Net Vegas

Makarand writes "Vegas has to have the best of tech to keep the plotters away. Popular Science has an online article on how networks are playing an important role in Las Vegas. Welcome to Net Vegas where slot machines are networked and surveillance grids monitor everything that goes on. Net Vegas proves to be the best and the harshest test pad for new tech. Net Vegas will eventually move out of the city and into your homes using the web."

Comments

Another Interesting Article

[denisonbigred]

Here's an interesting article from a month or two back in wired. True story about some kids from MIT breaking Vegas.

Re:How closely are the casino's being watched?

[Kierthos]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that for craps and blackjack, the house takes are the lowest (around 2%). In other words, they only expect to keep 2% of what is gambled there.

This does not mean that if you have $100, you will walk away with $98, especially if you insist on betting all $100 on one throw. What it means is that over a statistically significant period of time, your wins and losses combined will relieve you (and everyone else participating in that game) of about 2% of your cash.

However, the house _always_ wins in the end. In most Las Vegas casinos, you can get free drinks while gambling, which affects your judgement, makes you more likely to increase the size of your wager, etc.

Also, on those low "house take" games, the payouts tend to be smaller. Sure, on roulette, you can win 35 times what you bet if the ball lands on your number. But it has a 1:36 chance of doing so. You can bet on black and get a 2:1 payout, but there is slightly less then a 1:2 chance that it will land on black.

Gambling casinos are designed to take money out of your pocket and put it into the casino's pocket. Never forget that. Don't go there with the idea of breaking the bank.

However, if you have a $100 or $200, or the room gives you free chips to play with, and that's all you plan on using, have fun. If you come out ahead, great. If you lose those room chips, don't worry, you haven't dipped into your money yet. Just keep a level head on you, and you can have fun in Las Vegas.

Kierthos