British moron bets life savings in Vegas, wins.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-04-12 11:42am

He sold his house and everything he owned, turned it to cash and bet it all on one spin of the roulette wheel. Expect idot copycats to follow.

linky

Super-Gagme · Post by **Super-Gagme** » 2004-04-12 11:47am

He did it for a TV show which, I bet, had some clause to say he wouldn't walk away empty handed if he lost.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2004-04-12 11:47am

Yeah, it was broadcast on sky, though i missed it and didn't care that much. Oh well, lucky him i suppose.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-04-12 11:47am

considering he bet it on a color as opposed to anything that would obviously be more high risk, it's not surprising that he won. his chances were 50-50, which is considerably better than other spots on the wheel. though if it'd landed on black he'd probably be kicking himself, hard.

SoX · Post by **SoX** » 2004-04-12 11:56am

Also it was his idea to get it filmed, if he lost he could probably start up again on income from broadcasting a "i bet my life savings and lost" program. probably not as much as winning of course.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2004-04-12 01:35pm

Actually, because there are two house spaces on the wheel, the odds are somewhat less than 50-50 if you bet a color. Not that it matters to me, because no matter how I bet on roulette I end up losing--though I once came within one bounce of winning about $2000 when I threw a bunch of money on "8". The ball dropped into "8", but bounced out and stopped a few numbers over.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-04-12 01:37pm

RedImperator wrote:Actually, because there are two house spaces on the wheel, the odds are somewhat less than 50-50 if you bet a color. Not that it matters to me, because no matter how I bet on roulette I end up losing--though I once came within one bounce of winning about $2000 when I threw a bunch of money on "8". The ball dropped into "8", but bounced out and stopped a few numbers over.

true, though the odds on red or black are still far greater than just about everything else. except maybe odds/evens.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2004-04-12 01:41pm

Darth_Zod wrote:
RedImperator wrote:Actually, because there are two house spaces on the wheel, the odds are somewhat less than 50-50 if you bet a color. Not that it matters to me, because no matter how I bet on roulette I end up losing--though I once came within one bounce of winning about $2000 when I threw a bunch of money on "8". The ball dropped into "8", but bounced out and stopped a few numbers over.
true, though the odds on red or black are still far greater than just about everything else. except maybe odds/evens.

The odds are the same for odds-evens, because "0" and "00" aren't odd or even numbers.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2004-04-12 01:44pm

in roullette, do you win more than you bet? if so, just bet half on red, half on black. hedge it. if you loose red, you only loose half of your money, but you win on black so you get mroe than half back. bingo, instant win.

but i suspect you cant do that.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-04-12 01:48pm

kojikun wrote:in roullette, do you win more than you bet? if so, just bet half on red, half on black. hedge it. if you loose red, you only loose half of your money, but you win on black so you get mroe than half back. bingo, instant win.

but i suspect you cant do that.

depends on what you place the bet on. odds/evens and red/black is usually 2-1. then they have sections of numbers, ie - 1-10, 11-20, etc. which is 3-1. then there's individual numbers. not entirely sure how it works ,but the lower the odds are of you hitting a number the higher the payoff is if it happens to land on it.

with odds/evens and red/black having the lowest payoff possible.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2004-04-12 02:00pm

50/50 odds are absolutely shit. You'd be better off playing blackjack, where at most places you can expect to only lose 3%.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-04-12 02:22pm

kojikun wrote:in roullette, do you win more than you bet? if so, just bet half on red, half on black. hedge it. if you loose red, you only loose half of your money, but you win on black so you get mroe than half back. bingo, instant win.

but i suspect you cant do that.

that defeats the purpose of gambling. if you put $5 on one and $5 on the other you will always break even every bet. If that's you're idea of gambling then why don't you save yourself from paying for a the trip to Vegas and go play with the change machine at Chuck E Cheese's.

The Third Man · Post by **The Third Man** » 2004-04-12 03:14pm

kojikun wrote: but i suspect you cant do that.

Well, I don't think its outside the rules, but you wouldn't break even long-term because there is a little green slot which is neither black/white nor odd/even (actually two green slots under US rules I believe.) The ball lands on that, and all your lucre goes to the house. The green slot and the maximum betting limit make roulette statistically unbeatable.

