Saturday, December 31, 2011

Hot-Looking "Cooler" Specialist Nominated For Poker Cheats and Casino Cheats Hall of Fame!

Most woman casino cheats are used as diversions to get the attention of male pit bosses away from the table layout where the cheat move goes down, but With Ida Summers, who was one hot babe in her day, the male attention could be right on her when she made those cheat moves. Later known as the Vegas Vixen, she was a master at cunning, quickness (at the casino blackjack table, I don't know about in bed) and getting the money off the table. She was one of the early Nevada female pioneer casino cheats.

Her cheat gig was first "hand-mucking" cards at blackjack tables and then later switching in entire "coolers" (blackjack shoes filled with prearranged cards to cheat the house) at those same blackjack tables. Hand mucking is the art of hiding a card (usually by palming) that has been snuck to the table before the play of a hand or taken off the table after it had been put into play by the dealer. Then with a quick sleight-of-hand movement the mucked card is either returned to play or taken off the table by the card-mucker, all in accordance with whether the cheat needs the card in his or her hand or back in the deck.

Ida Summers used all her beauty and talent to pull of these card swithces.
In addition to her good-looks, she was very flirtatious and very socialable, much like fellow Hall of "Famestress" Ruthie Berin. She was also quite petite, five-feet-two and less than a hundred pounds. This petiteness appealed greatly to the macho pit bosses of her day. She played them on her charm as she expertly and effortlessly switched cards in and out of decks.

But Ida took her cheating to the hilt. Uninspired by the ease of hand-mucking cards, she stepped up her craft to switching entire coolers into play. These are also called "cold decks" that are already prearranged to make the involved players at the table winners on as many hands they want. Some losing hands may be placed between the winners just to make the scam look more believable. After all, a player winning every hand, even if it be a beautiful woman, would surely raise suspicions in even the most distracted pit boss.

What made this move so bold was that the original card show on the table had to be physically lifted off the layout while the cooler was slipped into its spot, all in a split second. AND the shoe taken off the table had to be hidden from everyone's view. Ida managed this by placing that original shoe on her lap and then passing it off to a male cohort standing behind her at the first opportune moment. Then she would leave the table herself while other cohorts would begin playing the hands the dealer dealt from the cooler. The idea was that if they were caught, they would never catch Ida with the removed card shoe at the table.

In spite of this, gaming commission officials in Las Vegas, working in conjunction with the FBI, eventually caught Ida and her casino cheat partners, but they must have been very impressed with her skills and looks as well: she received but probation for her trouble.

At the time of her exploits and arrest, Ida Summers was the only known professional female casino cheat, which made her a true legend in casino cheating and underworld lore.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Online Poker-Cheat Leak Gives Up Data For 3 Million UltimateBet Playes!

If UltimateBet.com hasn't already had enough poker-cheating and security problems!

Now, in the latest UB.com cheat scandal, the names, real addresses, e-mail addresses as well as phone numbers and account detailed account info including balances of more than three million UltimateBet and Absolute Poker players had been compromised to the public in early December. The culprit, although unclear of what the intention was and by whom, was a faulty security device on a web-spammer’s site.

The full history of how the pilfered info got into the claws of e-mail marketers has not been detailed but many experts believe it is related to UB.com's post-cheating scandal collapse and egregious mis-management.

My take: UltimateBet and Absolute Poker just seem to be forever married to cheating at online poker and other interconnected scams.

Poker Cheat Settlements Linked to "High Stakes Poker" TV Show.

I have been saying for years that the GAMING SHOW NETWORK's "High Stakes Poker" show is all bullshit where no real money changes hand. Here is an interesting piece of news involving Gabe Kaplan, the former TV actor-turned poker broadcaster who coincidently is one of the broadcasters of that fraudulent show. Read this and tell me if you still actually believe there is one grain of truth to the crap you see on "High Stakes Poker."

News: Tobey Maguire, the "Spider-Man” star, and veteran TV-poker commentator and broadcaster Gabe Kaplan have agreed to settle lawsuits which were brought by poker-cheat victims of a convicted racketeer who took part in Maguire's high-stakes Hollywood poker games. Maguire reached a settlement for $80,000 while Kaplan settled to receive $26,900. The claims were brought by bankruptcy attorney Howard Ehrenberg, who sought to recover nearly half a million bucks lost by an imprisoned man convicted of fraud, one Bradley Ruderman.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

First Major Conviction in Online Poker Cheat Fraud Case! I Hardly Believe It!!!

But is has happened! And lots of you have been waiting years for this news!

Source: Part Time Poker

Brent Beckley, one of the pioneers of Absolute Poker, pleaded guilty today in federal court. U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis accepted the guilty plea in a Manhattan federal court. Beckley pleaded guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud and violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The UIGEA, passed in 2006, makes it illegal for banks to process payments for illegal online gambling businesses that accept players from the U.S.

Beckley became the first executive of an online poker room related to the Black Friday indictments to plead guilty. Beckley’s half brother Scott Tom was also indicted on Black Friday. Scott Tom is believed to have been the mastermind behind the Absolute Poker insider cheating scandal. Tom’s whereabouts are unknown.

Beckley worked in the security department at Cereus, which consisted of Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. His job also involved setting up payment processors for the online poker room. Beckley was accused of creating bogus companies in an attempt to get U.S. banks to process payments to Absolute Poker, payments the banks would otherwise have declined.

PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker banned U.S. players within 24 hours of the Black Friday indictments being unsealed. The Cereus Network continued to allow U.S. players to play for real money. These players just did not have access to the cashier section. After reaching a settlement with U.S. authorities, players in the U.S. were blocked and could not even see the real money tables in the software’s lobby.

Players in the U.S. have not received any payments since Black Friday. Players in the rest of the world have receive small payouts. Typically these payouts were made once a month and the maximum payout was $1000. In October, Cereus announced that they would go into liquidation. This was after payments to players outside of the U.S. stopped. It is estimated that players from around the world could be owed as much as $50 million.

My take: Boy! This has been a long time coming coming! Finally someone pleads guilty and faces real prison time in connection with online poker cheating and fraud. You gotta love this! Especially if you were a victim to one of these malicious online poker cheat scams.

Poker Card-Swapping Cheats Busted in Pennsylvania Casino

Source: Lehigh Valley Live

Giansergio Caputi, 33, and Fernando A. Rodriguez, 28, both of Sunrise, Fla., profited from swapping cards four times in less than 45 minutes this morning at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, police said. One of the men won $1,221 during hands in which he received beneficial cards from his friend, and the other man gained $50 from similar moves, according to court papers. Caputi and Rodriguez were seen on video, police said, and monitored by security. Both men were charged with four counts of prohibited acts and one count each of theft by deception and conspiracy.

Caputi was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail. Rodriguez was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $150,000 bail.

My take: Card-Swapping at poker tables and casino derivative poker tables such as three-card and four-card poker is a very crafty casino-cheating art--when done by professionals who have practiced and perfected their art. These guys here seem like amateurs who never really had a chance of getting away with it for more than one hour, let alone one night.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Computer Casino Cheat Keith Taft Nominated For Poker and Casino Cheats Hall of Fame!

Keith Taft with "George"
With all the emphasis on high-tech poker and casino cheating these days, and old name from this type of casino cheating has come back to the surface and been nominated for 2012 entry to the Poker and Casino Cheats Hall of Fame.

Keith Taft was a real-life "Inspector Gadget" character, a true genius who spent three decades developing and perfecting electronic devices to cheat US casinos. He began working with casino computers with his son, Marty Taft, back in the late 60s. Today he is believed to be the first casino or poker cheat to develop a computer that captured digital video the way today's microcomputers are processing data filmed in false-shuffle and other baccarat and blackjack cheat scams.

While vacationing in the Bahamas in the 60s, Taft got interested in Edward O. Thorp's famous blackjack card-counting book "Beat the Dealer." In fact, he quickly became obsessed by it. However, he did not make any money counting cards at blackjack using Thorp's plus-minus count system.

Thus he turned his attention to developing computers to beat the blackjack tables. His first and now famous invention was a 5-kilo computer that he called "George." He used it to enter data while counting cards at blackjack, using his toes to enter the data to the prototype computer he had tucked underneath his baggy shirt. He later decided that George was a bit unwieldy and developed a lighter device that he called "David."

Taft had immediate success with David, beating Vegas casinos out of fifty grand in the first two weeks of operation. made $40,000 the first week he used it. After taking some heat in casinos, Taft decided he would do better by selling his minicomputers based on the David prototype for ten or fifteen grand apiece, which included his training of the buyers.

