I figured I was in trouble when I discovered the Craps Lite app for iPhone. Sure enough, I was up until 3 a.m. the first night, experimenting with bets. I was so sure it was the bet standing in the way between me and thousands of dollars in Vegas. How else to explain how, at the same table, I've seen people next to me earn $4,000 on the same rolls, to my $400?

The game allows you to try out betting strategies, giving you a small, realistic bankroll of $100, which can go in minutes. A paid version will give you bankrolls of up to $5,000.

In my experience, sevens turn up in about every seven rolls, more than in Vegas it seems, which doesn't allow you to get any momentum going.

This was addressed by the developer, who answered negative criticisms of the 2 1/2-star (out of five) rated game. The developer said the rolls of the dice are truly random so the sevens appear no more frequently than in real life. You can set the dice to a controlled roll, which he said will slightly reduce odds of sevens appearing.

I set the dice to show 12 spots, but it didn't seem to cut the numbers of sevens. Oh well, there's betting the pass for that.

The difficulty of parlaying your $100 into riches might cure your addiction to casinos. Just as in Vegas, I've been down to zero and up by $400. Unless you're learning the game, the charm fades fast. What would make this game more fun would be a shake feature to give you the feel of rolling the dice and the illusion of control.

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