Dear Mark,
I was asked to leave a casino because a pit boss believed I was adding more chips to my bet on a roulette table after the dealer “supposedly” called no more bets. I told him I didn’t hear the dealer say it, and that I was just adding chips to my favorite number, which I believe he was upset at because it just happened to be a winner. Does the casino have the right to toss me out? Nick B.

Let’s just say you were lucky, Nick, that you weren’t treated to bread and water courtesay of the local constabulary.

It’s obvious from your letter that the pit boss felt, right or wrong (I wasn’t there) that you were capping you bets, meaning, you were piling extra chips on top of your initial bet after the ball had dropped. Casinos consider this a serious form of cheating, and it’s a good way to get ejected from the casino and/or to spend some time in the slammer.

The primary function of a pit boss is to protect the company’s assets. It’s their job to be on the lookout for charlatans who “past-post” an unsuspecting croupier by adding chips to a winning number, or removing chips from a losing number after the ball has already dropped into the wheel. One time Yours Truly had such a hustler on a game that was graced with the hands of a magician. He could get chips on or off a table without me, a patsy break-in roulette dealer, even noticing. Luckily, an alert pit boss did, the 'eye in the sky' confirmed, and the casino ended up pressing charges to the fullest extent of the law.

Regarding the dealer calling “no more bets,” every casino, Nick, has its own set of guidelines on when they want the dealer to call it. Some before the spin, others will allow an experienced roulette dealer to halt wagering at his or her discretion. Since the casino holds a hefty 5.26% advantage over the player on all but one bet on the layout, obviously they want to wave in as many wagers per spin as possible within reason. To avoid a future fracas with casino pit personnel, I suggest you get your bets in early, well before the dealer voices “no more bets.”