• Bubble Craps Machine In California
• Craps Machine In California

A new game at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln (Placer County) is changing the way Californians play the fast-paced dice game of craps.

Roulette's a really old game, but you can't play the time-honored style in California. Sure, the state allows roulette, just not in the traditional style. Roulette has always been a stylish and regal game, unlike craps, which is a tougher, more aggressive game. However, neither game is allowed in California, and there's a good reason. Vegas-inspired Craps is here! Enjoy Las Vegas-inspired craps with 5X odds—the the best in Southern California! Viejas Craps Bonus Bets Introducing Viejas Craps Bonus Bets! All Small & All Tall. Add more fun and excitement to your gaming experience. Hit All Small: 2,3,4,5,6, or All Tall: 8,9,10,11,12 or select both before the cards read 7 and win! Tribal casinos are legally allowed to offer electronic gaming machines, blackjack, and other house-banked card games. The games of craps and roulette are not permitted. However, some California casinos do offer modified versions of craps and roulette that are played with cards rather than dice or roulette wheels. Nevada gaming law, or as the stickman put it, 'some kind of compromise,' has no influence on craps in California. The real reason you came upon this form of craps is that California law prohibits casino game outcomes from being determined by dice (craps), and Indian casinos must abide by those same regulations.

Most craps tables in our home state incorporate cards or bouncing balls - alternatives that satisfy state gaming laws that prohibit the outcome of a betting game to be determined exclusively by dice.

Craps because California Craps is a banked card game. (The game of Craps is a banked game played in which dice determine the outcome and for that reason is illegal to deal, carry on, open, cause to be opened, or conducted, under California law.) The Division of Gambling Control considers California Roulette and California Craps, as described, to be.

This new game, manufactured by a company called Vegas Star and distributed by ShuffleMaster, was unveiled last month and turns tradition on its head.

Like a cross between a Wii game and a casino from Second Life, the experience is a combination of hardware and random-number-generating software that creates a virtual craps table where players manipulate simulated dice and electronic chips.

Bubble Craps Machine In California

To play, bettors sit in front of individual touch screens that depict a snapshot of betting options. Whenever a shooter 'throws' the dice - accomplished by flicking two fingers forward against the touch screen - the ensuing roll plays out on a 42-inch plasma flat-screen television that the individual stations face.

On the surface, the game simulates the actual game of craps fairly well. Rolling a seven is still considered 'crapping out,' and basic wagers mirror those you can make in a Nevada casino. There's even a portion of the screen to wager side bets.

Still, at least in these early stages, there are some pretty significant differences between Vegas Star electronic craps and the real deal.

Craps Machine In California

For starters, real tables let players press their place and come bets as much as two, three or four times the amount of the original wager - getting true odds for those extra bets without any advantage to the casino.

At Thunder Valley, however, the maximum amount of odds a player can press on his or her place and come bets is two times the original wager.

David DeLucia, a former Las Vegas craps dealer who is now the facility's vice president of casino operations, says that because people are still learning the game, the casino 'wanted to set it up so their bankroll would last a little longer.' What DeLucia didn't mention, of course, is that slimmer odds also benefit the casino - the less a player can win per roll, the more the casino gets to keep.

Other major differences between the real game and the virtual game revolve around the dice themselves. In the physical world, throwing small resin squares is something most of us can do without incident. But in the alternate craps reality of VegasStar, it takes players a while to get the hang of 'throwing' the dice.

On a recent weeknight, I watched one man repeatedly slam the tips of his fingers against the top of his touch screen as he tried to roll. His assessment: 'Fun but damaging to the fingers.'

Don't let this scare you; with $1 minimums, Thunder Valley's new craps game is worth a try. While the game's random number generator actually classifies the device as a slot machine, the action looks and feels enough like craps to satisfy the urge until that next trip to Nevada.

Once a month this column will address specific strategy and table etiquette questions from readers. Submit questions to 96hours@sfchronicle.com.