This decision Taft made after being grabbed up in a casino and taken to the back room, where he was interrogated by Nevada Gaming Control Board agents as well as the FBI. But neither law enforcement agency had the slightest idea of what the microcomputer actually was and failed to make any legal connection to casino cheating that they could use in court, therefore Taft was releaed.

Another casino.cheating computer deeloped by Taft´s sons Marty and Keith was called the "belly-telly." This was a small video camera they fitted into their belts and could film the dealer's hole-card at blackjack. The image was then transmitted to their cheating partners sitting in a van at the casino's parking lot. These cohorts would then send a signal back to the cheating blackjack players at the table, identifying the value of the hole card.

Yet another electronic gismo invented by Taft and his sons was the "Thor" computer, which could track the positions of cards in a multiple-deck shuffle. This was the first casino-cheat invention that directly led to today's high-tech video-reader devices that are used in blackjack and baccarat shuffle-tracking scams, which are currently costing casinos worldwide millions, especially in Macau.

In 1986, the Nevada Gaming Commission created a law making it illegal to use any electronic devices whatsoever in gaming casinos, which today is a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison.

A true casino-cheating pioneer, Keith Taft was also inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame in 2004.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Table Games Protection Training




Keynoting 2007 WGPC in Las Vegas/
  As casino table game cheating scams proliferate in the world's casinos, especially on baccarat and roulette tables, it is time to get the proper table game protection training for your casino staffs. And it is time to get that training from the BEST, the only casino table game protection specialist in the world


today who has solid bona fide experience from both sides of the casino's tables.

Richard Marcus was both a casino dealer of all the basic table games as well as the most recognized casino cheat in the history of legalized gaming casinos. For more information on his casino table game protection training classes and seminars click here.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Study Says Online Casinos Use Software that Cheats Craps Players!

Source: Pittsburgh Live

At least two online casinos use software that cheats craps players, two leading gambling statisticians say.

The software by BLR Technologies, based in Costa Rica, detects a player's bet and increases the chances of a losing roll, according to gambling consultant Michael Shackleford, known as the "Wizard of Odds," and Eliot Jacobson, operator of Jacobson Gaming, which audits and certifies casino games around the world.

Legends.com and World Wide Wagering (www.wager.dm) use the BLR software in their craps games, according to rating service SportsBookReview.com. A third operator, 5Dimes.com, said it dropped BLR after the studies were posted on Shackleford's WizardOfVegas.com site.

Rachel Miller, general manager of Legends, said the software used on her site plays fairly. She said the company has invested thousands of dollars in new random number generators to work with the BLR software. She said she could not agree or disagree with the Shackleford and Jacobson studies because they did not test the craps game at Legends.

"I guarantee that everything is perfect on our end," she said.

A spokeswoman for 5Dimes said the company had no comment beyond a statement to Shackleford's site that it had removed BLR software from its casinos.

"BLR was given ample time to address the concerns of (WizardOfVegas) forum members as well as our direct questions," the statement said. "No acceptable answers were given, so the casino platform was removed."

BLR and World Wide did not respond to phone and e-mail requests for comment.

Legends, licensed in Panama, and 5Dimes, based in Costa Rica, are among only five online sports books with an A-plus rating from SportsBookReview.com, which grades hundreds of sites for customer service, incentives and pricing. World Wide, licensed in Dominica, West Indies, has a B grade.

The complaint about the craps software surfaced last month in a WizardOfVegas player forum.

Norman Clem, 66, of Las Vegas said he had been playing craps at World Wide for about a year and was slightly ahead before he suddenly started losing.

"I thought I was just on a bad run. But it never stopped," he told Player's Advantage. He documented his play, recording each bet and each outcome in a spreadsheet. From May 14 to Aug. 27, he videotaped 3,200 rolls in which he bet "pass" or "don't pass," the simplest bets in craps.

Those bets should win almost 49 percent of the time. Clem said he won 856 times, about 27 percent.

Intrigued by Clem's postings, Shackleford played craps at 5Dimes, which was using BLR software at the time. He said he bet only the pass line, winning 81 times and losing 247.

"It would have been easier to win the Powerball two out of two times than to be as unlucky as I was," said Shackleford, who has helped design slot machines for Internet casinos.

Jacobson said he devised a test to see whether the software "would really misbehave." With his approach, he would win something unless a seven came on the next roll.

"Suddenly, it produced a lot of sevens," he said. In 74 chances, a seven came up 41 times, or more than once in every two rolls; with fair dice, a seven comes up an average of once every six rolls.

"Thousands of people have been ripped off by this software," Jacobson said.

Clem said World Wide refunded his losses.

"It's obvious I was cheated, so what were they going to do?" he said.

Shackleford said 5Dimes refunded his losses. It's unclear whether others received refunds.

Jacobson said BLR also makes software for online blackjack, video poker, roulette and slots, but he does not know of any research into those.

Legends, World Wide and 5Dimes are primarily sports books, but offer casino games as another gambling attraction. Miller said less than 10 percent of Legends' 7,500 active gamblers use the casino.

She said Legends continues to use BLR, in part, because the software works so well with the site's main function of handling sports bets.

The United States does not license or regulate online gambling. Federal law prohibits American gamblers from collecting winnings from Internet casinos.

The federal government's April 15 crackdown on Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Ultimate Bet was based on accusations that they violated U.S. banking law.

Although those sites were shut down in the United States, 300 offshore companies continue to offer online gambling to U.S. players, according to the American Gaming Association, an industry group.

Shackleford and Jacobson said the BLR case should hasten the move toward U.S. regulation of online gambling.

"It only goes to show that when there's no regulation, there's nothing to stop these types of things from happening," Shackleford said.

"This kind of issue just shows how much (regulation is) needed," Jacobson said. "People are going to continue to gamble at these sites. There are still thieves and crooks creating crooked software."

My take: Well, how do we know that this study is not using software to cheat readers??? Really, your guess on this is as good as mine.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Syndicate Casino Cheating on the Rise in Singapore

Asian Cheat Favorite 3-card poker
Ever since two giant casinos opened in Singapore, casino and poker cheating has plagued the nation`s gaming tables. At first the casino-cheating attacks came from small international professional cheat groups and rank amateurs mostly from Singapore, Malaysia and other Asian countries. But know big-time Mafia-type Chinese and Asian crime syndicates are getting into the act, and I don't mean only loan-sharking and money-laundering types of crime. I am also talking about good old-fashioned table games and slot machine cheating scams. These syndicates are specializing in baccarat scams and poker-derivative-game scams, especially 3-card poker where they are using digital cameras and other high-tech equipment to scam Sinapore`s casinos.

And what makes these kinds of cheats a real pain in the ass for casinos is that they have muscle behind their cheating scams. They can scare authorities into not taking legal action against them when they are caught.

My suggestion to Singapore casino game-protection authorities: Start teaching your floor personnel to spot and stamp out casino table game scams before the cash rolls out of the cages!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Good Example of How Casino Steaming Leads to Casino Cheating

Source: Asia One News

A Malaysian visitor was frustrated and angry after losing $18,000 on his first visit to Marina Bay Sands.

At about 5pm on Oct 26, Tan Kuan Loong tried to cheat at a three-dice game, sic bo, by placing a late bet of $30 on the winning combination.
It should have won him $1,500, but his cheating ways were found out after dealer Chaiyaboot Narumon told her pit manager about her suspicions of the bet.

As the surveillance department reviewed the video footage of that bet, Tan tried to sneak in another bet of $30, when one of the dice already showed a five.

Tan pleaded guilty to one charge, while the second cheating offence was taken into consideration by the judge in the sentencing. Tan's defense counsel Rajan Supramaniam asked for leniency, saying his client had a five-year-old daughter with a hole in the heart. He had also resorted to cheating in a moment of foolishness. Tan was fined $1,500. He could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to $10,000.

My take: This type of entry into casino or poker cheating is always a risk for those who steam while losing at gambling and out of desperation decide to cheat. At least in this case, the authorities and the judge had the decency to cut Tan a break. It was hard to hear about the hole in his daughter's heart.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Piggyback Casino Cheating...Can it be Done?

I was asked an interesting question yesterday: "I am a fairly intelligent guy and was wondering if I can go to Vegas and spot a casino cheat team or individual cheat or a poker team and piggyback onto their operation without taking any of their heat if they get caught?

Like I said, interesting.

