EasyRhino said:
Let's give the casino a whole lot of credit. Let's assume they have a crack surveillance staff (or a VP of table games hawking the game), who can verify that yes, indeed, the player is counting. And yes, indeed, they are performing to a technically proficient enough level to where the player should have statistically significant advantage...
... But currently the playing is getting his ass handed to him.
Why would the casino mess around with letting the guy dig himself a whole? It's like trying to call the bottom on the stock market, you won't know you've hit until you've already passed it. The very next hand the guy plays (or more precisely, the next hand in a positive count), could be the start of him regaining his advantage. And sure, that hand may only be a couple thousand dollars, but why would the casino even mess with it? Why not take action right now.
If the casino is just waiting until he stops being "unlucky", then they're thinking like ploppies. If they're still kind of not sure if the guy actually has an advantage, then maybe they aren't that sure about their evaluation of his skill level.
Or, there's the final possibility, and that they're willing to risk a few grand of the their house's money in order to be douches, just because it would be fun.
My guess is that over time they discovered that this regular customer was counting, but was already well on the loser side. Since I don't know for sure, I'll guess he's a lousy counter and although he's trying to take the casino off, they can see his ineptitude, and are quite content to allow him to continue losing serious bread, while always keeping an eye on him, lest he improve and turn the tables. I would assume that casinos welcome would-be, but inept, counters. The name of the game is revenues.
It reminds me of two acquaintances who played poker in a certain poker game. They discovered that one of the players, a motel owner, was using marked cards against them. I don't know the how of it, but the two men found a way to beat the motel owner, possibly using his own marked cards to better advantage, or possibly seeing his cheating as a license for them to return in kind with something stronger, but whatever the method, one of the two men winded up as half owner of the motel plus the two of them won a lot of loot besides.
The point is, when you discover someone is trying to rip you off, your reaction may not be to quit the game or call the person out. It may just fire up your enthusiasm for beating your opponent. In the case of the counter, you may reason that you can continue to beat him, but he cannot beat you, since you can pull the plug at any time. If I was manager, I might instruct my team to permit him to play, but if he wins over "X" amount, immediately back him off, revealing that you have documented evidence of his superior play (i.e., counting). Of course, you may invite him to continue flatbetting whatever he wants, which will give him a chance to get his money back sans counting.
Cards are war, in disguise of a sport. ~Charles Lamb
PS--I am not privy to the thinking of this well known casino, but for whatever reason this counter is still be allowed to play. If you can come up with a better reason than I did, go for it. But I wouldn't be quick to stereotype casino management/personnel.
