On February 28th, 2009, an iPhone-based blackjack card counting system was recently used in a California Indian Casino. This brand new gaming application is causing a lot of buzz, and Nevada gambling regulators have issued an alert about it, warning Las Vegas casino facilities about its potential help in game play. The general consensus seems to be that skilled card players can practice card counting all they want and it is not prohibited. But if you do practice card counting in Las Vegas, casino facilities may choose not to conduct business with you. Casinos will block expert card counters from their facility or may lead them to a gaming area that requires less skill.
Gaming experts said that card counting is not illegal but Las Vegas casino facilities can throw you out if you are being to obvious about it. You are enjoying the game on their casino by their own rules and they do not need to prove that you are doing something wrong to throw you out of the casino. But that is not the issue across the US. In the state of New Jersey, the case of Uston versus Resorts Internation Hotel Incorporated was decided in favor of the player, as the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that casinos in Atlantic City could not block skilled card players.
It is different in Las Vegas casinos; they can harass and throw out customers as long as they are within accepted legal boundaries. Nevada casino facilities are threading a fine line in this way. Casino facilities love the fact that blackjack is a game that offers an advantage to players. This makes blackjack very popular with casino lovers and attracts a lot of incompetent players. But at the same time, casino facilities hate the fact that skilled players can win a lot of money. So when it comes to Las Vegas casinos, while thinking that it is not illegal, casino facilities can and will choose to kick you out of the casino if you are doing to well.
Using an i-Phone based blackjack card counting system is considered illegal everywhere, whether you are playing in New Jersey, Nevada or California. In the state of Nevada, you can use card counting in your head but the moment that you begin using a technological device, you are committing a felony. The Indian casino facility that first discovered the iPhone-based card counting system alerted the California Bureau of Gambling Control, which in turn notified Nevada and other gaming commissions around the country.
In response to the issue, Nevada gaming regulators issued warnings to casinos to be watchful for iPhone-based card counting devices. Nevada casinos takes gaming cheating very seriously and the iPhone-based card counting devices is a serious card counting application. It functions in different modes, like a stealth mode, where the screen is blanked and functions by touching different areas on the screen. It can use up to 4 separate techniques for card counting.
In Nevada, each casino facility makes its own rules regarding electronic device at gambling tables since not all devices are used to provide gamblers unnecessary advantage. Casino facilities are aware of the danger from these kinds of devices. With this latest gaming system exposed and the flexibility and the reliability of smart mobile phones on the rise, the gaming public should expect more crackdowns on electronic gaming devices in the near future.
Wednesday, April 08 , 2009
Thomas Johnson