Well, as far as the poker piggyback cheating goes, forget it! You can't join a collusion ring your not part of, nor can you read marks on cards their marking if you don't already have the right lenses in your eyes.

But in casino table games it is possible, albeit rare and difficult. With advantage-play teams at blackjack and baccarat tables, it may be possible to read their advantage if they are counting cards, ace-tracking, hole-carding or any of the other scams done on those tables that do not involve chip manipulation. On craps tables the idea of piggyback cheating would be more feasible. One example would be with dice-sliding, where the dice-cheat slides one of the dice so that it does not tumble or hit the back wall, therefore staying put on the number he has set up, usually six. If you pick up on a guy throwing dice and one of them not hitting the back wall and consistently coming up six or any other number, you could piggyback onto the scam and not take heat because you are not rolling the dice. So if you can see a guy rolling one of the dice six, you know that on a come-out or come-bet roll, you have a 2 to 1 edge right off the bat of a winner 7 or 11, against a craps loser 12. And there are many other opportunities like this involving field bets.

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

UK Casinos Say Their Video Software Will Thwart and Catch Poker Cheats and Casino Cheats

Source: newscientist.com

People trying to cheat in casinos may soon be taking more of a gamble than they realise. Grosvenor Casinos, a major UK chain, is assessing software that can spot cheating at the roulette table and alert the croupier.

Some people cheat at roulette by placing their chips on the table after the croupier has already called "last bets". Doing so gives a player a real advantage, because as the ball slows it becomes easier to predict which quarter of the wheel it will land in, says Boghos Boghossian, head of technology at London-based Ipsotek, which has come up with the system. Cheats will often work in pairs, with one trying to distract the croupier while the other places bets.

The new software would be installed on the existing CCTV cameras in casinos. To prevent cheating, the software analyses the video feed to first monitor the speed of the ball to determine when last bets are called. It then detects whenever a hand enters the betting area of the table and leaves a chip. Footage from the cameras is used to train statistical models to look for this type of event or activity.

It can also pick out another form of cheating called "top-hatting", which hinges on each player using specific-colour chips. This is when a cheat places a bet after the ball has landed, but the stack they place includes different coloured chips, borrowed from an accomplice, at its base.

If the croupier is on the ball and spots the late bet the cheat's chips will be removed from the table. But unless the croupier is really sharp they may assume that the accomplice's chips were already there and so leave them on the table. The software spots this by keeping tabs on the colours of chips placed during betting. So when a late bet is made and removed, the system knows if other chips have been added.

"When you have 10 people around a table all trying to place bets as late as possible it can be difficult to see these things," says Sean Cunningham, director of security for Rank Group, which owns Grosvenor Casinos. The software is currently only designed to work on roulette tables but if trials go well the plan is to extend this to blackjack and baccarat, says Boghossian. The group is due to make a decision on installing the software in January.

Casinos have used surveillance cameras for some time, but having an automated system to spot cheats is like giving the croupier an extra pair of eyes, says James Ferryman, who researches automated surveillance systems at the University of Reading, UK.

It's not the first time such software has been used in casinos. One system called MindPlay, now discontinued, used embedded cameras and invisible ink to keep track of cards. But it required specialist hardware and was not successful at detecting cheats.

Ipsotek's software is different because it uses the existing CCTV network. "You're trying to pick up anomalies, or anything that is unusual in the context," says Ferryman.

Followed, one camera at a time
A system called Tag and Track can automatically track people and vehicles in a town as they move from one camera to another.

Developed by Ipsotek, the software first detects and categorises different types of object. Once identified, these objects can then easily be tracked by the camera.

What's clever about the system, claims Boghos Boghossian of Ipsotek, is that after being shown training footage it can automatically learn the location of the different cameras in relation to one another. This means it can infer when someone leaves one camera, and where they will reappear. The system was shortlisted at the Global Security Challenge in London last week.

My take: Well, all this high and  higher-tech video surveillance equipment in casinos is great--but it will never deter or catch the best of the cheats like myself and other highly-professional poker cheat and casino cheat teams.

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

UK Casino Cheat Dealer Goes Down For Inside Roulette Cheating Scam

Source: Bolton News

A cheating croupier teamed up with gamblers in a casino fraud to help him pay off debts. Peter Fisher paid over the odds when they placed bets at his roulette table at the Grosvenor G Casino, Bolton Magistrates Court heard. Two gamblers approached the croupier in January this year asking him to help them cheat. Crippled by a car debt from his teens and struggling to come to terms with his father’s death, he agreed. Fisher, aged 26, of Molyneux Road, Westhoughton, pleaded guilty at magistrates court yesterday to three counts of cheating at gambling.

Over three days, the customers made just less than £1,000, splitting their profits with Fisher. The town centre casino lost more than £2,000 in potential earnings, the court was told. William Donnelly, prosecuting, said: “All of a sudden, the punter has made a substantial profit without doing anything. “You can double your winnings without too much trouble.”
One of the gamblers had been discreet, always betting on the same numbers, the court heard. But the other was not, throwing money at Fisher for him to change. Another gambler spotted “something dodgy”, Mr Donnelly told magistrates, and reported Fisher to casino bosses. They reviewed CCTV footage of the table and uncovered the fraud. Fisher lost his job and his gaming licence, and following a police investigation, the former croupier was arrested and interviewed in May. William Birtwell, defending, said Fisher had brought shame on his family, especially his brother, who is a serving police officer. Mr Birtwell added: “He is disgusted with himself that he has allowed himself to get caught up in this. It was a moment of madness. He had worked hard to get where he was, but he has lost his gaming licence and can no longer work in the gambling profession.”

The court was told that croupiers were constantly asked to cheat by punters. Fisher had always said no, but finally relented in January this year, as his debts mounted. He had taken out a £5,000 loan for a car in his teens, but had taken out further high-interest agreements since then, in an attempt to consolidate his loans. January also marked the anniversary of his father’s death, the court was told. Chairman of the bench Frank Whittaker said: “You were caught redhanded. It is a significant amount over three days. If it had continued over, say, two years, it would have been an awful lot of money. You were a trusted senior member of staff. You didn’t do it alone, there was a level of organisation and premeditation.”

Police are currently investigating the other men involved in the fraud.
Following the hearing, Fisher said: “I do regret what I have done, it was a stupid mistake and it wasn’t like me at all. It was completely out of character and I have apologised for it.”

Fisher was warned by the court that he faces a high level community order when he is sentenced tomorrow.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

More Trouble For Giant Online-Cheat-Plagued Full Tilt Poker--This Time It's a $900 Million Lawsuit!


In a lawsuit filed on Monday in federal court, two Los Angeles men are demanding that Full Tilt give back money— $10 for one of the men and $120,000 in the case of the other—they say is owed to them after they were unable to cash out their accounts. They also seek punitive damages and $900 million for other Americans who are out of pocket after Full Tilt allegedly cheated them in games and after owners began helping themselves to customer money.

The class action, which names famous poker stars Howard Lederer and Christopher Ferguson, appears to be based on many of the dramatic allegations set out in an FBI indictment unsealed last April. The owners of Full Tilt are accused of using flower stores and pet shops as front companies to trick U.S. banks into processing customers credit card and check transactions. The owners used the front companies because payment requests from them did not carry a transaction code used to flag online gambling, which is illegal in the United States.

The class action also demands that the site owners and celebrity players repay customers for cheating in the online poker games. Full Tilt’s nastiest tactic allegedly involved the use of robots—computer players hatched by Full Tilt that would appear at sparsely populated games and use their card-counting skills to fleece the real players. According to the complaint, Full Tilt assured players that they had “zero tolerance” for robot players—but went ahead and deployed robots created by two company owners with degrees from MIT and UCLA. Even worse, Full Tilt used customer hatred of robots as a pretext to rob successful players:

Certain players who repeatedly lost to a skilled player would start on-line jihads against the successful player, accusing that player of being a robot. The Defendants discovered over time that cancellation of real player accounts accused of being a “robot” was another profit center, as the player account money of the wrongly-accused player was confiscated.

Online gambling is a vast and lucrative enterprise as evidenced by reports that the US government was able to seize $115 million from Full Tilt simply by intercepting a percentage of the payments made to the front companies. Full Tilt and two other major poker sites began struggling in the last two years, however, as increasing pressure from US authorities made it increasingly difficult for the companies to circumvent rules that forbid businesses from processing online gambling transactions. During this time, the Full Tilt owners allegedly began raiding customer accounts, leading US prosecutors last months to describe the company as a “Ponzi Scheme.”

