Oh craps: a record throwing bonanza

Craps is an underrated game in this country. Across the pond it’s one of the main table games you’ll find in casinos, like something from the films: “Mumma wants a new pair of shoes”, and all that kind of stuff.

 

But it seems an impossibly difficult game to get the better off. Like roulette you are at the total mercy of someone else’s throw, though at least in craps you don’t have a spinning wheel and 37 numbers to contend – just the same old dice and 12 numbers.

 

So what are the odds of someone successfully rolling the dice 154 times in a single turn? Hard to fathom, but more important who could have ever managed so a feat?

 

We turn to Patricia DeMauro, who set the craps record back in 2009 when she did just that in Atlantic City.

 

According to a professor at the University of Nevada, it’s a one-in-3.5 billion shot, though he later updated it to one-in 5.3 billion. Of course the arcane science of statistics is not what we’re interested in here, but it’s interesting to see that a game like craps can conjure such an amount of column inches and research.

 

The thing about craps is that’s exciting. It generates a buzz around the table – can you imagine what it was like around Mrs DeMauro’s table at throw numer 153?

 

Craps is also a really easy game to get in to, which makes it great for parties. You can simplify the rules so it’s a straightforward game of dice rolling against the house.

 

As Mrs DeMauro showed, you don’t need to be an expert to have fun at craps. "This was only my second time playing craps, so this was very exciting for me to be a part of history,” she said after bagging the record.

 

The other great thing is that everyone around the table can take part, just like roulette. Of course guests may not manage to generate 154 throws and the house won’t be offering the sort of prizes won in Atlantic City, but it’s fun nonetheless. (Apparently the estimate table win was about $180,000 for Mrs DeMauro and co.)

 

Can it be bettered? Her record of over four hours has been likened to a perfect game in baseball, only harder. You could always try, but if you’re still at the craps table after four hours, you might be on your own!