Card Cheaters 2010 News Archive:

Card Cheaters (CardCheaters.com) was a news source about gambling cheating and scams which was run by Gambling Incorporated (GamblingIncorporated.com) from January 2005 through February 2017. Although it continued to offer a newswire through December 2022, none of that was archived. Their archives are now available here.

Poker Dealer Steals From Players
A Poker dealer at the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, PA was caught stealing chips from pots and depositing them into his tip box. A CompatiblePoker article reported that, “His modus operandi was relatively simple — he would move chips to the value of $1 and $5 from the pot with his right hand, and slipping them away. He allegedly then pushed the remaining pot to the winner of the hand and go about collecting the cards to ready for the next round. While others weren’t looking, he’d then move the stolen chips into his tip box.” To read the December 31 article by Renee K titled “Pennsylvania Poker Dealer Nabbed in Chip Theft” click: HERE.(12/2010)

Marked Cards As Toys
A professionally marked deck of playing cards has just been released to the general public by the United States Playing Card Company. The deck is released in the guise of a magic trick and is called “Bicycle David Blaine Mind Reading Deck” which comes with some magic tricks you can do with it. The back design is a version of Blaine’s Split Spades and it is printed on the Bicycle brand of cards. This is the least expensive professionally marked deck you will ever find. For more information or to purchase from Gambling Incorporated click: HERE. (12/2010)

Camera Installed At Break In
Sam Simon who co-created “The Simpsons” claims that a camera was secretly installed over his friend’s computer which led to $4 million in online losses. An OnlinePoker article reported that, “Simon claims a high stakes pro friend of his was scammed out of $4 million after cheats broke into his home and set-up a webcam directed at his computer screen. …He kept “losing, and losing, and losing…[until] he found a camera stuck in his ceiling, looking at the screen.” To read the December 15 acticle by A. Mitchell titled “The Simpsons Co-Creator Sam Simon Falls Prey To Online Poker Scam” click: HERE.(12/2010)

Chicago Dealer Convicted
The latest conviction from the Tran Organization was a dealer from the Resorts East Chicago Casino. A Union-Tribune article reported that, “The ring would recruit and bribe dealers… to execute ‘false shuffles,’ a technique that created a ‘slug’ — or set of unshuffled cards, typically about 40 or so. Other ring members would be at a table, tracking the order of cards that were played. When the slug appeared, the ring members would know the order of the ensuing cards and bet accordingly, often winning thousands of dollars.” To read the December 16 article by Greg Moran titled “Casino worker convicted in card-cheating scheme” click: HERE.

A Grand Exposé
A very rare 1860 book about cheating has been reprinted by Magicana. “A Grand Exposé Of The Science Of Gambling,” covers gambling, cheating and con games. It has only been read by very few people as there are less than 20 of the original copies known to exist. This new edition has been retypeset and contains the entire contents of the original as well as a new preface by David Ben. It is limited to 500 copies. For more information or to purchase from Gambling Incorporated click: HERE.(11/2010)

Fake Journalists Used As Cheaters
A professional tournament poker player is disqualified at the Partouche Poker Tour Cannes main event where he made the final table and was accused of cheating. A Bluff Magazine article reported that “According to a report from the Partouche Poker Blog and several European poker outlets, the tournament staff reviewed video footage from early days of the tournament and discovered evidence of Tekintamgac working with fake journalists and bloggers who were feeding him information about his opponents’ holdings using signals.” To read the Nov. 5 article by Jessica Welman titled “Ali Tekintamgac Disqualified From Partouche Final Table” click: HERE.(11/2010)

“Gray List” Removal For Recovered Cheater
Convicted Slot and Blackjack cheater, who is now a security consultant, will be removed from the Las Vegas Gray list so he can conduct business at the new M Resort. A Las Vegas Sun article reported that, “In the 30 years since the denial, Bertolero became an expert at detecting card cheats and received permission to take small individual consulting contracts that did not require licensing. …He became friends and business associates with the Marnell family, which built the Rio and, more recently, the M Resort. In his small consultant contracts, Bertolero has observed customers and employees to help uncover card cheats and employee thefts.” To read the Nov. 4 article by Richard N. Velotta titled “Board recommends man’s removal from ‘gray list,’ denial of another’s license” click: HERE.(11/2010)