It is unclear whether there will be anything left to collect if the class action suit is successful. The U.S. Department of Justice is already demanding a $1 billion civil penalty from many of those listed in the California suit. There may be good news for customers based on a report that a French investment firm is promising to make losses whole if it can take over the business. The bad news is that the new prospective owner served prison time for stealing from a soccer club he owned.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Poker Cheats and Casino Cheats Boot Camp?

Getting fit to poker cheat
According to an email I received today, that's exactly what one potential casino and poker cheating person wants. He directed me to the days of poker boot camps that I believed were started by Phil Hellmuth and a few other notable cheating and non-cheating poker pros.

Well, I can't take this poker and casino cheat request TOO seriously because even if I wanted to actually do it, it would be pretty hard to pull off. First off, it would have to be completely underground as I could not freely advertise it, even on my poker cheating website! Can you imagine me printing "Poker Cheat Boot camp Available To All!" or "Casino Cheats, Come To Me and I will Hone your Skills!"???

Afraid not! I might find myself in some serious trouble with all sorts of crime fighting agencies. And besides, I really don't want to actually encourage people to try cheating casinos and poker games. It is VERY dangerous!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Major Italian/French Poker and Casino Cheat Team Busted in France For Infrared Poker Cardmarking Scam Using Contact Lenses!

Three Italian poker players and two employees of southern French casinos were in custody Thursday, accused of netting thousands of euros in a high-tech gambling scam that involved marking cards with infrared ink.

The scam allegedly involved marking each of the cards in a pack with ink visible only when wearing infrared glasses, then planting the pack at a poker table in Cannes, Le Parisien reported.

The players then turned up to play wearing infrared glasses so they could see the marks.

"In a way, these players saw through the cards," a judicial source said.

I have much experience in this sort of scam and wrote about it in detail in both my books "American Roulette," ("Grand Casino Heist" in the UK) and "Dirty Poker." Although this particular card-marking poker cheat scam didn't use the ultra-modern laser card-markers, they seemed to have gotten the job done. I don't know how they got caught, so there must be something more to this than is mentioned in the following article. Two French casino employees were arrested in this poker cheat scam with a group of Italians. Well, it's nice to see a major poker cheat scam go down without it being pulled off by Asian Cheats for a change. For those of you who were around some thirty or forty years ago, the Italians, right behind the Americans, were the biggest organized casino cheats in the world.

Article:

Police became suspicious when the gang pocketed around $60,400 at a swanky casino in Cannes in August and set up a device to intercept them the next time they visited.

During their next visit to Les Princes des Cannes casino, the three Italians won about $27,460 but were stopped in the casino hallway as they tried to leave and were arrested. An employee from the casino also was arrested, along with a member of staff from a casino in Nice.

The three Italian players were "linked to serious organized crime," according to the newspaper.
Investigators were sending details of the trio to all casinos in Europe in case they used the same scam elsewhere.

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Identity Theft Mixing More and More With Casino Cheating!

Casino cheats have been using quality fake IDs in and around casinos lately. Firstly, it is great to have a great set of fake ID if you're caught cheating a casino and get hustled off to the back room and interrogated, especially if you don't get arrested and never give up your fingerprints. In this scenario, all the intercasino bulletins will be looking out for a phony name, and if you disguise yourself up a bit, you will be able to cheat casinos under their radar.

Also, casino cheats are turning to thieving IDs while working slot and casino promotion and VIP player bonus scams, using various phony IDs to bilk the casinos out of complementary programs by racking up bunches of bonus points under phony names.

And stretching it a bit, at least one notorious casino cheat has used the best fake ID of all to avoid capture...that claiming he is "Mr. Dead"! This guy (I won't bother naming what is supposed to be his real name because it probably isn't) raked millions out of casinos in Singapore and the Philippines and then when the heat got hot, he simply had an obituary written on him and published in newspapers in both countries!

Not a bad way to beat the heat!!!

Thursday, October 06, 2011

Major Las Vegas Dice-Sliding Casino Craps Cheat Scam Allegedly Run By Two PokerStars Online Poker Pros!

Source: Tightpoker.com

Wynn Las Vegas has filed a lawsuit against Veronica Dabul and Leonardo Fernandez, who are with Team PokerStars, for allegedly cheating the casino of $700,000 at Craps. The duo stand accused of collaborating with other players to scoot or slide dice, a system of throwing the dice in such a way that at least one of it shows a winning number. Dice sliding, however, is not easy and players hardly use this method to cheat the casino.

According to Craps experts, the objective of dice sliding is to get at least one six, which enhances the slider’s odds of collecting a large payout. Even if dice sliding does not result in two sixes, it is guaranteed to turn up a number greater than seven, enabling dice sliders to win large prizes if they bet on numbers greater than seven.

Legally, dice should be shot in such a manner that they bounce and rebound from the table’s back wall. Experts say that a dice slider distracts the dealer so that he/she fails to observe that the dice are being scooted. If the Craps dealer observes that the dice are not shot in the proper manner, he/she must announce the move invalid and ask the shooter to toss the dice once again.

Leonardo Fernandez of Buenos Aires is part of Team PokerStars Pro at present. He finished 257th and collected a large prize of $35,383 in World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2008. In January 2011, he finished second and collected $554,924 in the High Roller PCA $25k tournament.

Veronica Dabul is no longer a sponsored pro at PokerStars. She finished 235th and won $35,383 at WSOP 2008 Main Event. In 2009, she won the Shark Conservation Poker Tournament, which was held in Costa Rica. Dabul has won a total of $200k playing poker so far.

Wynn Casino has a series of video tapes showing the duo sliding dice at the Craps tables over a period of one month. The two hardly played together, and Fernandez never bet on the results of dice slid by him. According to the lawsuit, different teams of players indulged in dice sliding at different times and at different tables.

The office of the district attorney has not booked the two on criminal charges although they were arrested and Dabul was in jail for two days before being released, owing to which the lawsuit filed by Wynn Casino is of a civil nature.

My take: Wow! This is big stuff! I guess some of these online pros we heard about with contracts to represent online sites such as PokerStars aren't earning as much money from these online giants as one might think. This scam had been going on for a month and apparently included a significant group of people. We may be seeing this dynamic duo cheating brick and mortar poker tables by way of collusion...if they're not doing it online already!!!

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Electronic Roulette Wheel Chjeats Out There!

Many of you may think that casino cheats cannot cheat electronic roulette wheels, but think again! Roulette cheats have come up with ingenious ways to do just that. In one case, a casino pit boss colluded with a group of organized casino cheats and pressed a button which signalled the ball to drop in one of the numbers his cohorts had wagered on. In another clever electronic roulette scam, the cheats converted casino comps into cash by covering all the bets on the layout which nullified their bets.

But the real ingenious scam on which clever electronic roulette cheats needed no inside help was the one where the cheats figured out, much the way they do on biased roulette wheels, that both the little ivory roulette ball and spinning wheel on several electronic tables never deviated speeds, thus they simply "clocked" those speeds and figured where the ball would land and bet accordingly.

My take: I love to hear casinos getting beat in areas where they think they cannot be!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Full Tilt Poker Denies Ponzi Scam Poker Cheat Allegations

In a statement made to Reuters on Wednesday, Washington-based attorney Jeff Ifrah, who represents Full Tilt Poker, has rubbished the US government’s allegations that Full Tilt Poker was engaged in running a global Ponzi scheme.

While admitting that Full Tilt Poker made some mistakes, the lawyer said that there is absolutely no evidence supporting the US government’s claim that the online poker giant ran a Ponzi scheme.

On Tuesday, the US government levelled a new allegation against Full Tilt Poker that its directors pocketed over $440 million after cheating its players. This is in addition to the charges of illegal gambling, bank fraud, and money laundering that the Department of Justice (DoJ) levelled against FTP in April. In connection with its latest allegations, the US government has sought that all FTP assets be seized by the government.

It may be recalled that the US federal government cracked down on Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and PokerStars on April 15 this year, a day commonly known as the Black Friday of online poker, seized their domain names and arrested their CEOs. According to the US indictment of April, 11 people associated with Full Tilt Poker were charged with illegal gaming, bank fraud, and money laundering, and on Tuesday, the federal government added the charges that FTP was involved in a giant global Ponzi scheme, cheating its players of millions of dollars.

The operators of a Ponzi scheme use funds supplied by new investors to pay existing investors till the funds stop flowing in and the scheme dies a natural death. Explaining the term, Prof. Daniel Richman of Columbia Law School says that a Ponzi scheme refers to the act of receiving funds and not paying them back, but sustaining them through future deposits.

