Beating the Dealer with ESP!
by Arnold Snyder
(From Casino Player December 1993)
© Arnold Snyder 1993
Question from a Player: Has there ever been a test of psychic abilities with regards to making gambling decisions? How would the casinos protect themselves against psychic gamblers?
I am not psychic myself but I have seen some pretty impressive demonstrations by psychics, especially one very gifted individual with whom I have discussed this idea at some length. I am considering forming a team with this gentleman to take on the casinos of the world, starting in Atlantic City. Would the Atlantic City casinos be allowed to prohibit us from playing for exhibiting psychic abilities under the current regulations?
The Good News: Atlantic City Casinos Cannot Bar Gamblers for Having Psychic Powers
Answer: Is this a put on? Every few years it seems I get a letter asking about the use mental telepathy, or astrology, or numerology, or some other less than scientific approach, to beating the gaming tables. Though I make no personal claim to psychic talents, I prefer to take these queries at face value, give the questioner the benefit of the doubt, and assume the question is sincere.
The good news is that the Atlantic City casinos are not allowed to bar players for displays of psychic power! In fact, if it’s the possibility of being barred that most distresses you in this proposed venture, then you and your psychic sidekick should just stay put in Atlantic City, and forget the rest of the world.
Casinos in Nevada, and everywhere else that I know of except New Jersey, may bar players from their games pretty much at whim. In New Jersey, the Casino Control Commission requires casinos to allow all players who are playing according to the rules and regulations — provided they are not drunk and disorderly or otherwise a public nuisance — to gamble. The official rules and regulations do not define psychic decision making as a gaming violation.
You can thank the late Ken Uston for making Atlantic City’s gaming tables safe for psychics — though I’m sure he never intended to do this.
Questions to Ask Before You Invest In a Psychic
I have a couple questions for you, however:
One, why would any real psychic want to team up with you, since you admit you possess no such skills? Any player who could predict just the blackjack dealer’s hole card, or the next card to be dealt from the shoe, could quickly bankrupt any table he sat down at. Likewise, if he could predict the next roll of the dice, or where the roulette ball would fall. . . . A psychic doesn’t need a team. Donald Trump is no match for an honest-to-goodness psychic.
Two, don’t you find it just a little bit curious that no casino in the world has provisions for dealing with psychic threats to their coffers? Especially when you consider that no casino could survive if even a small handful of psychics were roaming the pits looking for action.
Wait. . . I know. . . your job in this “psychic team” deal is to supply the money, right? Am I right? (Am I psychic, or what?)
Quite frankly, if there is some self-styled psychic trying to convince you to “invest” in this get-rich-quick scam, wise up. And why didn’t this psychic wonder inform you in advance of my opinion on this matter? ♠