Article 1 of 6

Subject:      Casino Windsor prosecution
From:         swood@unixg.ubc.ca (Stephen Wood)
Date:         1995/07/21
Message-Id:   <3unbgo$9l1@nntp.ucs.ubc.ca>
Organization: The University of British Columbia
Keywords:     court, counting, blackjack
Newsgroups:   rec.gambling.blackjack
Summary:      counters prosecuted


News on local radio and papers today about a current court case involving 
prosecution by the Casino Windsor.

A reprinted story by Roseann Danese from the Windsor Star includes the 
following comments which are included under the policy of fair use.

"Card pros count more than money: Three Casino Windsor players charged 
with cheating at play readily admit they were counting cards and tracking 
aces.  But they maintain their "strategy" was not a method of cheating.  

THE STRATEGY

Professional card players pretend to be ordinary gamblers, because casino 
operators do not want them in their establishments.  They wager large 
sums of cash on behalf of their "investors" who employ them to play at 
casinos across North America.
"Key girls" are responsible for tracking aces and then secretly 
signalling to their partner, the "big player".
The "big player" keeps a running count of the cards that have emerged and 
places bets.


The three are highly skilled individuals, who can be likened to players 
in professional sports, according to their lawyer, Don Tait.  In no way 
are they altering the game Tait told provincial division judge Saul 
Nosanchuk.

Christopher Zalis, of Marlton, N.J., Barbara Dancey, of West Bloomfield, 
Mich., and Karen Conroy, of State College, Penn., were arrested May 28, 
1994 as they sat at Casino Windsor blackjack tables.  They were searched 
and eventually charged under the Criminal Code with cheating at play.

The setup is that the "key girls," responsible for tracking aces and 
keying in on them, secretly signal the "big player,"the person playing 
the cards, who is also responsible for keeping a running count of the 
cards that have emerged.

The three, who aroused the suspicions of a casino manager, were monitored 
for two days before they were arrested.  The casino suspected the three 
were using a computer to help them keep count, but police found only a 
solar calculator and some beads that were used to keep track of how often 
they were correct on their calls.

Crown attorney Denis Harrison said the keying of aces is an attempt at 
"altering the element of chance."  This allows the players to develop a 
system that enables them to predict the cards that will be dealt.  That, 
he argued, is cheating.

He said the system using three people at the table - one playing and the 
other two looking for key cards - is "akin to using a device."

"Why are they using two key girls and one big player?" Harrison asked.  
"Because one person would find it very difficult, if not impossible, to 
follow the aces" while concentrating on the play at the same time.

In this case the 30-year-old Zalis was placing bets.  As part of the team 
he was responsible for counting cards.  That's done by assigning a 
number, -1, 0 or +1, to the cards that are played.  Casino Windsor plays 
with an eight deck pile.

Dancey, 57, and Conroy, 29, were the two key girls responsible for keying 
in on aces.  One of the women would memorize the three cards - "steering 
cards" - that followed the ace.  If the system was working - which would 
have depended upon several factors, the most important being how they 
were shuffled by the dealer - they would have been able to predict when 
the ace emerged based on the cards that came out before it.  Then, the 
signal would be given that the ace was on its way and that the bet should 
be pushed up to the maximum that the table allows."


Must admit I've never heard of this "steering aces" in an 8 deck shoe.  
Anyone care to explain how its done?

Outcome of this trial will be interesting as it will set the Canadian 
precedent. Currently defence is arguing a non-suit motion to have the 
case thrown out of court.