The prosecutors say that Full Tilt Poker defendants deposited these funds in accounts at Isle of Man and Switzerland. They also claim that Full Tilt Poker continued running the Ponzi scheme outside the US following the events of April although it lacked the required funds to pay back its US players.

In June, US poker players proposed to jointly sue Full Tilt Poker for failing to refund them, in which case Jeff Ifrah might step down from his position as the legal representative of Full Tilt Poker and its board of directors. Last month, he had stated that to continue as FTP’s attorney “would result in an unreasonable financial burden on our law firm.”

Friday, September 23, 2011

US Justice Department Accuses Full Tilt Poker of Cheating and Running a Ponzi Scam!

Source: Tight Poker

Full Tilt Poker attorney Jeff Ifrah said that Full Tilt Poker should not be treated like an illegal investment scheme; instead its situation should be understood as a problem bank. The DoJ is yet to respond to this.

Full Tilt Poker lawyers have responded to an amendment to a civil complaint lodged by the DoJ on Tuesday, accusing the owners and executive officers of Full Tilt Poker of cheating their players of $444 million.

The online poker company is, in the meantime, fighting to regain its licenses, which were suspended pending investigation this June.

The recent development has sparked fiery responses from online poker players, who have posted fiery comments on online poker forums and social networking sites. These players, who once held accounts at Full Tilt Poker, are still waiting for their money.

The Ponzi scheme allegation is the latest in the list of allegations leveled against the fallen online poker giant by the US government, the others being bank fraud, illegal gambling, and money laundering. The government has also filed criminal charges against the company executives and owners.

Mr. Bitar, for instance, has been charged with bank fraud and money laundering, but hasn’t been arrested yet because he does not live in the US.

The government’s civil complaint of Tuesday was accompanied by a statement claiming that Full Tilt Poker is “not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme.” The term “Ponzi scheme, however, was not used in the civil complaint, which however explained the scheme. The government has alleged that Full Tilt Poker made its customers play with “phantom money,” which the giant company neither possessed nor collected, as a result of which it fell short of the cash it owed to its US players. The government also alleges that Full Tilt Poker directors and owners collected $444 million for themselves from April 2007 and April 2011.

The government’s labeling of Full Tilt Poker’s troubles as a mismanaged “Ponzi scheme” makes its chances of renewing its license very slim. The latest allegation has also discouraged potential investors who might have provided over $300 million that the company requires for paying its poker players.

Meanwhile, Full Tilt wants a 30-day extension from its license provider AGCC to build up its case to get back its suspended license.

My take: well, this is one of those "any way you want to look at it" situations that can be bent to look like any way. I think the governments considering regulation should be more worried about protecting online poker players from the online poker cheats playing on the sites.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Is Master Singapore Casino Cheat Really Dead...Or Just Hiding?

Source: Straits Times

The authorities in the Philippines are still pursuing fugitive Singaporean lawyer Loo Choon Beng despite news reports of his death in China. They are investigating if Loo, who went by the alias Ben Lui and is wanted in connection with a $25 million casino scam there, is really dead.

Dead Casino Cheat?
They are also continuing their search for assets registered in his name, and have kept him on the Interpol Purple Notice List. This requires countries which are members of Interpol, the international police body, to provide information on him should he be spotted.

My take: $25 Million!?? What the hell did he do...walk out with the building housing the casino? This all sounds like a big piece of crap? I never heard any specific details about twenty-five mil coming out of any or all of Singapore's casinos

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Poker Pros Fleeing the US For Fear of Online Poker Cheat Allegations!

Online Poker Cheat Bonomo
A bunch of US based poker pros who are citizens have been getting out of "Dodge", which in this case is the United States of America. Some notables who have recently fled are Mike Brooks, Phil Galfond, Jon Agular, and Vanessa Selbst. They have all given reasons such as "looking for work" but is this not a cover to avoid problems and even possible prosecution by the US Department of Justice over online cheating accusations?

Ask Haseeb Qureshi and Dan "jungleman12" Cates, who have also vacated the US since the recent online-cheat scandals they’ve been accused of participating in. Maybe they'll receive some permanent ID changes including cosmetic surgery so that they may pay live poker again.

Or ask Justin Bonomo, a well-known poker pro and accused online poker cheat. He has just left the US for the destination of Malta!...which, I might add, has quite a few online poker rooms based there. Bonomo says he's moving there for its key location close to various European brick and mortar poker tournaments.

What do I think? Come on, Justin, you're running from the online poker judges!!!

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

$15 Million-Winning Blackjack Player Don Johnson Reveals How He "Cheated" Atlantic City Casinos

$15 Million BJ Chea....WINNER!
Let's start with the name. "Don Johnson" is already a cool start, and this version of that name is even cooler than the ultra-cool Don Johnson who played the ultra-cooler Detective Sunny Crockett in just about the coolest cop show in television history. This casino whiz Don Johnson, if you remember, beat three Atlantic City casinos out of a very, very cool $15 million bucks over a six month period beginning in late 2010 and ending in May, 2011. Yep, that's right! FIFTEEN MIL! That certainly has to be one of the great wins in casino history, cheating or not.

So DID he cheat?

Last July Johnson told several magazines and newspapers that his huge AC winning-streak not just massive good luck. He admitted conning the three casinos, Caesars, the Borgata and the Tropicana, into accommodating him with special rules that he knew (they didn't) would give him an actual percentage advantage over the house. He used those casinos' VIP player promotions to snow them over.

First he got the casinos to actually change their house blackjack rules. Then taking advantage of the huge competition between AC casnios to hook high rollers, he manipulated them into custom-tailoring their rebate policies, which actually give losing players a percentage of their losses back.

Johnson dictated to the three DUMB casinos that if they wanted to keep his action they had to oblige him a twenty percent rebate against his losses. That is a GIGANTIC offering! And if that weren't enough, he stipulated that the casinos attach a $500,000 loss-limit before the rebates kicked in, while getting them to raise their blakjack betting limits to a $100,000 per hand. For these courtesies, Johnson put a million bucks up on deposit in each casino cage.

What the stupid casinos didn't grasp was that Johnson, playng at a hundred grand per hand, often reached the $500,000 loss-limit very quickly and began getting 20% of his money back on succeeding losing hands. While he got to being ahead the five hundred grand, he gave the casinos back squat.

With all these stipulations, Johnson actually had a bigger advantage over the casinos than the casinos have against basic-strategy blackjack players.

Hard to believe three different casinos fell for this!...And more power to you, Mr. Cool, Don Johnson.

Labor Day Poker Cheats and Casino Cheats Labor Laboriously on Labor Day!

Yeah, sounds like a tongue-twister but nevertheless it's true. When I was in my prime cheating casinos and poker games, Labor Day Weekend was always one of the prime times to cheat the casinos. I spent practically every Labor Day Weekend from 1979 to 2000 working Atlantic City, whose Boardwalk is filled to the gills and swelling with end-of-summer gamblers...and cheats! I never failed to go home with less than twenty grand profit for the weekend.

Even now, I see, Atlantic City is more popular than Las Vegas among the casino and poker cheating community. I have heard that the AC casinos were hit hard, especially the Borgata which was victimized by blackjack pastposters and organized poker cheating collusion teams. One of the elements that make Atlantic City so good for cheating during summer holiday weekends is the mass crowding on the Boardwalk, which allows for casinos cheats taking heat inside the casino to get out quickly through back doors and onto the Boardwalk where they can disaappear immediately in the throng.

Remember, when cheating casinos and poker rooms, the most important logistical element inside is the best door for escape!

Friday, September 02, 2011

All-Time Poker Cheating, Online Poker Cheating and Casino Cheating Money List Now Published!

Lots of you have been waiting for this list and here it is, compiled as accurately as humanly possible. Although the online poker cheat at the top of this all-time casino and poker cheating money list is of now surprise, some of the other names here might indeed surprise you.

