that other than Schlesinger's defense of Ruchman, no "known" author who regularly publishes on these pages, or even irregularly publishes on these pages, has weighed in with opinions? GBC is a powerful property and I think most authors would not want to offend the powers that be who sell their books. But consider this: If Henry Tamburin or John May got a job as a gaming anaylst at a single property, I think there would be much more fire from established authors, including Don. I called a friend at PPE and asked him what the role of an in-house gaming anaylst was and could he be used as a "counter catcher." The answer was "of course, that's probably his main job along with catching cheats."
Ruchman does have the right, and the talent, to be a good gaming analyst for Caesars or anywhere else. In fact, if his job is merely to analyze games and not look for counters, which is possible, then no harm done and godspeed. But usually an in-house gaming analyst, according to my source, is not hired to analyze the few and far between new games that come to a given property. Freelancers are used for this, generally mathematicians or computer experts. These freelancers have nothing to do with catching counters when they analyze games like Casino War. So I have to be highly suspicious of this move.
I will say this in conclusion. Until I know without a doubt that Ruchman is not catching counters, I will not buy from GBC again. I'll shop on Amazon or go to Gambler's General Store when I'm in town.
