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.
Should Poker Cheats Go After Bigger Fish?
An article in the Post Bulletin recounts a papering event but also asks an interesting question, “My biggest problem with poker cheats is the missed potential that could have been directed toward more meaningful pursuits. Because there have been some genius attempts at scoring a free buck over the years from those who probably could cure cancer if they’d applied their smarts to medical science.” To read the December 30 article by Chuck Blount titled “An old-school cheating method works on paper” click: HERE. (12/2016)
Pennsylvania Prosecutors To Ignore Cheaters
The district attorney in Pennsylvania threatens the Sands Bethlehem Casino to pay their disputed taxes or they will not pursue or arrest gambling cheaters. A Legal US Poker Sites article reported that, “John Morganelli, whose office handles county-level prosecutions in matters involving Sands Bethlehem Casino, gave the casino a warning it needed to pay its taxes. If they did not, then Morganelli ‘would not feel honor bound’ to prosecute a variety of criminals who might try scams on the Bethlehem casino. That includes anyone caught cheating or passing bad checks at the casino. Morganelli wrote in his letter to Mark Juliano that he ‘would not, in good conscience, be able to justify the use of my limited resources to help a profitable, billion-dollar corporation while the Sands maintains the position they are an island unto themselves.'” To read the December 26 article by Steve Larson titled “Pennsylvania District Attorney Sends Sands Bethlehem Casino a Warning about Host Fee Payments” click: HERE. (12/2016)
Another Black Book Entry
A Las Vegas Sun article reports that a known Blackjack cheater is about to be added to the notorious Black Book. He already had, “…two felony convictions in Nevada, one felony conviction in Iowa, one in Connecticut and one in Louisiana,” said James Taylor, deputy chief of the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s enforcement division. “All of these crimes involved marking cards on blackjack games. The latest convictions were in 2014 when we started considering him for the Black Book… The reputed card cheat was added to New Jersey’s version of the list early last year, also for attempting to swindle casinos.” To read the December 22 story by Thomas Moore titled “Gambler who marked cards on blackjack games could be added to Black Book click: HERE. (12/2016)
Maryland Casinos Ban Thousands Of Players
A News4 I-Team story reported that, “Maryland casinos have evicted 3,600 players since casinos began operation in the state in 2010, according to an investigation by the News4 I-Team. Almost 200 of those gamblers were booted for cheating, but the state agency which oversees Maryland casinos does not publicly disclose the reasoning for the other evictions.” The article concluded, “Maryland gaming industry analyst James Karmel said local players continue to attempt to cheat, despite well-known and widely placed casino security and surveillance. ‘Cheats still think they can scoot an extra chip when they have a good hand and think they’re going to win,’ Karmel said.” To read and watch the December 5 story by Scott MacFarlane titled “Thousands of Gamblers Ejected From Maryland Casinos Since 2010” click: HERE. (12/2016)
Ivy vs. Crock Finale?
The latest rulings on the Phil Ivey case in the UK is reported in The Guradian, “On Thursday in the court of appeal, Lady Justice Arden said it was common ground that there was an implied term in the contract not to cheat and the meaning of cheating for that purpose was to be determined in accordance with the Gambling Act 2005… In particular the actions which Mr Ivey took or caused to be taken had a substantial effect on the odds in the game and Crockfords were not aware of this at the relevant time. In these circumstances, no lower standard applied in this case because Mr Ivey was an advantage player who was in an adversarial position with the casino.” Ivey countered, “The trial judge said that I was not dishonest and the three appeal judges agreed, but somehow the decision has gone against me. Can someone tell me how you can have honest cheating?” To read the November 3 article by Nadia Khomami titled “Poker player loses appeal against London casino over £7.7m winnings” click: HERE. (11/2016)
More on Ivy And The Borg
A summary of the Ivey/Borgata case appeared in Poker News where they reported that, “A federal judge has ruled that Phil Ivey did not commit fraud with his partner during a baccarat game at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City in April 2014, but that Ivey did breach casino contract, according to NorthJersey.com.” To read the October 21 article by Katie Callahan titled “Court Opinion Split on Phil Ivey’s $9.6M Baccarat Win” click: HERE. (10/2016)
G2E Cheating Trends
This year’s Global Gaming Expo’s cheating trends are discussed in a Las Vegas Review-Journal article that quotes several experts in the field. James Taylor explained, “Between 250 to 500 casino employees are arrested by the GCB each year, he said, making up about 25 percent of all GCB arrests annually. Of that 25 percent, 27 percent are table game operators, 18 percent work in the cage, 3 percent are security personnel, and 23 percent are in management.” Sal Piacente, explained, “For example, dice-switching is still commonly used and still difficult to catch. A cheater will switch the dice being played on the table with dice that don’t have any losing numbers, but they’re typically only used for two rolls during a game.” To read the September 26 article by Nicole Raz titled “Basic casino cheating scams hardest to catch, gaming experts say” click: HERE. (9/2016)
Imaging Cards
A creative system of stealing and photographing cards to find out the order in Baccarat for more than one million dollars. The Straits Times reported that, “The group collaborated to steal a playing card carrier from MBS casino on May 6, 2013, and took it back to a hotel room, where the cards were laid out, photographed, packed up and returned to the same cabinet in the same place. The contents were photographed without disrupting the card sequence.” To read the August 7, 2016 article by KC Vijayan titled “13 Thais get jail for cheating Singapore casino” click: HERE. (8/2016)
George Devol Profiled
An interesting article about cheating and how its perception evolved in gambling. The Poker News article explained that, “This definition of a “gambler” as both a risk-taker and a morally dubious individual for whom cheating is just “part of the game” would stick well into the 20th century, only fading somewhat by the century’s latter decades. That’s not to say cheating would disappear from poker entirely, but the likelihood of a cheater standing up proudly like Devol to narrate all of his successful swindles diminished markedly.” To read the August 2, 2016 article by Martin Harris titled “George Devol, the Ultimate Steamboat Sharp” click: HERE. (8/2016)
Dealer Collusion
Three men are charged for cheating at Roulette at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs. An Ashland Gazette article reported that “…according to an investigator’s affidavit filed in court. In all, they allegedly split between $20,000 and $30,000. The conspiracy involved the dealer and player moving and adding additional chips to winning numbers, and making and accepting late bets, the affidavit said.” To read the July 13, 2016 article titled “Trio arrested for conspiring to cheat at Council Bluffs casino” click: HERE.
