For this answer we turned to the inimitable Max Rubin, author of Comp City and one of our favorite QoD contributors. We've missed you, Max. Welcome back.
Changing roulette balls is completely legal and completely stupid, especially when the dealer proclaims that he's changing from a "boulder" to a "pebble" (and showed a fairly large pair of balls himself).
Now you’ve gotta ask, "Why the hell would he do that?" The short answer is, "Because he can and he probably didn’t like you or your play."
I’m just guessing here, but I’d lay good money that you were winning. I'd even up the bet that you weren’t throwing a lot of your winnings into the toke box. If you were losing big and tipping, he may have been trying to change your luck for the better (or at least making you think he was).
Dealers and/or bosses arbitrarily change roulette balls based on how the table is doing and it’s usually because they believe that voodoo will change the outcome of future results. It makes about as much sense as sprinkling salt in the pit when the dice are hot (which some casino managers still do) and it’s about as effective.
On rare occasions, a boss who isn’t a complete moron will change the ball if your betting style indicates that you're one of the handful of players on this planet who can actually track the trajectory of the ball as it relates to the wheel’s speed and bet accordingly. In that case, changing the ball makes sense, as roulette balls that are bigger/smaller, heavier/lighter or made of different materials (ivory, plastic, hard rubber, etc.) will roll differently and take on different bounce characteristics when they hit the wheel head. And they're all legal.
Based on your question, it’s probably safe to assume that you don’t have superhuman tracking skills and don't use an illegal roulette computer. So, in your case, all the dealer (and possibly a boss who was sweating your action) managed to do was piss you off when he decided that the "pebble" would change your luck, with the added dimension that you wondered if you were being cheated.
Hopefully, you’ve moved on to a more player-friendly casino (or dealer, at least) where you’ll be treated like the great customer you are. If you can’t find a new home, drop me a line and I’m sure that I can steer you to some casinos that will value your $25 inside chip action on the wheel. Plus, give you the comps you justly deserve.
