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Mathematician Saves Casino Execs From Disaster
Casinos cater to all kinds of players that enter through their doors. Naturally, the regulars won’t be a problem because they play by the rules. Trouble arises when there are players that don’t play by the rules when they come into a casino.
These kinds of people will do anything to get the upper hand which is why they’re also called cheaters. They have cheated casinos out of millions by doing all sorts of things. Luckily, Persi Diaconis was available to casino execs and saved them from being cheated again via the new shuffling machine.
Outsmarting a Machine
These Vegas execs had been cheated before by a gang of hustlers. To promote fair play and randomness the casino employed card shuffling machines that shuffle the cards in no given order. But the hustlers were clever because they managed to sneak a camera into the machines.
With the camera, they were able to look at the way the cards are shuffled and they knew which card would be the next one to appear. One hustler would sit at the table while the other would receive the camera’s images in a nearby parking lot.
They made off with millions of dollars and they weren’t caught. That’s why the execs of these casinos decided to get new shuffling machines and contacted a crew of engineers to build them. After they were done, they were brought to the casinos for testing and the engineers assured them that no one would be able to figure out the way the cards were shuffled.
That’s when Persi Diaconis was brought into the scene. He was a former magician that turned mathematician that made it all the way to Stanford. He and his collaborator Susan Holmes had the task of testing the new card shuffling machine.
Persi and his collaborator notices that the new machine didn’t shuffle cards randomly. Instead, the machine had rising and falling sequences that helped them predict which card was next. When they found this out they shared it with the casino executives. They weren’t happy about the findings, but they thanked him and his collaborator for saving them from another potential disaster.
Cheaters never prosper is the saying, but it’s not that true in the circle of casinos. A good cheater won’t be caught and make off with a lot of money. That’s why experts like Persi are there to help keep the shuffling machines random. By doing so they ensure fair play for all the visitors of a casino. That’s why casino execs will continue to find ways to weed the cheaters out and ensure that all players have the same chance at winning in card games.
Conclusion
Every land-based casino has to deal with cheaters and people looking to exploit the system. That’s why the casino execs need to find a variety of ways to battle the next cunning cheater. Thanks to experts like Persi, they can win the next battle in the war against cheaters. Play it fair, and you won’t have to worry about anything.
