In the UK, gamblers are rushing to buy a £1,000 ($1,879) device that allows them to win at roulette. How does it work? Well, the gadget is made up of a time recorder, a hidden computer and an earpiece. It’s a “predictive device”, rather than a device that actually cheats directly. It’s somewhere along the lines of an aid that helps you count cards, but in this case, predicts where the ball will land.
The government’s national weights and measures laboratory investigated the technique. It is thought the cheats first identify a “biased” wheel, where the ball appears to commonly drop in roughly the same zone. They also look for signs on the wheel of a “manageable scatter”, which means that when the ball strikes a certain number, it will usually fall into a neighbouring pocket. The unpublished report concluded: “On a wheel with a definite bias and a manageable scatter, a prediction device of this nature, when operated by a ‘skilled’ roulette player, could obtain an advantage when used in a casino.”
Using this, a guy can gain from 20% to 100% over the casino, depending on how skilled he is. We wouldn’t recommend buying one and using it in Vegas, however. Not if you value your arms.
For sale for £1,000: gadget that means you’ll never lose at roulette again [Guardian Unlimited]