Once I hit the min win with 50% overage, the min win goes in my pocket and I play ONLY with the overage. I then take about 20% off the table each time a point is made. Thing is, we’d both run into the table limit pretty quick. After about 20 rolls, I’d have maxed out all points (come bet), full odds, and all hardways. Wouldn’t bother with Field, yo, etc. Then just rake in cash every throw for the next 124 throws. After a bit, would get the table to push for raising the table limits. Winnings would be in the millions.

Too bad I’ll probably never see that in person. Sigh.


23 posted on 05/30/2009 7:56:09 AM PDT by piytar (Take back the language: Obama axing Chrystler dealers based on political donations is REAL fascism!)
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To: The KG9 Kid

Odds of that are 1 in 46,656.

Just wasn’t that guys night.

Most amazing thing I ever saw at the crap table was a guy so drunk he could not stand up. He kept stumbling away from the table leaving his chips and wallet on the rail. I had to keep grabbing him and bringing him back. After about 5 minutes of this, I looked at the croupee and said, “Isn’t this about enough for him?”. Croupee called someone over and they helped him cash out and escorted him to the door. Chances of guys like this 1:5. Chances of casino stopping him playing 1:46,656.


24 posted on 05/30/2009 7:57:52 AM PDT by super7man
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To: The people have spoken

They figured the odds based on “never rolling a 7.” They don’t understand the rules. I guarantee she rolled plenty of 7s, just at the right times...


25 posted on 05/30/2009 8:05:57 AM PDT by piytar (Take back the language: Obama axing Chrystler dealers based on political donations is REAL fascism!)
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To: piytar
Oh, naturally. She got rid of her statistical sevens between the point.

I bet there's a pit boss out there in AC that's getting counseling for the nightmares that won't go away.

26 posted on 05/30/2009 8:14:09 AM PDT by The KG9 Kid
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To: Las Vegas Ron

lol . . . now, that’s funny.


27 posted on 05/30/2009 10:46:38 AM PDT by Ahithophel (Padron@Anniversario)
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To: Arec Barrwin
I can guarantee you the casino changed dice many, many times

Do you mean changed dice during Gambling Grandma's roll? If so, how can you guarantee that? It's player's privilege to use the same die during a roll and in 13 years of playing craps, I've never seen an exception to that rule.

28 posted on 05/30/2009 10:52:22 AM PDT by Ahithophel (Padron@Anniversario)
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To: The KG9 Kid
No horn bets or hardways out on the table.

I hit a hard twelve with a $50.00 bet, it was just a quick hunch, it paid $1,600 IIRC...once in a life time :)

Total suckers bet though, but hey, it's a great memory

29 posted on 05/30/2009 11:00:33 AM PDT by Las Vegas Ron (zer0 is doing to capitalism what Kennedy did to health care)
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To: The people have spoken
Agreed. And another thing TIME has wrong (for those who would otherwise be misinformed reading the article): a shooter's turn doesn't end after s/he makes her/his point; s/he just comes out again.

Wonder how often Grandma rolled a number on demand as the article indicates.

And finally, new favorite bet is all the hardways hopping (a one roll bet) for $1 each; costs $4 a roll but pays $30 (at most tables) - watched a guy the other night repeatedly make that hop bet at $25 each and walk with around $9k by my count. Once, after hitting, he doubled up and the next roll was a hard 8 - amazing (keep in mind: there's nothing sweeter that a repeater). I understand the hardways are widely viewed as a sucker bet, but if you're gonna' do it, why not have the courage of your convictions and bet them hopping?

30 posted on 05/30/2009 11:12:06 AM PDT by Ahithophel (Padron@Anniversario)
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To: Arec Barrwin
From the linked article: "... gambling experts estimate that if she made good bets, her winnings were probably in the hundreds of thousands; expert bets would have put them in the millions. "

It seems to me that any "expert" would need to recognize that the odds of winning anything on a roll of craps is less than one. That makes the smartest bet to not bet at all.

There are strategies for losing the least amount of money.

31 posted on 05/30/2009 12:00:55 PM PDT by William Tell
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To: Las Vegas Ron

I saw a fella roll several seven’s in a row once and thought it was pretty amazing. I later found out they were his dice. Any bet on that table was a sucker bet.


32 posted on 05/30/2009 12:25:51 PM PDT by Aloysius88 (Play nice. Die peaceful. Wave goodbye to freedom.)
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To: Aloysius88
Any bet on that table was a sucker bet.

Unless there were "don't pass" betters...hate 'em

33 posted on 05/30/2009 1:25:21 PM PDT by Las Vegas Ron (zer0 is doing to capitalism what Kennedy did to health care)
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To: Arec Barrwin

.


34 posted on 05/20/2011 3:41:12 PM PDT by FreeManWhoCan (Watch Rubio.)
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