WSOP Player Spots Rare 3 Billion To 1 Roulette Event At Rio Casino?

The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino is currently in the gambling world’s spotlight with the 2012 World Series of Poker currently in full swing in Las Vegas.
On Monday, June 18, however, the Rio made the headlines for another reason after Lock Poker Pro Jeff “hurricanejeff” Romano wandered away from the poker area, where he has already cashed in the $1k NLHE event for $15,72, and spotted a display sign over a roulette table showing that the number 19 had been hit seven times in a row.
After Jeff Romano posted the photo and noted that “there were a couple people at the table going crazy,” the story naturally struck a chord with the gambling community, especially considering the odds of such an event taking place has been calculated at 3 billion to 1. As one poster pointed out:
“Just for giggles, if you had made a $5 bet on #19, and let it ride all seven times, you would have won $321,696,484,375 and instantly become the wealthiest person alive (as well as bankrupt the entire organization).”
Other posters, however, expressed concern that the roulette wheel was likely faulty, rigged or even being tested when Romano took the picture. Alas, it has now been confirmed by the Rio that the incredible streak was in actual fact a a display glitch, and as the casino’s official blog now explains:
“The numeric displays on roulette tables are more of a convenience for players, and their number sensor thingys sometimes get it wrong. These displays have nothing to do with the roulette wheels, and are no reflection on the integrity of the game.”
Unsurprisingly, after the miracle story was debunked, Jeff Romano took some flack on his twitter account, especially with Rio Casino spokesman Gary Thompson later confirming that a diagnostic test was also being carried out at the time and that no one was playing at that table.
In response, Jeff Romano explained: “I dont need to explain anything I took a pic of the wheel when I saw people around it, then left, what do you want from me.”
In the meanwhile, the story attracted a great deal of attention and was covered by most of the main news outlets.