Wicked Pilot wrote: You'd be better off playing blackjack, where at most places you can expect to only lose 3%.

With sufficiently skillful play, you can do better than that and even swing the odds in your favour. Unfortunately, casinos refer to "sufficiently skillful play" as "card counting" and will either ban you for it, or ply you with free alcohol until your skill level drops to a level more to their liking.

However, I would have to add that both these games offer much, much better odds than things like the UK National Lottery. They also offer the advantage that the actual gambling activity goes on for longer and is more mentally stimulating, plus it takes place in pleasant surroundings with discounted or even free drinks rather than a miserable, wordless queue in a newsagents handing over their paper coupons and one pounds like 1950s Soviet-style rationing was in force.

Ted C · Post by **Ted C** » 2004-04-12 03:34pm

Col. Crackpot wrote:that defeats the purpose of gambling. if you put $5 on one and $5 on the other you will always break even every bet. If that's you're idea of gambling then why don't you save yourself from paying for a the trip to Vegas and go play with the change machine at Chuck E Cheese's.

Worse, it actually works in the house's favor. If you bet evenly on both red and black, you'll break even if it hits either, but you'll lose double if it happens to land in one of the two green spaces.

The Aliens · Post by **The Aliens** » 2004-04-12 04:21pm

I saw this on the news, and that guy would easily recoup his losses in the event of guessing wrong by media exposure. Although, I don't think many people would want the guy who lsot everything hocking(sp?) their product.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2004-04-12 05:30pm

Gambling to make money is basically a fool's errand if you're playing against the house. The game is rigged that in the long term, almost everyone loses. The appeal is being able to go to a big flashy casino, enjoy cheap liquor and the company of others, and have fun playing cards or roulette or dice. That's why I never understood the appeal of slots machines--just sit there feeding the damn thing money. At least at the roulette wheel I got a moment with my heart in my throat when I thought I was actually going to win a single-number bet.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2004-04-12 07:06pm

Gambling is basically paying to be entertained for a while.

As for this guy, well, yeah he is an idiot. But he did win. I wonder if people would think him a bigger idiot if he lost.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2004-04-12 07:35pm

Is there anyway to tell if a person is counting cards in blackjack?

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-04-12 07:39pm

HemlockGrey wrote:Is there anyway to tell if a person is counting cards in blackjack?

the only way the hotels can really tell if someone is counting cards is if there's some type of pattern to their win/lose streak, or if they're winning an insane amount of times more than they should be. there's also cameras monitoring each table, so that the security can keep track of anyone pulling sly tricks such as cards hidden in their sleeves, switches, etc.

unless they do it more than a few times though it's difficult to tell.

Jon · Post by **Jon** » 2004-04-12 08:24pm

Moron?

He's the one with quite a bit of cash in his back pocket.

Gambling is bad.

Alferd Packer · Post by **Alferd Packer** » 2004-04-12 08:36pm

IIRC, blackjack, craps, and video poker are the three games which, if correctly played, give you the best chance of not being taken to the cleaners. Blackjack especially.

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2004-04-12 08:45pm

kojikun wrote:in roullette, do you win more than you bet? if so, just bet half on red, half on black. hedge it. if you loose red, you only loose half of your money, but you win on black so you get mroe than half back. bingo, instant win.

but i suspect you cant do that.

Wouldn't help. All casino games are made so that the house will come out on top in the long term. There is no casino game where the odds are 50-50, and the amounts won are adjusted with the odds of winning so the house will win more in the long term.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2004-04-12 10:00pm

This guy is a dumb ass but he has balls. I have to admit, more than once I've wished I could pull something like this off. Being laid off makes you feel pretty insecure money wise, and you start dreaming.

As for blackjack, there was a good article today a www.fool.com about how many casinos are making blackjack odds really bad for the player. Its a registered site, but basically they are taking advantage of low bet novice gamblers.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2004-04-12 10:15pm

Slot machines? Ya, they're mindless. That's why you attack it _ONCE_. I just happened to hit one with a lucky shot and turned $5 into $40, neatly paying for the 4-place dinner buffet my boyfriend, my dad, his GF, and I just ate.