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Not-So-Trivial Pursuit

If you want to play the game, you’ve gotta talk the talk. Take this quiz to see if you’re an ace or an impostor.

Not-So-Trivial Pursuit

Whereas the old Soviet Union was—as famously and quotably described by Winston Churchill—a “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma,” what we have for you today is something different.

It’s a quiz.

Wrapped in a column.

Inside a trade magazine.

Can you run the table in our table-games gauntlet? Do you know the history, lingo and lore that surrounds the green felt jungle? Then it’s time to put up or—well, actually, it’s just time to put up. Take out that sharp mind and that Sharpie, and see how you fare.

Unless, of course, you reading this on your phone or laptop. Then, like Terrell Owens after he scored that touchdown back in the day, you’re better off keeping that Sharpie sheathed.

Here we go:

  1. Nickname for a turtle or a blackjack natural (seven letters, starts with “s”)
  2. Constipated, or type of dice game where two, three, 11 and 12 are points (eight letters, starts with “c”)
  3. What is win divided by drop?
  4. “_____ odds,” the math behind a call in poker (three letters)
  5. 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 in blackjack (six letters)
  6. Etiquette says you never shoot from here
  7. Who held the “Dead Man’s Hand?”
  8. Chinese game played with buttons
  9. Pai Gow “recipe” (two words, eight letters total)
  10. The one watching us all, according to Robert De Niro in the movie Casino
  11. Chuck-a-Luck’s other name (two words)
  12. Bet after the outcome; crossroad tactic (two words, both start with “p”)
  13. Playing card insect
  14. James Bond’s original casino game of choice (three words)
  15. Name for a generous player or a curious primate
  16. Roulette purgatory (two words, French)
  17. In baccarat, a two-card eight or nine
  18. What a salesman gets, or the 5 percent in pai gow or baccarat
  19. Also known as “tie” or “standoff”
  20. What hand did the dead man in Question 7 hold?

How do you measure up?

  • 0-10 correct: Uh, don’t leave your day job.
  • 11-13: Floor supervisor
  • 14-15: Pit Boss
  • 16-17: Shift Boss
  • 18-19: Casino Manager
  • 20: Look out, Ace Rothstein, you’re coming for his job!

ANSWERS

  1. Snapper
  2. Crapless
  3. Hold
  4. Pot
  5. Stiffs
  6. The “Don’t” in craps
  7. Wild Bill Hickok
  8. Fan Tan
  9. House way
  10. The eye in the sky
  11. Sic bo
  12. Past post
  13. Bee
  14. Chemin de fer
  15. George
  16. En prison
  17. Natural
  18. Commission
  19. Push
  20. Two pair: Aces and eights
Roger Snow is a senior vice president with Light & Wonder. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Light & Wonder or its affiliates.

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