ALL-TIME POKER AND CASINO CHEAT MONEY LIST

CHEAT DOMAIN/ ESTIMATED CHEAT EARNINGS/ DISPOSITION

1) Russ Hamilton: online poker (UB.com) $16,500,000 Never Charged; 2) Dennis Sean McAndrew: Slot machine cheating rings 15,500,000 two prison sentences; 3) Pat Mallery: casino pastposting/pinching 8,000,000 charged with 0 convictions; 4) Phuong Quoc Truong: Inside Baccarat Scams 6,500,000 seven yrs prison; 5) Van Thu Tran: Inside Baccarat Scams 5,250,000 three yrs prison; 6) Richard Marcus: casino pastposting/pinching 5,000,000 Never Charged; 7) Andre Nestor: Slot machines 3,500,000 Criminal Case Pending; 8) Tommy Glenn Carmichael: Slot machines 3,000,000 one yr prison; 9) Balls Abramowitz: casino pastposting/pinching 2,500,000 charged, 0 convictions; 10) Monique Laurent: rigging roulette wheels 2,000,000 1 yr prison

Honorable Mention: All the poker and casino cheats in the Poker Cheating and Casino Cheating Hall of Fame

You can read in-depth about all these infamous poker and casino cheats on the Hall of Fame page

Lock Poker and Poker Strategy.com Run Away From Portuguese Online Poker Cheat Jose "Girah" Macedo

Online Poker Cheat Macedo

Lock Poker and Poker Strategy.com have distanced themselves from poker player Jose “Girah” Macedo over the past weekend and both have released him from contract. It seems that “Macedo” confessed to participating in a high roller scam at these sites. Allegedly Macedo who is well known at Lock Poker and Poker Strategy.com, had invited some friends to the sites for some poker games, but one friend took a big hit and lost more money than he wanted, and that’s when Macedo decided to teach him how to cheat.

Macedo, who is know by the nickname, Portuguese Poker Prodigy, had become a very respected and trusted player among internet gamblers and once he was able to persuade them to manage their online skype meetings where he was given total access to their cards during each hand, which he then passed on to that player’s rivals at the table. Since his cheating days and ultimate exposure, Macedo has agreed to reimburse amounts totaling $300,000 to all players involved in his scams.

Officials at Lock Poker released a statement stating they had no idea of this cheating scam and were in absolute shock when told about it and who was involved. They have banned Macedo permanently, and Poker Strategy.com who had just joined with Macedo as a coach in the tutorial video content force has terminated their alliance with Macedo. The online poker community itself is left confused and frustrated by Macedo’s actions. Why would a poker pro with a good reputation risk it all? Money, respect, career and integrity for such a small total of cash, it is shameful.

My Take: This is what all the online poker networks do when a cheat is exposed inside them. What does it mean as far as the anti-cheating safety of Lock Poker and Poker Strategy.com? Nothing really. Whether or not more online poker cheat scandals emerge on these networks is still a random proposition.

Canadian Reservation Blackjack Flashing Hole-Card Cheat Scam Called "Stupid" But Still Netted Nearly a Hundred Grand Before Tanking Out

The Asians involved in this dealer/player inside casino cheat scam may not have been as sharp as the Tran Organization, which also specialized in cheating Canadian casinos, but they still managed to cheat their target casino out of nearly a $100,000...in spite of being called stupid by the judge who accepted the cheats plea bargains.

Article:

A Chinese immigrant who cheated at the Golden Eagle Casino says he didn't know why the dealer initiated the three-month-long scam.

Xiajun "Jim" Zhuang, 32, pleaded not guilty to cheating at play, but guilty to the lesser included offence of theft under $5,000, for knowingly cheating the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority of $1,500 between October 2008 and January 2009.

He was sentenced Monday to a conditional discharge that will spare him a criminal record after he completes five months on probation and repays the stolen money.

Zhuang was one of several customers who benefitted from a crooked dealer who is alleged to have cheated the casino of $86,000 between August 2008 and January 2009, Crown prosecutor Mitch Piche told Judge David Kaiser.

The dealer was seen on surveillance video flashing cards at players, offering insurance to Blackjack players after looking at cards and seeing the player would lose and letting players know when they would win so they could increase their bets, Piche said.

Zhuang was an experienced gambler who knew how to benefit from the dealer's practices.

He was "pushy and persistent," but less culpable than the dealer, Piche said.

Defence lawyer Wei Woo, who appeared by telephone, said his client is a landed immigrant with limited English.

The dealer did not take any profit for himself and Zhuang didn't know why the dealer offered him the opportunities to cheat, Woo said.

Woo blamed the casino for causing the problem, saying it did not appropriately monitor its dealer, who drew players into the offences.

His client showed "stupidity as a new immigrant" by participating in the theft, Woo said.

The conditional discharge is important to Zhuang, who would be at risk of deportation if he incurred a criminal record, Woo said.

Woo said the Crown's suggestion of an eight-month probation was too harsh since his client has agreed to repay the $1,500 and has lost more than $20,000 to the casino.

Kaiser sentenced Zhuang to five months probation, ordered he pay restitution and not go into any SIGA casinos.

Two other players were sentenced last month for participating in the scams. Reuben Ian Bear was sentenced to 12 months on probation for theft and ordered to pay $1,250 restitution. Wade Wang, who had no criminal record, pleaded guilty to cheating at play and was granted a conditional discharge of 12 months on probation and immediately repaid the $2,500 he had taken. Co-accused Christopher Stone-Spyglass and Ken Mark return to court Sept. 28.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Latest Online Poker Cheat Sensation is Well-Respected (was) Portuguese Poker Pro


Source

Online poker has suffered another blow to its reputation after 18 year-old Portuguese poker pro José “Girah” Macedo admitted organising an online poker swindle which netted him $30,000.

Apparently, the ‘sting’ involved some of his online high stakes friends/the marks being duped into playing against a so-called ‘fish’ chosen by Macedo in a series of online heads-up cash games.

However, the fish, whose screen name was “sauron1989″ was in fact José “Girah” Macedo himself, who then proceeded to take his buddies from a private strategy group for around $30.000.

In order for the scam to work, José “Girah” Macedo abused his trusted position as part of the heads-up strategy discussion group on Skype to obtain information on his opponent’s hole cards in real time, under the pretence of railing the study group and offering advise later.

During a monitoring session, group member “ImFromSweden” then proceeded to lose around $10,000 over 70 hands of $10/$20 HU NLHE to “sauron1989,” before 10 days later “jajay1963″ lost a further $21,900 to the same player at $25/$50 HU NLHE.

Suspecting foul play “jajay1963″ then contacted the Skype discussion group creator “TooCuriousso1″ and before long the pair also noticed that “sauron1989″ and Macedo would always log on and out of Skype at the same times.

Along with other circumstantial evidence, they then took their findings to the 2+2 forum prompting a quick admission of guilt from José “Girah” Macedo, who offered to pay back those he cheated in full plus compensation. His post read:

“A while ago, I did something stupid. A friend of mine, whom I introduced to poker, made a suggestion to me which was, I’m not going to sugar coat it, cheating. I had introduced this friend to poker, and he was losing money — badly. He asked to play some of my poker friends and said ‘why don’t you sweat them and we’ll see their hands.’ I don’t know why I agreed. I don’t know why I did it. I guess it was a mixture of guilt and stupidity and feeling shitty for getting him involved in something which seemed to be bad for him.”

Macedo then went on to say: “I’m holding my hands up and taking whatever consequences come. I realise the severity of this, but I also realise that I have to take responsibility for my actions and so I’m paying back everyone involved and in addition paying them compensation of $30,000. I’ve also told my sponsor etc and whatever happens there I will take the consequences too. They have been really amazing to me and I’ve enjoyed every minute of working with them. Representing Lock and being part of their amazing team, witnessing the incredible growth, was a pleasure and an honor.”

José “Girah” Macedo has since been dropped from Team LockPRO, as well as losing his position as an instructor at Team PokerStrategy.

My take: Hooray! We finally got a big-time online poker cheat from Portugal...Surprised?...I'm not...in the least.

Singapore Surveillance Inspector Charged With Cheating Marina Bay Sands Out of $150,000!

Eye in the Sky Cheat
Wow! This is the first case of a crooked surveillance officer ripping of his casino for some serious money! But that it happened in a Singapore casino, where casino cheating is rampant, is not at all surprising.

Source:

A former video surveillance officer with the Marina Bay Sands was charged on Aug 24 with cheating its casino of nearly $150,000 between July 16 and Aug 14, 2011.

Court documents state that on 33 occasions, Ho Boon Keat, 28, allegedly allowed accomplices to be paid winnings by deceiving the pit managers that their bets were valid.

The offences are said to have been committed on the Sic Bo tables of the casino. The game involves the spinning of three dice and there could be payment of up to 180 times of the bet if all three of a specific number appear.

