I worked as a croupier and gaming inspector in the Seychelles. The casino wasn’t very modern and didn’t have a chip collection machine. Our roulette wheel was unbalanced for three months because no maintenance technician could travel to the Seychelles. All our dealers were beginners fresh out of school or seasonal workers. The ball kept landing on the neighbors of zero. We could have lost a huge amount, but our honeymooners didn’t notice anything since they weren’t regular casino players. Unfortunately, no one I knew was available at the time to come and play at the casino. 
Interesting, may I ask how old the wheel was?
And if the casino had any countermeasures against biases - like softwares / systems that stores the results and detects numbers/sectors hitting more than fair?
There was a screen on the roulette table with a simple display showing the last numbers drawn, but no analysis of hot numbers. The wheel was probably less than ten years old. It’s quite common to find biased wheels in African casinos due to the lack of specialized technicians on site to fix issues quickly.
In this small casino, there were only two roulette tables, and things quickly got hectic if only one was open. A larger casino would probably have shut the table down until it was repaired.
The only way we had to detect bias was through the opening procedure, where we used a level to check the wheel’s balance during the evening setup.
It doesn’t matter whether the roulette wheel is new or old - it still generates approximately the same amount of money for the casino.
You can replace them every year, spend a lot of money on their technical maintenance and end up with less profit, or you can do nothing and, with minimal maintenance, have significantly more…
Casinos are guided by numbers of benefit, and if they are good, they don’t worry about bias or anything else.
If you think that casinos are full of vulnerable roulette wheels, try to make money by standing on the player’s side, and you will very quickly realize how that it is not simple… 
I know several ex-dealers who tried to make a career pro player and know how they ended…
Thanks for your reply.
I understand your point, but from my experience in a small seaside casino, the environment was quite tough: humid heat, salty air, and air conditioning only on from opening until 4 a.m. These conditions caused faster wear on the equipment, even with minimal regular maintenance. Since there was no qualified staff for machine upkeep, we had to call technicians from Europe or the US.
Another factor is the dealers’ spins. Early in their career, most dealers have only one instinctive way to spin the ball ‘ same speed and motion every time. This makes spins more predictable for a while, creating a temporary bias until they gain experience.
Of course, none of this guarantees anything long term Whether former dealers or regular casino players, it’s often that dose of pride that prevents them from stopping whether they are winning or losing. This stubborn trait can be quite toxic and is often what leads them to difficulties in the long run.
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To win, a player must have certain knowledge and skills. I would say that maybe even a certain proportion between knowledge and ability is necessary…
Working as a dealer doesn’t give you the necessary knowledge, it can give you some skills, but not necessarily…
I have a number of dealers I know, current or former… I doubt very much if any of them could do anything good as a professional player… I don’t think so.
A person - who has watched a lot of films - is unlikely to be a good film director - probably not…
Professional play and working in a casino or playing for fun are very different things. The reason why there are so few professional players is that it is very difficult to do so…
The quality of roulette often does not have the necessary impact - players lose against both ideal and fairly strong biased …
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I’m not saying that a dealer has better skills to become a professional player , they’re human like everyone else and can also fall for the adrenaline rush of gambling.
But as for me, having worked both on the gaming floor and in surveillance, I believe I have the necessary knowledge to play under the radar, avoid being banned, and recognize the signals and codes used by pit bosses, so I know exactly when it’s time to leave.
I’d say that this experience has allowed me to enter a casino today with much more confidence, knowing what goes on behind the tables and the cameras, both before and after the tables open.
All the visual and human circus they’ve set up to impress customers no longer works on me
At the casino’s opening, before the dealers arrive on the floor, we have to place a spirit level on the wheel. It’s part of the table opening procedure. It was by performing this test that we understood. Add to that the consistent spin of a beginner dealer, and you already have two biases on the table.
If the table is unbalanced, it’s up to the pit boss to decide whether to open the table or not. This information is only shared among management and surveillance staff — not with dealers or players, of course.
In our casino, which had only two roulette wheels in total, the table was always kept open.
I don’t know why you feel that an off level wheel will develop a section bias.
An unbalanced table also has nothing to do with section bias.
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That’s an interesting point, but just to clarify, many players and researchers, including Laurance Scott, have shown that even a slight off-level condition can lead to a measurable section bias.
It’s not speculation, it’s based on thousands of documented spins and repeatable physical effects, such as how gravity subtly influences deceleration and diamond contact points.
Plenty of edge play over the years has come exactly from spotting this kind of subtle mechanical flaw.
I think I see the problem. You’re referring to a drop zone bias on the apron of the wheel. Yes dominant ball drops happen. Much of the time it’s because the wheel is off level. But sometimes it’s because the wheel is just born with it, or it warped over time. When this has happened releveling the wheel won’t randomize the dominant ball drop.
Actual section biases pertaining to the numbers on the wheel have very little to do with whether or not the wheel is level . So I’m guessing that you’re just referring to just a drop zone bias.
Yes, a dominant ball drop is good for VB and computer play.
By the way, regarding Laurance Scott…it’s interesting how many of his posts have just vanished. Some of us, including Laurance have reported the issue and have never received a real response. Some sketchy things have happened on the forum.
-Snowman
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