[red-beard]

Originally Posted by McLovin

I saw something similar in Vegas a year ago.

I always thought those guys with a foldup table doing the "shell game" were only in the movies, but they were really doing it on the sidewalk in Vegas, right on the strip (it was on one of the bridges connecting 2 of the huge hotels).

These were fairly high dollar games, I think $100 per bet, the guy has 3 cups and a ball and moves them around quickly and if you guess which one, you win. He does the shuffle first, while everyone is watching, and then asks for bets. Lots of people were stepping up with $100s.

It moves very quickly and hundreds are lost or won in a few seconds.

I'm assuming they have plants in the crowd that "win," but if so, these guys were pretty convincing. Overall, the shell guy seemed to win more than he lost, but he lost quite a few times, too.

It was actually probably the most entertaining thing I saw there all weekend.

There is no chance in that game. It is the skill of the "operator" to put the ball under the shell with the least money. Usually they palm the ball then slip it under a shell when they want to "show" it. The guy that usually "wins" is a shill.