| I had done some mathematical work for Frank and as payment Frank gave me a free entry into one of his Golden Touch craps seminars; this one was held in Norwich, Connecticut this past August. I attended though I admit it was mostly out of curiosity. What a surprise was in store for me. The instructors, Bill Burton, Dominator, Bob (Mr. Finesse) Convertito, and Randy (Tenor) Rowsey were top notch and clearly my shooting improved over that two-day course. The thing that put me over the top, so to speak, was the no-sevens contest that we had at the end of the course. Each student had two chances to throw as many rolls as he or she (AP, Frank's wife, was one of the students) could without rolling the dreaded seven. One student, whose name was Gary, clearly had the best delivery. The dice consistently came rolling out of his hand in unison, staying together, and landed softly a few inches from the end of the table. It turned out that Gary had taken the Golden Touch course a year earlier and had returned to take it again and sharpen his skills. He told me he had practiced every day for a year. Believe me it showed. He rolled 31 times before the seven showed and was the best in our class; yours truly only made 12 rolls before the 7 but that is better than average (6 rolls). I had seen, with my own eyes, a student become a really skilled shooter. I was a believer. I bought a practice rig and have thrown every day that I could since then. Two weekends ago, November 14th, 15th and 16th, Frank Scoblete organized a Gambler's Jamboree at the Gold Strike Casino Resort Hotel in Tunica, Mississippi. Frank had called on several gambling experts to give talks and hold clinics for the attendees. Among the luminaries was Bill Burton (Low Limit Hold'Em Poker), Henry Tamburin (Blackjack Expert), John Robison (Slot and Video Poker Expert), John Grochowski (Chicago Sun Times writer and Video Poker Expert), Frank Legato (Gaming Columnist and Slot Reviewer - a really funny guy), Jean Scott (Video Poker and Comps Expert as well as the keynote speaker), Walter Thomason (Blackjack Writer), and the Golden Touch craps crew. Oh yeah, I was there too. Over 300 people attended and I would call it a huge success. Two things happened in Tunica that reinforced my belief in controlled shooting. First, on Saturday night after dinner, Frank and several of the Golden Touch crew headed next door to the Horseshoe to shoot some craps. Several of us tagged along including Jean Scott, Linda Mabry (more on Linda later), and myself. To make a long story short, when Frank got the dice he held them for an hour! Everybody at the table made money. People were standing three deep to try to get a spot at the table; there were none to be had, we all stayed. I estimate that table paid out between $10,000 and $20,000 during that roll. It was incredible. My biggest mistake was not betting enough (Isn't hindsight great?) but I still made a lot of money. What a memorable event. Second, on the next day as the conference was winding down and the Golden Touch crew had some spare time, I asked Mr. Finesse if he would take a look at my shooting technique. Although all of the GTC gang are great instructors, Bob was my personal instructor in Norwich and I have a special affection for him and his astute observation of shooting. He said fine and did have one criticism; my backswing was too fast. Other than that, however, he said that my shooting had improved and he basically just watched me. Unbeknownst to me he was keeping count of my shots and it turned out that I rolled 26 times before hitting a seven. I was not eligible to be in the no-sevens contest that was being held because I was a speaker, but had I been eligible I would have come in second (I believe the winner had 28 rolls). So I guess I'm learning. I have no illusions though; I know I need a lot more practice before I can call myself a controlled shooter. |
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