Sandtrap and I had never heard of dice control, nor had we read any books about it. We would go to AC once a year and walk the Boardwalk, going to casinos that gave free craps lessons, which almost every casino did in the 1980’s and 1990’s. About the only thing we understood was the pass line bet and odds, and that 7 and 11 would give us a win, and on the craps numbers we would lose on the first roll. I almost never bet, never threw the dice, but I watched Sandtrap do both. I was extremely intimidated, and rarely saw another female at a craps table.

Watching TV one day, I saw an advertisement for free seminars at Sunset Station in Las Vegas over an entire weekend, and I cajoled Sandtrap into going. Sandtrap and I thus became the first students of GTC in Jan 2002 in Las Vegas. We first met Frank, Dom, Billy the Kid, and Bob Finesse at their booth at the seminar. We talked with them about the GTC course, said we would think about it, and passed their booth 4 or 5 times asking questions. We had never seen their throwing and receiving stations before, and thought they were the strangest things we had ever seen. We were about to retire, and weren’t sure we should spend our money on a gambling class. I also was intimidated by the thought of joining a man’s game.

Since I was a complete novice, BTK took me to a coffee shop with all his graphs, notebooks, and paraphernalia, and spent one hour teaching me the game of craps while Sandtrap started his lessons in one of the casino hotel rooms on the practice stations with the other instructors. (There was no full craps table.) Craps was a foreign language to me, and I didn’t understand why some of the terms had sexual connotations. When I first got to the craps table, I felt I needed a GPS to navigate it. We faithfully did as we were taught, and we practiced every day for 6 months before going to the casinos in AC. We also took a refresher class, an advance class, a video analysis, and a Blackjack Speed Count class.

The content and structure of the classes are totally unrecognizable from 2002. They have changed over the years in response to student and instructor suggestions. There is far less lecture time, a lot more practice at the tables, and now, the well received mentor program.

Who knew 10 years ago, when Frank and Dom thought about returning our fees because we were so bad, that this Jewish grandma would go from being a complete novice to being invited to be an intern, then an assistant instructor, and this year an instructor. We have been on a successful journey, and we are continuing on it. The instructors have become our very good friends, and we feel that GTC is like a family. GTC has given us a hobby that Sandtrap and I can enjoy together during our retirement, a priceless gift from Frank and Dom.

Goddess 😀

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