The protagonists of this article can hardly be considered cheaters, though they managed to win at roulette with a prohibited method. However, they were not motivated by the desire to get rich but to make a discovery and earn money for the foundation of the scientific community. Despite the apparent success, the fact that their group lasted very long only confirms this view. But let's start from the beginning.
Who Were The Eudaemons?
In the late seventies of the twentieth century, Doina Farmer and Norman Packard, physics students from the University of California, set out to create a group. A few enthusiasts joined them, and they were The Eudaemons.
This unusual name was borrowed from eudemonism, ethical direction. Its followers believe in only the moral criterion of human desire for happiness. It is the basis for their behavior.
It is difficult to say whether Farmer and Packard were eudemonism adherents. But apparently, they thought that victory would make them happy.
During the summer holidays, graduates bought a roulette wheel and started research. They used the camera and an oscilloscope to trace the ball's movement and make the formula. We will not bore readers recess in scientific terms. Suffice it to say that they succeeded.
- They constructed a small computer to make all the necessary calculations in the game.
- It was small enough that it could be hidden in the boot.
- A solenoid mechanism signaled by vibration when one of the eight sectors of the wheel was bet it was hidden under the shirt.
It was time to go to a casino.
The Eudaemons' Experiment
It took more than two years to improve the device. In 1978, the friends went to Las Vegas to try it in action. One of the participants entered data, and the other received signals and made bets.
The system was adequate but occasionally encountered difficulties. For example, in one of the episodes of the solenoid current, Farmer began to beat and even burn skin. Besides, the guys were not professional fraudsters; none wanted to risk a scientific career. So after the first trip to Vegas, The Eudaemons disbanded.
Their total revenue was ten thousand dollars. One can only imagine how it was possible to make such a device. However, graduate students were satisfied with the experiment because they were able to prove that you can win roulette by calculating the trajectory of the ball.
Later, The Eudaemons told the channel History through a series of gears in Breaking Vegas. They were also pictured in the famous TV series CSI and several books about the casino. Today Doina Farmer is an expert in probability theory and a professor at Santa Fe Institute.
The Eudaemons' Followers
Recently mathematics from Cornell University published a research paper where they proved that they could establish a link between the speed of the roulette ball and the spot on the wheel to face the first deflector. They created software that analyzes the ball and predicts outcomes.
According to the authors of this system, it allows an advantage of eighteen percent. I don't know if it can be used on all models and with any roulette balls or only with specific models.
The exciting thing is that Doina Farmer, who knows the developments of mathematicians, said that The Eudaemons used a similar approach. So the security of real casinos should be ready for a new danger.