Persi Diaconis Talks Shuffles
A rare and fascinating interview with Persi Diaconis where he discusses card cheating, magic and some information about his roots in magic and his association with Dai Vernon. He also discusses faro shuffles and their relation to mathematics and mentioned that he is ambidextrous in some of the sleight of hand he does. Daiconis also explained that he decided to go back to school in order to learn about probability theory in order to better understand gambling. There is a lot of discussion about shuffling and how edges can exist during random shuffles if a person has a good memory and apply it to shuffle tracking. He also discusses the odds of random coin tosses and the similarities between the world magic and the world of mathematics. To listen to the December 12, 2009 interview by Jim Fleming select the second segment at the Wisconsin Public Radio website by clicking: HERE.(11/2010)

Wild Card & Jackpot Released
James Swain has just released his two latest Tony Valentine novels featuring very suspenseful stories with very accurate descriptions of real casino crime and advantage play. The eighth in the series is titled Wild Card and takes place in Atlantic City and serves as a prequel to the seven previous novels. Number nine in the series is titled Jackpot and centers on a slot cheater in Las Vegas. What makes these must-read books even more amazing is that they are based on true events. I understand that there is currently work being done to get Tony Valentine on TV. They are available as e-books from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.(10/2010)
>>>For Amazon Kindle click: HERE and HERE.
>>>For Barnes & Noble Nook click: HERE and HERE.

Indiana Serious About Catching Cheats
A Courier-Journal article looks into the many methods used the Indiana casinos and what the casinos and law enforcement are doing about it. The article reported that “Prosecutions seldom result in jail time because felony charges in most cases are reduced to misdemeanors that carry probation. But gaming regulators since November have boosted the list of gamblers who are permanently banned from Indiana casinos, from 105 to 189 in September.” The article also quotes Bill Zender and describes the most common forms of cheating. To read the October 4 article by Grace Schneider titled “Indiana casinos battle cheaters, but high-tech defense can’t always stop the crooks” click: HERE.(10/2010)

Online Poker Cheating Dissected
Online Poker cheating is dissected in an in-depth BBC article which reported that “Pokerstars refunded $2m to 25,000 customers after it uncovered cheating.” The article also concluded that, “The problem for the authorities and the gaming companies is that it is virtually impossible to prevent collusion like this, because players can share information about their hands via the phone or internet messenger without being detected.” The article also offers inside information on what goes on behind the scenes at the Poker sites. To read the September 11 article by Adrian Goldberg titled “Can the world of online poker chase out the cheats?” click: HERE.(9/2010)

35 Years Of Cheating
Richard Turner recently released a DVD featuring more of his card mastery, magic and gambling techniques. The DVD also features two documentary style segments narrated by Bruce Samboy titled “Dueling Card Sharks” and “The Cardmen’s Get Together” where you see such gaming legends like Steve Forte and Ron Conley and others casually show each other card stuff and kid around. For more information or to purchase from Gambling Incorporated click: HERE. (9/2010)

Blackjack Guys Nabbed
Doug Kelly describes the two Blackjack cheaters sitting next to him and how they were caught. His Security Management article reported that, “For nearly 30 minutes, I watched this capping and pinching take place. When the cheaters finally departed, I estimated that their take was about $250–low enough to stay off the radar screen but high enough to make a nice amount of pocket cash.” To read the September article by Doug Kelly titled “The Game Is On” click: HERE.(9/2010)

Baccarat Cheating The New Rage?
Bill Zender explains why Baccarat cheating is on the rise in a BlackJack Champ article. The article also explained that the “…the largest casino cheating ring in US history actually involved baccarat. A team called the Tran Organization took dozens of casinos across 10 states for some $15 million by cheating at baccarat before they were shut down by the FBI in 2007.” To read the September 6 by Michael Frank article titled “Move Over Blackjack — Baccarat is the New Cheater’s Game of Choice” click: HERE.(9/2010)

A Chip Capper In Singapore
A man caught at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore of adding chips to his bet after the results were known had an interesting defense, a TodayOnline reported that “Yesterday, defence counsel Sarbrinder Singh said his client was less culpable than other casino offenders because he had ‘genuinely won’ with his initial bet.” The judge didn’t buy it saying that it was, “very clear that it was a deliberate attempt to cheat”. To read the August 27 article by Teo Xuanwei titled “Man who attempted to cheat casino loses appeal” click: HERE.(8/2010)