It is believed that Ho's four accomplices would use sleight of hand to place late bets, known in the casino industry as past posting. If the pit manager suspected that the bet was placed after the results were known and calls up the video surveillance officer to check, it is believed Ho would give the all clear and the bet will be honoured. Two of the accomplices - Benson Ho, 24, and Ang Chee Peng, 28 - are at large, while Bai Qipei, 24, and Toh Kaida, 28, are presently assisting police in their investigations.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Not First Police Officer to Plead Guilty to Casino Cheating

In a sad casino cheat case from San Diego, California, a police officer serving the nearby community of Chula Vista has pleaded guilty to capping his blackjack bets at the Syvuan Casino located outside of San Diego.

Thirty-year-old cop Jesus Angel Salazar copped out to a misdemeanor and will receive only probation, which seems fair in the case as not much money, mainly red $5 gaming chips, was involved. He also pled guilty to driving under the influence, which may have helped him avoid jail time for the casino cheating charge.

My take: I am always saddened to hear about police officers getting involved in cheating casinos. In most cases, it comes with the pressure of the job and related marital problems, and often stems directly from drinking problems. I am glad to see that the courts took it easy on this guy, and hopefully he can continue on serving his community as a law enforcement officer.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Acclaimed Blackjack Dealer Busted in Holland Casino For Ripping Off Tables For Millions Using South African Cup Scam!

I hardly believe this is true, but it's in print all over the Internet. For a description of the ol' South African Cup Scam, go here.

Source: ackchamp.com

An internationally acclaimed award winning blackjack dealer arrested for stealing millions from casino. Mr. Hon-Kee ‘Honky’ Man, 36, has been an internationally acclaimed blackjack card games dealer for close to a decade, winning the coveted Blackjack Croupier of the Year for the past three years in a row.

This year, Honky was a favorite with the Black Jack Tournament judges and practically had the unprecedented 4 year winning streak in his pocked had it not been for his unexpected arrest for cheating Holland Casino out of millions of dollars.

The talented roulette and blackjack dealer, who last year impressed international blackjack awards judges with his ‘amazing techniques behind the blackjack table’ got fired from the casino and arrested for a different kind of amazing technique behind the blackjack table.

For the past month, Holland Casino has been keeping a close eye on Honky, after a trainee blackjack dealer who idolized Honky and often observed him out of the corner of his eyes, witnessed Honky colluding with players and frequently overpaying winning bets by thousands of dollars using ‘sleight of hand’ techniques.

Reports put Holland Casino’s overall losses at over a million and the casino has been reviewing old security tapes to detect when the cheating has begun. Since becoming a superstar, Honky was not observed as frequently by casino security as he should have. It is the casino security, whose laxity may be partially to blame for the scheme not being uncovered sooner.

The arrest came about immediately after Honky Man was observed using a hollow device resembling a thimble painted to resemble a stack of 5 euro chips. Inside this hollow thimble, hundred euro chips were allegedly secreted by Honky M and passed to his accomplice.

Both Honky Man as well as his unnamed accomplice was arrested in the middle of the shift as a warning to all employees that the eye in the sky is always watching.

In an interesting turn of events, a police source close to the investigation revealed that Honky Man is allegedly a member of the powerful Sun Yee On Triad, the largest international Chinese Mafia sect in the world, numbering over 40,000 members and a half million associates.

Since his arrest, the best blackjack dealer in the world has been silent and very little information is available about the ongoing investigation into the Chinese mafia’s infiltration of Holland Casino.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Soon To Come...All-Time Casino and Poker Cheats Money-List!!!

I have been getting emails from people asking who are the biggest money winning poker and casino cheats of all-time. Many are curious about this because they have read the World Series of Poker players all-time prize money lists and the complete WPT all-time poker tournament money lists. Although this will be harder to compile than the poker money-winning lists, as earnings from cheating poker and casinos are not general public knowledge except in some cases, I will do my best to post this list shortly.

Stay Tuned!

Casino Cheating in France! Tricheries Aux Casinos Francais!

I came across this great article in the French Magazine "Le Point" on the massive cheating going on in French Casinos, especially in those ritzy gambling palaces in Monaco, Caanes and along the rest of the French Riviera, where I, myself, have done some serious casino cheating over the years! If you do not read French, use the Google translator and you should get the gist of it...Enjoy.

En 1873, Joseph Jagger repère une roulette défectueuse au casino de Monte-Carlo et décide de l'exploiter à son avantage. En peu de temps, cet ingénieur britannique amasse 2 millions de francs-or, l'équivalent actuel de 3 millions et demi d'euros ! Plus d'un siècle plus tard, de nombreux cerveaux tout aussi ingénieux que peu scrupuleux lui ont emboîté le pas. "La grande époque de la triche sur la Côte d'Azur se situe dans les années 70 et 80", confie Christian B., responsable de la vidéosurveillance du Ruhl Casino Barrière à Nice. Au cours de l'été de 1979, un gang mené par un Tchèque parvient ainsi à rafler 30 millions de francs aux tables de jeu, dont le tiers provient du casino municipal de Cannes. Quatre ans auparavant, des truands fichés au grand banditisme avaient délesté le palais de la Méditerranée à Nice de 5 millions de francs en une seule partie truquée ! C'est aussi le temps des affaires de baronnage, où clients et croupiers sont de mèche, et qui éclaboussent l'ensemble du littoral azuréen."La plus grosse affaire reste celle du Palm Beach à Cannes, à la fin des années 80", confie Anne-Marie Sallenave, chef de la section niçoise de la police des courses et jeux. Dix-huit prévenus avaient été interpellés à l'époque et le casino avait fermé ses portes. Le montant détourné ? "Incalculable", dit-elle. Dans un article publié en avril 1990,L'Humanité parle d'une escroquerie qui "porterait sur 50 millions de francs" rien que pour l'année 1988.

Flagrant délit. En 2011,"la triche est devenue marginale", assure Anne-Marie Sallenave. Il est vrai que, avec l'arrivée de moyens de surveillance performants et l'instauration de réglementations strictes, les tricheurs professionnels semblent appartenir à une espèce en voie d'extinction."Avec 200 caméras installées, je vois passer le moindre moustique dans mon établissement", assure Jean-Charles Pitt, directeur du Ruhl Casino Barrière à Nice. Si l'on ajoute à la vidéosurveillance le contrôle obligatoire d'identité depuis 2006, des tables de jeu sur écoute, la création ces dernières années d'un fichier national qui liste les joueurs indésirables, les casinos de la Côte, une quinzaine en tout, ont toutes les raisons d'afficher une certaine sérénité.

Ce qui n'empêche pas des fraudeurs futés de tenter leur chance. En 2004, à Beaulieu-sur-Mer, un gang international a mis au point un scénario digne de "Mission impossible". Les joueurs utilisaient des minicaméras dissimulées dans leurs manches pour espionner le jeu de leurs adversaires. Les images étaient transmises à un ordinateur piloté par un complice à l'extérieur, qui leur indiquait les consignes à suivre grâce à des oreillettes. Bilan : 40 000 euros extorqués en une soirée au stud poker et une prise en flagrant délit ! "Au début des années 2000, des Italiens, dont un ancien croupier, avaient mis de la limaille de fer dans une bille truquée. Ils agissaient avec un aimant pour la contrôler et ont réussi à prendre 470 000 francs", raconte également Jean-Pierre Alezra, commissaire divisionnaire et chef du Service central des courses et jeux en France. On citera aussi le cas d'Ali Tekintamgac, un Allemand d'origine turque, disqualifié en septembre 2010 du Partouche Poker Tour, au Palm-Beach à Cannes, pour avoir comploté avec un faux journaliste.

Fil invisible. Mais ces cas restent exceptionnels. De manière générale,"la triche reste artisanale", insiste Anne-Marie Sallenave. A l'image de ce joueur qui avait accroché son jeton à un fil de Nylon invisible, juste avant de goûter aux geôles monégasques. Ou de ces trois "empalmeurs" italiens qui dissimulaient des jetons dans le creux de leur paume à l'automne 2010 au casino Ruhl Barrière. Loin des tricheries audacieuses d'autrefois, "on a davantage affaire aujourd'hui à des opportunistes qui volent des jetons qui traînent ", commente Christian B. Une pratique, bien que tolérée par la loi, est particulièrement dans le collimateur des casinos : le comptage de cartes. Avec l'installation ces dernières années de sabots électroniques, qui mélangent le jeu en permanence, cette activité est désormais rendue "impossible ", selon les professionnels. Impossible ? Un employé de casino affirme que, récemment, l'un de ces calculateurs de génie, originaire d'Europe centrale, est reparti avec 100 000 euros en poche après une partie de black jack dans un établissement azuréen. "C'est comme voler une Rolls-Royce en pièces détachées. Ils ne sont qu'une poignée dans le monde à pouvoir faire ce qu'il a fait", dit-il.

