Hi Bob,
Practically everything in the entire casino industry was based on superstition in the early days. I remember being kicked a few times in my early days of dealing or being moved to another table when I was calling too many winners!
One legendary story I heard when I first moved to Vegas was that a certain executive cut his tie up when he noticed craps games lost when he wore it! Also, he allegedly moved a crap table a few inches to keep it from losing. In Tahoe once, I got blamed for a losing table because I changed the limit on a busy night! Oh boy! I'm sure there are many other great stories out there!