First Pennsylvania Cheater Arrest
A man is caught capping Blackjack bets at the Hollywood Casino in Harrisburg Pennsylvania. ABC News caught up to him and taped him explaining that, “Other people was cheating, I just followed suit to be honest, …A lot of people were doing it. I did it. I didn’t think nothing of it. I didn’t think it would be no formal charges pressed or nothing.” Unfortunately the surveillance video caught him doing it 13 times and the new laws in Pennsylvania are very severe. To read the July 20 article and watch the video titled “Man Admits He Cheated at Hollywood Casino Blackjack Table” click: HERE.(7/2010)
>>>To read the July 20 Patriot News article by Liam Migdail-Smith titled “Cheating suspect may suffer a big loss” click: HERE.(7/2010)

Counterfeit Chip Scam
A news story about counterfeit chips being used at the Mount Airy Casino Resort reported that “Troopers said a man used fake $100 chips at blackjack and craps tables over the weekend. Some Pennsylvania casinos began using real dealers for card and dice games on July 13.” To read and watch the July 20 WNEP-TV report by Jennifer Borrasso titled “Casino Counterfeit Chips Caper” click: HERE.(7/2010)

Joseph Talks Cheating
George Joseph’s training of casino staff in Pittsburgh is profiled in a KDKA story and video segment where they report “Every time a new casino opens across America, there is a group of newcomers who nobody wants to see. They are the professional cheaters and even some amateurs who think they can beat the system.” Joseph explained, “If they can somehow get our playing cards, they mark the cards with special dyes that now are read with cell phone cameras or hidden body cameras.” To read the July 6 article titled “Cheating Expert Trains Casino Officials, Security” click: HERE.(7/2010)

Creative Roulette Cheating
A BetUs article looks at some of the more creative methods employed to cheat at Roulette. Methods covered include Chip Placing, Wired Shoes, and Laser Scanners. To read the July 16 article by John Owens titled “Wired Shoes, Mini Computers, and other Roulette Cheats” click: HERE.(7/2010)

Joseph In Chester Casino
George Joseph is featured in a CBS News story about cheating in the new Philadelphia casinos. The story reported that “He demonstrates low-tech and high-tech cheating techniques; everything from hiding a card up a sleeve, to using a device disguised as an electronic car key fob to count cards. It vibrates when it’s time to bet big. There are obvious signs someone is trying to cheat, he says. In the game of craps, “Anything that happens late, meaning the dice is out or in the air, you should be suspicious.” To read and watch the July 1 story titled “Ex-Cheat Helps Pa. Gaming Board Catch Scammers” click: HERE.(7/2010)

Steve Forte’s Legal Case Exposed
A very detailed and insightful interview with Jason England about the Steve Forte cheating allegations at the Borgata where he was prepared to serve as an expert witness. All the charges against Forte were eventually dismissed while many of the details can be found in this article. The MagicTimes article quotes England, “With all the hype and threats by the authorities and a multi-state investigation that lasted just under three years, do you think for a second that the authorities would’ve dismissed the charges against him had they had in their possession a single piece of incontrovertible evidence against him? Do you think that the authorities dismissed the charges out of the goodness of their hearts?” To read the June 7 MagicTimes story titled “Steve Forte: Awarded Special Fellowship As The Borgata Case Is Dismissed” click: HERE.(6/2010)

Fake Casinos In China
Wealthy Korean golfers were lured into fake casinos in China where they were cheated out of around seven million dollars. An AFP article reported that “The newspaper quoted one prosecutor as saying the gang combined scams depicted in the Hollywood movie ‘The Sting’ — in which conmen stage a phoney horse race — and a Korean movie “The High Rollers” in which an actress approaches a businessman at a golf club. Most victims did not know they had been conned until the investigation began.” To read the May 12 article titled “S. Koreans held over casino scam” click: HERE.(5/2010)

Bug Creeps Into Online Security
The AbsolutePoker and UltimateBet gambling websites are back in the news with an exploitable bug in their software. A RecentPoker article reported that “The current issue was exposed by the information portal Poker Table Ratings and apparently has the potential to result in the possibility of a cheater ‘seizing’ control of a player’s account and seeing his or her hole cards.” To read the May 8 article titled “New Software Flaw for Absolute Poker and UltimateBet” click: HERE.(5/2010)
>>>For the May 6 detailed explanation of the investigation by Poker Table Ratings click: HERE.(5/2010)