Que ce soit aux tables de jeu ou aux machines à sous, on peut se demander combien de petits malins réussissent à passer au travers des mailles du filet. "Le temps que l'on détecte la fraude à la vidéo, les tricheurs sont souvent partis", reconnaît Philippe Frizon, chef de l'antenne PJ à Nice. Difficile ensuite de leur mettre le grappin dessus, d'autant que certains fraudeurs, en majorité des étrangers, n'hésitent pas à utiliser de faux papiers pour parvenir à leurs fins. Certaines arnaques restent également difficiles à authentifier. En 2007, trois Scandinaves sont parvenus à subtiliser 10 000 euros aux machines à sous d'un établissement niçois. Repérée par la vidéo, la bande a finalement été relâchée par manque de preuves. Christian B., du casino Ruhl, l'assure : "99,8 % des affaires finissent par être connues, car les tricheurs reviennent tous."

Monday, August 01, 2011

Retired Hall of Fame Casino Cheat Comes Out of Retirement--At 76 Years Old!

Joe Classon
The great legendary casino and poker cheat, who happens to be my casino cheating mentor who taught me the ropes on cheating casinos and who also is the inventor of many effective casino-cheat moves including the famous "Rainbow Move" that happens to be this month's Scam of the Month has come out of retirement and is now actively cheating casinos...at age 76!

His name, of course, is Joe Classon.

You have all witnessed countless comebacks by famous retired athletes, but as far as I know, this is the first comeback by an "infamous" casino cheat. That he is doing it at the age of 76 is truly a marvel. Why? Because you have to be incredibly in charge of all your mental and physical abilities to be a top-notch casino cheat--even at the age of 21.

Why is Joe Classon doing this?

He called me up the other night and said he was bored. He also wanted to know if I wanted to come out of retirement and join him! Believe me, it was tempting. I am kind of getting bored too in my old age, and I am some twenty years younger than Joe. In any case, I told him no but begged him to keep me abreast of his current and future cheating activities. Joe told me he got a kick out of playing around with my famous "Savannah" roulette pinching move--to the tune of earning $50,000 during the last month with it in Vegas and Atlantic City. He gave me the news after the fact, meaning he has been out stomping the casinos for a month without my knowledge. He also confirmed that the Savannah is the best casino-cheating move ever conceived and believes that the casinos worldwide will never be able to defend against it.

I wished him luck, and after hanging up the phone I had second thoughts--and third thoughts--and even fourth and fifth thoughts about hanging up these computer keys and getting back out there on the green felt battlefield.

But I chickened out.

Good Luck, Joe!!!!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Perhaps Best Casino Cheating Scam of All-Time--Asian Casino Cheats Stick Cameras Inside Shuffle Machines and Film Entire Baccarat Shuffle Sequences!

Macau Cheats With Their Equipment 
They Scammed and Cheated Macau casinos out of HK$ 24 million (more than 3 million US), but still got caught, not only because they were too greedy and didn't let enough time go by between cheat assaults on the casinos' baccarat tables, but because they should have realized that casinos' routine maintenance of the tables' automatic card shufflers would have eventually uncovered the scam. In any event, this is one of the best of the latest high-tech casino-cheating scams

Article:

Macau police have smashed a mainland syndicate that allegedly swindled casinos out of more than HK$24 million using camera-embedded card shuffling machines, arresting seven men. Detectives are also investigating whether dealers may be involved, but would not reveal the names of the casinos.

The modified card machines were first discovered in January but it was not until March 28 that the alleged culprits were identified.

The seven, including two alleged masterminds, were nabbed at hotels or at the border crossing when they attempted to return to Macau this month.
Aged between 37 and 46, they are mostly from Yunnan, and one hails from Jilin. They are believed to have placed their modified machines in casinos and analyzed the filmed card shuffling sequence before laying down bets on baccarat tables.

The modified devices appear to be the same as the ones used in casinos, but each was fitted with a micro video camera and infrared transmitter. Mirrors were also installed to reflect images of cards to a video camera.
Police allege the footage was transmitted to a center outside the casino where the ring took one to two hours to compute the maximum possible probability of winning at baccarat.

The gamblers then reserved VIP rooms and placed bets according to the analyzed results.

Suen Kam-fai of the Macau Judiciary Police said syndicate members relied on distractions during the machine switches. The alleged masterminds are named Liu and Yang. Two others are said to have criminal records for cheating at card games in casinos in 2005.

The scam came to light in January when technicians carried out regular maintenance of shuffling machines at a casino. Officers with the gaming-related and economic crimes investigation department later launched an investigation and found other machines in Macau casinos. Police seized HK$1 million from the seven and are still calculating the total amount involved in the swindle.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Bigmouth Negreanu's Latest Claim! He Says He Can Use Hole Card Cameras To Take Advantage of Tournament Adversaries!

Loudmouth!
Man, do I wish this idiot would shut his big mouth. After all his bitching about poker players wearing sunglasses at the table being a form of cheating, now he has to come out and tell the poker world that he can use the hole-card cameras to "take advantage" of other players. Why not call THIS cheating, Negreanu, you jerkoff!

With this year's new World Series of Poker coverage format which broadcasts the play at tables with only half an hour delay, lots of new questions about cheating have arisen, especially when it could involve the media covering the WSOP. (Remember the bloggers and reporters sitting-at-the-table-flashing signals-scam?

I will examine this matter in more detail soon. Below is the pokernewsreport article on Negreanu's latest poker cheating claims.

"American cable television network ESPN’s seven-day trial allowing the online audience of the World Series of Poker (WSOP)’s $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship main event to view entrants’ hole cards on a 30-minute delay was created to prevent cheating.

However, even with this delay and many other precautions – including the hole-card cameras being fed into a secure control room – many of the pros have used this innovation from Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) to their advantage when facing opponents. And rightly so.

Jamie Horowitz, the ESPN co-ordinating producer, pointed out that “the guys in the hole-card room are the only ones who see the live feed, and they are sequestered from the production team, guarded by security, pass a background test and are approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission”.

Yes, ESPN and the WSOP organisers are taking no chances when providing this thrilling improvement to their main event coverage, with Horowitz adding that “cell [mobile] phones and all forms of communication are strictly forbidden from the (hole-card) room”.

Horowitz also stated that “the first time anyone sees the cards (is) when a hand ends (and) we say to [the room], ‘Reveal the hole cards’.”

While previous WSOP events have not been broadcast on television for many weeks after the conclusion of tournaments, this half-an-hour delay has been brought in to provide broadcasters with a much more ‘live’ feel.

But, of course, many of the more experienced pros have utilised this broadcasting development in an attempt to gain even the slightest advantage – particularly when facing an amateur opponent.

Canadian superstar Daniel Negreanu – who has four WSOP gold bracelets – reckons this “new format is a serious competitive disadvantage for the amateur player”, and admitted that he made use of the ‘live’ hole-card cameras to beat an amateur during the initial stages of the main event.

The 36-year-old – who is known as The Poker Kid – confessed that he “had someone texting me with physical tells while I was at the table”, before providing an example of what he was doing when adding that “there was a guy from St Louis – an amateur – and I knew what he was capable of because I had a friend watching for me”.

Negreanu was keen to know what his opponent would do in a particular situation, posing the question: “Does he only bet when he has two aces, or can he be an aggressive bluffer?”

This knowledge, Negreanu believes, means he “can learn that from watching a single hand” to make a move that will win him hands, although this ploy didn’t do him too much good as he finished down in 211th for $47,107!

Broadcasters ESPN, however, are not overly concerned by this use of their technology, with Horowitz dismissing Negreanu’s claim when saying that, while “information is valuable…you need so much information to act on it, the idea that you can take one hand and learn something is absurd”.

Quite rightly, Horowitz pointed out that, “if I bluff and you see it 30 minutes later, I know that you know and you know that I know – so who has the advantage?” Indeed.

He was also at pains to stress that “we’ve made changes to the format in the past, and purists have complained that it threatened the integrity of the game, but – you know what – it didn’t”.

Horowitz concluded by suggesting that, no matter what advantage players believe they gain by seeing an opponent’s hole cards some time later, “the good players win – it’s that simple”.

We’re not so sure, but he certainly has a point. What do you think? Do pros gain an unfair advantage over amateurs? Or is everything fair when sitting down at a table to play some poker?"