So now as an engineer and semi-pro backgammon player, the ultimate dice were ones that had the divots drill out and replaced with a different colored plastic. This way the uneven weight of the dice was not a factor. Just wondering...
I harbor the belief (likely unjustified) that the hearing loss resulting in hanging out there is as bad as gambling addiction issues. I don't know how people stand it, or why they'd want to.
What's funny is that with USA casinos, the noise level is loud, but not bothersome to me personally. AFAIK, this is intended to create a "lively" atmosphere.
Whereas the pachinko parlors are far beyond the "lively" level, and well into the "where is my OSHA-approved hearing protection?" level.
But it does make sense that the removal of any material would effect the rolling unless very sophisticated things were done to offset the remove of material.
The pips on opposing sides always add up to 7, and each of the faces are balanced (1 is in the center, 2 is on opposing corners, 3 is a line, 4 is all the corners, and 5 is the corners and the center, 6 is two rows).
At least in craps, what the casinos worry about are fake dice, and not hitting the back wall with the dice. The back bumpy wall introduces a lot of randomness. Some people try to put the dice in various initial positions and roll them so that they only roll over one axis, to try to influence the rolls. The casino will throw you out if you don't hit the back wall repeatedly.
Also, over time the sharp corners of the dice get ground down just by friction. Uneven wear is also a problem, which is why they frequently switch out the dice.
Precision Dice. http://www.bgshop.com/index-backgammon-dice.htm
They seem to be a backgammon thing.
"Precision dice with rounded (or cut) corners are recommended where a limited rolling area is available, the cut corners allow the dice to tumble, in particular the smallest size of 1/2 inch (13 mm) are becoming increasingly used by many RPG gamers."
I didn't think about backgammon being a small dice rolling area, but that makes total sense.
They make up a bit of that on the backend though, selling the dice to all the tourists. :)