if a person on the card-maker's factory floor would send a deck to the right table to be opened on the right day with the right number of players sitting by. It's not impossible, especially if you watch enough of the Oceans movies, but it is highly improbable.

I trust that when the deck was inserted into the shoe, the box was kept for verification purposes. Those markings will go a long way toward identifying whether there was an innocent dealer and pit boss who put into play a box marked as "shuffled and verified." Even if totally innocent, of course, a vigilant casino worker should have picked up on the pattern.

If the deck is "defective" due to its markings, it strengthens the casino's claim that the game was invalid from the start (similar to wins being invalidated if a slot machine malfunctions). While I hope such a scenario would be played out in court for legal freaks like me, this is a case where a settlement seems in order. My thoughts are that even if the casino is right about the invalid winnings, it crossed the line when it roughed up the players and, quite possibly, when it searched their rooms. I know there is a dispute about whether casino personnel were aggressive, but we all know that conclusive proof for or against can be found on the videos. In other words, the facts won't really be in dispute, leaving little else for a jury to consider.