Cowboys Full Of Cheaters?
David Ben, an accomplished sleight-of-hand artist, reviewed James McManus’ new book “Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker,” from the standpoint of cheating. Ben summarizes, “Although I am interested in the history of poker, I’ve never been too interested in Texas Hold’em. I’ve always thought that the game’s most celebrated players were cheats. The game — their game — is a scam. While McManus may have set out to glorify the history of poker, and lionize the current crop of players, for me his book did the exact opposite.” To read the March 29 blog titled “The Oldest Trick in the Book” click: HERE. (4/2010)
>>>To buy the book from Amazon click: HERE.

Tossing Broads
Tony Giorgio releases his work on the Three Card Monte in a Tossing Broads Booklet. As he explains it: “There’s actually no game called ‘Three Card Monte;’ it’s a total swindle, a con game designed to separate larcenous marks from their money. In the 19th Century Victorian British underworld slang, playing-cards were called broads. Playing a game of cards was known as ‘Spreading Broads.’ Cheating at cards was called ‘broading’ and a card sharp was called a ‘broadsman.’ Tossing Broads is a gaffed game that cannot be beat; hence, the broad tosser plays a gaffed joint, or flat joint. A Three-Card Monte game with the prevailing myth is that the broad tossers used a queen as the winning card, and would say ‘Find the Lady.’ For more information or to purchase from Gambling Incorporated click: HERE. (4/2010)

Stox Multi-Accounting Scandal
The founder of Stox Poker who wrote “Winning in Tough Holdem Games” admits to playing on multi-accounts and resigns from the company which is now owned by Card Runners. An article in the Online Poker Examiner reported that he, “…admitted on the TwoPlusTwo Poker Forum, as well as the Stox Poker Forum, to having two accounts on both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars as well as creating a third account on both sites sometime in January. Multi-accounting is not only against both sites’ Terms & Conditions, but also gives the player an unfair edge over his opponents that he is familiar with since it will suddenly give him anonymity.” To read the March 23 article by Steven Ruddock titled “Nick Grudzien resigns from Stox Poker for multi-accounting” click: HERE. (3/2010)

Tran Mastermind Pleads Guilty
The leader of the “Tran Organization,” was sentenced to 70 months in prison for his part in the multi-casino scam. A Desert Sun article reported that, “The court also ordered Truong to forfeit $2.7 million and pay $5.7 million in restitution.” And the “Department of Justice officials said 37 defendants have pleaded guilty to charges relating to the casino-cheating conspiracy.” To read the March 20 article by Mike Perrault titled “Admitted card-cheater sentenced” click: HERE. (3/2010)

Spring Break Monte
Three Card Monte scams are rampant during Spring Break. A Daytona Beach News Journal article quoted the police chief, “They (con-artists) come out of the woodwork for Spring Break and BCR… They come from Georgia, New York, Philadelphia, everywhere.” The article also reported on an arrest, A man from “…Atlanta was charged with operating a game of chance, a misdemeanor, Friday night and issued a notice to appear after officers caught him with a three-card Monte board and paraphernalia to run other games.” The article also goes into the history of the Three-Card-Monte. To read the March 17 article by Julie Murphy titled “Cops break up 3-card Monte on beachside” click: HERE. (3/2010)

Late Arrest in Foxwoods Craps Scam
Another arrest in last year’s Foxwood craps cheating ring. A Norwich Bulletin article reported that he “…joins more than a dozen people, including casino craps dealers and supervisors, who were accused of working with Richard ‘Mr. Casino’ Taylor to cheat at craps tables at Foxwoods Resort Casino. …State police claim [he] was one of ‘Mr. C’s’ guys — a player who used code words to tip off participating dealers, who would in turn accept late bets at the craps table.’ To read the March 16 article by Greg Smith titled ‘N.Y. man accused of being a part of craps scheme at Foxwoods’ click: HERE. (3/2010)

Hi-Tech Payout Scam
The electronic table games are targeted in a London casino by two computer contractors who rigged them to payout no matter what the outcome. An Associated Press article reported that, “The scam centred on remote betting terminals at casinos that enable customers to place bets without being at the roulette table. Those who make winning bets are given a printed ticket with details of their credit that can then be cashed.” To read the March 12 article titled “Computer experts stole £33,000 in casino scam” click: HERE. (3/2010)

