Frank Scoblete is best known as the man who can teach how to toss dice in a controlled manner and offer you valuable tips on how to win at craps and other casino games. He became interested in casino games through a circuitous route that included a short career in boxing.
 

Scoblete was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. As a young man he was active in sports and through basketball and baseball earned an athletic scholarship to St. John’s University. While in college he decided to give boxing a try. In his own words he was “pummeled” in what was to be his last fight and has no memory of the final two rounds. Realizing he needed the brain cells he had been born with he switched from an athletic scholarship to academics and garnered three masters degrees.

His pursuit of knowledge led him to journalism and he began writing for St. John’s paper and after graduating moved on to writing and editing for Island Magazine in Long Island, NY. His penchant for words also led him to TV and radio appearances and created a hunger for the stage. Having contracted the acting bug Scoblete formed a theatre group, The Other Vic Theatre Company with an actress named Alene Paone who was to become his wife. 

While conducting research for the play, “The Only Game in Town”, Scoblete started to absorb his character and spent an inordinate amount of time in Atlantic City casinos. He discovered that he loved the atmosphere and was drawn to the gaming. In no time the research became more exciting than the play and he started to pursue the idea of becoming a professional at casino games. His foray was based on writing about the games. He sold his percentage in the theatre company and dedicated himself to perfecting his skills at the tables and augmenting his income by writing about ways to beat the odds. The time spent in AC and Las Vegas paid off by 1991 when Scoblete authored “Beat the Craps Out of the Casinos”. It became a bestseller and Scoblete became in demand on the speaking and gaming circuit.

His acting background came in handy as it helped to develop his charismatic speaking style. Scoblete became a commodity at events sponsored to promote gaming and by people looking to beat the odds of the houses. An amused Scoblete is quick to point out that as an actor he played to houses 1/3 full while as an expert on dice control and shooting he speaks to capacity crowds. Along with in person appearances Scoblete continues to write books and articles on casino games and has several websites devoted to teaching how to beat the odds and win at the tables. One site is exclusive to members only and teaches how to develop the hand and eye skills needed to win at dice.

In 2006 Scoblete introduced the World Craps Championship; an event that is not run by a casino. He invites top name players to the tournament and hosts a number of games. It is conducted similar to the World Series of Poker with a number of games eventually leading to one winner. Included in the tournament are dice workshops and skill contests between known players like Scoblete and his associates, Dominator, Mr. Finesse, Bill Burton and the Golden Touch. Along with individual contests there are team matchups and skill games like No Sevens, the Hardway, the 4 and 10 and the 6 and 8.

This year the event is in Las Vegas at the Clarion and runs from August 14-16. If you decide to attend you may want to spend the time between now and then reading Scoblete’s books. Otherwise, you don’t stand a chance at those odds.