No. Dice setting, or controlled throwing, might have had some chance of working back in the good old days. The problem is that when today's game rules are combined with the new technology used to make the playing surfaces of the game, the chance of dice control working fall to zero.

First, and most importantly, the casinos wouldn't let you set the dice if they thought it worked! Casinos have 365/24/7 in which to gather statistics on play, and if they could identify a person or trend that showed that dice setting worked, then they wouldn't allow it. In case you haven't noticed, there are no signs at the tables about No Dice Setting Allowed, and the dealers will let someone sit there all day and get their dice set just right before they throw.

Various forms of dice setting have been tried over the years, and the ones that work-like distracting the table personnel and sliding the dice down the table, sliding one die while throwing the other, or using magnets-are not allowed. It's called cheating, and doing it will get you barred from any casino.

Second, casino rules now require that you throw the dice against the back wall of the table, which is a corrugated surface. If you don't hit the back wall, you will be politely reminded to do so. If you continue to not hit the back wall, you will be sharply commanded to do so. If you continue to not hit the wall, you will be asked to leave the game, if not the casino. No joke.

Third, the "felt" that covers the table is not just felt. The felt has a backing that gives a rubber-like spring to the fabric. Decades ago, when the table was just felt on wood, the dice could fall dead on the surface. I was told about this by a retired craps dealer who had dealt the game for 30 years, and while I believed him, I actually got to see it for myself one day while walking through the Golden Nugget.

We just happened to be walking through when I saw a guy putting a new felt on a craps table. He was being watched by a few suits-to make sure he wasn't doing something to the table, I suppose-but I decided to ask if I could look at the felt. Sure enough, there was the backing on the felt and it did feel cushy. No hard surface for the dice to land on and fall dead. Believers in dice setting have answers to try and rebut these facts, but that's what they are-facts. You can't change the casino rules, and you can't change the physcial laws of nature, so give dice setting its true worth. The casinos do, and they don't care how you set them. Wonder why?