Iowa Cheater Banned
A Texas Hold’em cheater is sentenced to serve two years of supervised probation. A Clinton Herald article reported that he, “…was arrested Feb. 5 last year at the casino after he cheated at a game of Texas Hold ‘Em. According to prosecutors, Kendrick palmed two betting chips and put them on top of his bet after betting had closed, attempting to increase his payout by $40.” He was also “…banned for life from entering Iowa casinos.” To read the March 5 article by Jeniece Smith titled “Rock Falls man sentenced for cheating at poker” click: HERE. (3/2010)

Expert At The Card Table Cards
These cards were printed by the U.S. Playing Card Company to commemorate the classic 1902 book on card cheating, The Expert At The Card Table by S.W. Erdnase. The box and back colors are the same green as the original hard-cover book. Each deck includes two custom jokers, a custom Ace of Spades, and two ad cards printed to look like pages from the book. The box looks like a miniaturized version of the book. For more information or to purchase from Gambling Incorporated click: HERE. (2/2010)

Blackjack Cheating In NO
Two women caught cheating at Boomtown Casino in New Orleans. A Times Picayune article reported that the surveillance video, “…showed Tran making excessive payouts to Nguyen and ignoring her losses. Authorities have not determined exactly how many times the two women used the scheme, or how much money was stolen in total.” To read the February 4 article by Allen Powell II titled “Boomtown Casino dealer arrested in alleged cheating scam with patron” click: HERE. (2/2010)

Mother, Daughter Team
A mother and daughter team which were convicted of a combined 79 counts of slot cheating had 37 of the counts reversed by the Nevada Supreme Court. They used a light source to manipulate the payouts. A Las Vegas Sun article reported that “Security officers testified that one of the women would insert the device into the machines to draw the payout. The other woman would place a pack of cigarettes over the payout meter to hide the combinations on the slot machine. A purse was placed top of the payout chute to conceal the maneuvering.” To read the February 3 article by Cy Ryan titled “State Supreme Court throws out mother, daughter slot cheating convictions” click: HERE. (2/2010)

Ultimate Capper
An Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em “Capper” found guilty at the Wild Rose Casino in Iowa. A Quad-City Times article reported that, “…he had added chips to a bet he had already placed on the table after the cards had been dealt. The dealer told police Kendrick had been warned in the past about capping his bets. …A Clinton County jury found Kendrick guilty Monday in a one-day trial.” To read the February 3 article titled “Rock Falls man convicted of cheating at casino” click: HERE. (2/2010)

Bamboozlers 2
The second volume of the pocket size booklet by Diamond Jim Tyler subtitled “The Book of Bankable Bar Betchas, Brain Bogglers, Belly Busters & Bewitchery” has been released. It is a collection of bar bets, brain teasers, jokes, puzzles and magic tricks. Some of which are short cons which are of interest. Includes a foreword by Tom Mullica. For more information or to purchase from Gambling Incorporated click: HERE.(1/2010)

False Shuffling At The Mohegan
Mohegan Sun dealer pleads guilty to helping the Tran Organization cheat the casino. An Ethiopian Review article reported that he admitted performing, “false shuffles at the direction of other co-conspirators. Through this false shuffle scheme, a co-conspirator tracked the order of cards as they were legitimately played and then [he], who was bribed or had been promised a bribe, performed a false shuffle. After the false shuffle created a ‘slug’ of un-shuffled cards, a co-conspirator tracked the order of cards until the slug reappeared in the cards as they were being dealt. A co-conspirator then signaled to other co-conspirators as to how to bet on the subsequent hands in order to cheat the casino out of its funds.” To read the January 20 article titled “Former Mohegan Sun Card Dealer Admits Role in Cheating Conspiracy” click: HERE. (1/2010)

Cheating Houdini Greeting Card
A funny and elegant greeting card was released in December that features Charlie Miller (1909-1989) and Dai Vernon (1894-1992), who were the most influential close-up magicians of the 20th century, cheating Houdini (1874-1926) in a game of cards. Designed by Akemi Yoshida the card is an ideal item to tend to a gambler, magician or even a con man. Highly recommended. For more information or to purchase click: HERE.(1/2010)