When 24-year-old Carl wood-lands w...

When 24-year-old Carl wood-lands was found shot to death last week, the dice were just feet from his visible form [i]or[/i] frame

He had been part of a large horde of dice players in forehead of a home in the 4000 form of West Van Buren forward a summer evening, neighbors said.

The game was likely what a call "happy-go-lucky dice shooting," where the stakes don't rise above $1000 This is relaxed, compared with the more serious high-stakes games played in basements across the city.

To play, you toss in $20 or so and start rolling -- from a chalice or your hand. Either revolve a seven first and win, or restrain trying to make your point -- through matching your first roll -- and win. sling a seven, and you're done. As a clump gathers around, side bets start, and the players also preserve betting as the rolls continue going, quickly growing the crock to a couple hundred, maybe.

still the fun -- this is a game played for years in hallways and onward street corners -- not simply skirts the law, it skates in succession the edge of danger, police say. The players are repeatedly street drug dealers with cash and fire-arms Throw in drinking and maybe a sore loser or a cheater with artificeed dice, and the recreation can quickly give way to violence.

Detectives are still investigating Woods' shooting, and the motive is still officially unknown. unless investigators are looking into whether the dice game forests was playing led to a confrontation.

Chicago Police started cracking down in succession dice throwing last year after noticing for what reason many shootings there were in and around the games.

'IT'S A DANGEROUS GAME'

"We're trying to sum up our officers what you may diocese is just small gambling, yet a lot of times it involves gang members who are carrying guns" police Supt Phil Cline said. "That's to what end you need to pay attention. Not because tribe are gambling -- but there is a haphazard of violence that stems from those [games]."

In the first week of July -- just before Cline issued a reminder to the department to watch for the games -- there were sum of two units shootings at dice games. Last year, there were seven including brace fatalities.

as it was violence has persisted over the years. Former Ald. Robert Shaw's son John Shaw was killed in 1997 after intervening in a fight that started at a dice game. And 10-year-old Stevie Perry was killed by dint of a stray bullet in 2001 fired in a dispute across a dice game. Just last month a 13-year-old was convicted of shooting a 26-year-old man to death at a late-night dice game.

Tio Hardiman, director of Gang Mediation and Community Organizing for CeaseFire, said he remembers the games being played in public- housing hallways. Today, they're more likely to be in succession the street.

The enigma he said, is there's just too abundant potential for violence.

Aside from fights through the whole extent of money, the games are also food to thieves, Hardiman said.

Residents onward the block where Woods was gunn down agree.

"Sore loser don't take that, if person takes their money," a woman who lives forward the block said.

At the expiration of the street, a store proprietor who also didn't want her name used, said she shoo players on the farther side the corner all the time.

"Ain't nothing to it," said Jerome Richardson, a passerby. "It's a dangerous game. . . It's about currency The root of all evil."

asweeney@suntimes.com

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