Odds same in party craps, but card game lacks dice feel

For many gamblers, the notion of playing craps in California is a bit of an oxymoron:

Because state law prohibits casino games from being determined by dice or balls, local craps games look very little like the contests you might find in Nevada.

[...] party craps relies on cards completely — a standard deck that has been stripped of everything except aces (which act as 1s), 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s and 6s.

The 24 cards are put into an automatic shuffler; every time a player would “roll,” dealers simply pull two cards from the shuffler and proceed as if the cards were dice.

Currently the 101 offers the game with a $5 minimum bet on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 4 p.m. Stan adds that if three or more players express an interest in playing party craps at other times, the casino will consider opening the table just for them (and anyone else who wants to play).

Some of my favorite things about traditional craps include obsessing over which two of the five dice I’m going to throw, perfectly (or neurotically) aligning the dice I’m going to use, then arching them from an underhanded toss toward the back wall of the felt.