Big Six

By Will Veda

“Whe-e-e-e-e-e-l…of…Fortu-u-u-u-u-u-ne.” Where’s Vanna when you need her? Not here since there are no vowels to buy. The Big Six is a goofy game more suited for a carnival—or a popular TV game show—than a casino. With house advantages ranging from 11.11% to 24.07%, this game should be avoided at all costs. Big Six is named because it includes a large vertical wheel that is divided into six sections of nine numbers (represented by dollar bills) for a total of 56 “stops.” 

Players place their bets (usually in increments of $1) on a double-sided (like Craps) plexiglass table layout that includes a one-dollar bill, a two-dollar bill, a five-dollar bill, a ten-dollar bill, a twenty-dollar bill, a Joker bill, and a Casino Logo bill. The betting areas represent the stops on the wheel. The casino logo is just that: a stop that includes the casino’s name and believe me, the casinos want you to bet on their name as much as possible. 

The payouts and individual wheel stops are as follows: 
The $1 bill bet pays even money (1 to 1) with 24 stops on the wheel 
The $2 bill bet pays 2 to 1 with 15 stops on the wheel 
The $5 bill bet pays 5 to 1 with 7 stops on the wheel 
The $10 bill bet pays 10 to 1 with 4 stops on the wheel 
The $20 bill bet pays 20 to 1 with 2 stops on the wheel 
The Joker and Casino Logo bets pay 40 to 1 with 1 stop on the wheel each. 

Do the math folks; the vigorish is simply outrageous. If you must play this game, just play the $1 bet only and never go for the long shots. 

Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-
clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-
clack—“aw jeez”—clack-claack-Claaack-claaaack-claaaaack-claaaaaack-
claaaaaaack-claaaaaaaack-claaaaaaaaack-claaaaaaaaack-claaaaaaaaaaack-
claaaaaaaaaaaack-claaaaaaaaaaaaack-claaaaaaaaaaaaaack. 
“One dollar. Winner.” Not. More like Big Sux.