>>>To watch the July 3, 2016 WOWT News story click: HERE. (7/2016)
Advantage Play Champions
A very interesting and surprising (full of real secrets) article appeared in the New York times about ‘advantage’ play. The article reported that, “Common advantage-play techniques include ‘hole carding,’ in which sharp-eyed players profit from careless dealers who unwittingly reveal tiny portions of the cards; ‘shuffle tracking,’ or memorizing strings of cards in order to predict when specific cards will be dealt after they are next shuffled; and counting systems that monitor already dealt cards in order to estimate the value of those that remain in the deck. Richard Munchkin, a professional gambler who is the author of ‘Gambling Wizards’ and a co-host of the radio show ‘Gambling With an Edge,’ claims to have mastered all of these techniques. ‘I think every game can be beaten,’ he says.” The article also take a detailed look at why and how Cheung Yin Sun became known as “The Queen of Sorts.” To read the June 29, 2016 article by Michael Kaplan titled “How ‘Advantage Players’ Game the Casinos” click: HERE. (6/2016)
Gambling/Cheating Auction
On May 21, 2016 Potter & Potter will run a gambling auction with 549-lots titled, “Two Of A Kind.” It will feature the second half of Ronald Wohl’s lifelong collection/accumulation of gambling themed books, equipment, prints and advertising. Many of the items and cheating devices are very rare, gaffed and difficult to find. It also includes a collection of rare playing cards. For more about the auction and to bid click: HERE.
>>>To purchase a printed catalog from Gambling Incorporated click: HERE. (5/2016)
Gaffed Roulette Wheel
According to a Daily Mail article, “The secrets of how the mob that controlled the Chicago underworld fixed casinos has been discovered. A rare table, uncovered by a games company owner from Guildford, revealed how it was fitted with hidden buttons driven by battery packs stuffed in the table legs which disrupted the spin of the ball. By controlling when the ball fell through tiny pins that tripped it, the croupier could decide where the it fell on the roulette table.” To read the May 3, 2016 article by Thomas Burrows titled, “Rigged roulette wheel reveals how Al Capone and the Mob fixed casinos during prohibition” click: HERE. (5/2016)
Ivy UK Appeal Months Away
A Card Player article reported that, “Poker legend Phil Ivey’s appeal of a £7.8m ($11m USD) court ruling that went against him in 2014 will likely be resolved by September, Card Player was told by a spokesperson for the 10-time WSOP bracelet winner… According to a report from Bloomberg, Ivey, a sure-fire bet for the Poker Hall of Fame now that he turned 40 years old, was in the London courtroom Wednesday to help his legal team’s efforts to get the ruling overturned.” To read the April 15, 2016 article titled, “Ruling On Poker Pro Phil Ivey’s ‘Cheating’ Appeal Likely To Come Within 4 Months” click: HERE. (4/2016)
8-10 For Craps Cheats
The multi-year craps scam at the Bellagio gets a resolution with the accomplices getting 8-10 year prison sentences. A Casino-Org article explains that, “During the trial, the court heard that the two croupiers had allowed their accomplices to place bogus bets at the craps tables at times when there were few gamblers around and the games were subject to lower levels of scrutiny… Investigators also said that one series of winning bets defied odds of 452-billion to 1.” To read the April 13, 2016 article by Katie Barlowe titled, “Bellagio Craps Cheaters Get Lengthy Sentences” click: HERE. (4/2016)
Collusion
A nice article about collusion in Poker appears in PokerNews that explains, “Collusion is a type of cheating that involves one player working with another player or players to gain an advantage by coordinating betting action at the table. Players arrange to maximize their profit from the game by raising, folding, or calling in conjunction with another player’s betting action, sharing their profit with each other after they leave the game.” The article also gives tips on spotting it and dealing with it. To read the April 3, 2016 article by Ashley Adams titled, “Protecting Yourself Against Cheating in Home Games: Collusion” click: HERE. (4/2016)
Dealer’s Choice
A Detroit News article reports that, “A former MotorCity Casino dealer is accused of conspiring with six associates in a cheating conspiracy involving hundreds of dollars, according to Michigan Attorney General… [He], was employed at the Detroit casino in 2014, when he allegedly made payouts on losing bets and declined to collect payment on lost bets during games of Texas Hold ’em, Schuette said.” To read the February 25, 2016 article by Holly Fournier titled, “7 charged in cheating conspiracy at MotorCity Casino” click: HERE. (2/2016)
Turned In The Bathroom
A Times Leader article reported that, “A former dealer at Mohegan Sun Pocono pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring with players to rig a tile betting game that cheated the Plains Township casino out of more than $17,000… State police working in the casino’s gaming enforcement office witnessed Laird give himself losing hands and pay off the winners, which totalled $17,710 in losses to the casino.” To read the January 5, 2016 article by Joe Dolinsky titled, “Former Mohegan Sun Pocono dealer pleads guilty to cheating casino out of 17k” click: HERE. (1/2016)
