Legendary Casino Hustles – All Is Fair In Love And Gambling

When it comes to money, people tend to go overboard. Casinos are the perfect example of that. That is where you can find countless attempts at cheating. Some can get away with it, but most gamblers who intend to cheat get caught eventually. Casino security always has to be alert because scammers never rest. They keep coming up with new clever plots. We have collected some of the legendary casino hustles in the history of gambling. Let’s check it out!

Cheating Casino Employees

Two English casino croupiers have been sentenced to prison for a scam based on what they have seen in the movie Ocean’s 11 at the Coral Island casino. Craig Walker and Daniel Johnson used secret signals to tip off their friend, Kevin Traynor, to raise the stakes. The three men won more than 23,000 pounds with this method. However, casino managers became suspicious when Traynor’s winnings and stakes did not match, so they checked the casino security footage and discovered the fraud.

During the investigation, they revealed that Walker and Johnson came up with the idea when they worked in the casino on a quiet day. They discovered, then tested that they could spin the roulette wheel, so the ball stayed on the same number. They recruited Traynor, whose only job was to play and raise the stakes when the others sent him a sign. After a few months, a couple of employees started to monitor them.

Even though Traynor was playing with small stakes, he seemed to be winning big amounts, and then the computer records revealed how he managed to win 2,100 pounds at one time. In the footage, Walker, whose role as a senior croupier was also to ensure the game was fair, could be seen scratching his head at certain intervals before spinning. All three men were arrested and admitted to participating in the fraud. Walker got 14, and Johnson 12 months in prison. Traynor got nine months and 200 hours of community service. 

Legendary Casino Hustles – Dominic LoRiggio

LoRiggio made a fortune at the craps tables because he learned something others thought was impossible. He mastered controlling the dice rolls. It really does sound impossible, but according to LoRiggio, it’s simple physics.

You have to set the dice in a certain way and then throw them, so they stay together in the air. The landing is also a crucial part of the method since they have to touch down gently at the table. 

After perfecting this technique, he recruited a group and went from casinos to casinos in Vegas. Later, they partnered up with Frank Scoblete and continued “robbing” casinos. He has never done anything illegal, but now casinos pay extra attention to gamblers who try to use his technique. Nevertheless, Dominico LoRiggio still teaches today how to pull off this seemingly impossible stunt!

Legendary Casino Hustles – Tommy Carmichael Slot Trick

One of the most successful scammers was a TV repairman who spent years living like the bigwigs in the Ocean’s Eleven movies before falling for it. In the end, he lost everything – because the house always wins in the end. Tommy Glenn Carmichael operated the Ace TV Sales and Service, a repair shop, in Oklahoma, and if he didn’t divorce three times, he may remain a mechanic. However, the series of divorce settlements left him with nothing. An old friend saved him when he gave him a one-armed robber as a gift in 1980.

Tommy Carmichael also has a well-deserved place in Nevada’s Black Book since, during his twenty-year career, he developed several devices perfect for slot machine frauds. With their help, he stole millions of dollars from casinos. One such device was a wand they used to get the machine to spin more coins. With the approximately 18-centimeter stick, which consisted of a battery, a magnet, and a miniature lamp, they could get a few hundred dollars from the machine at a time. 

The Genius Plan

To develop the perfect tool, Carmichael went to the showroom of one of the largest manufacturers, IGT, and posed as a customer. He inspected the interior of the slot, and an IGT engineer answered all his technical questions. The engineer said so much that Carmichael thought the man was trying to set him up. He bought a machine and developed this device in a few days. Its light was so bright that it blinded the sensor, so the cash dispenser didn’t actually know it was giving out coins. The brilliant tool’s battery and a mini bulb were its key components.

By 1992, Carmichael had already sold several thousand of this device, and his stories spread among those intending to cheat. When IGT developed a defensive device, Carmichael quickly acquired one. It took them about an hour to find how to deactivate it. Carmichael felt pretty confident about the new technology. He felt like they couldn’t do anything he couldn’t hack. In the end, of course, he failed. He was convicted of fraud twice in Nevada, once in New Jersey, and in 2000 he was also convicted in federal court. As far as cheating goes, he had a brilliant talent. 

The Tran Organization

By the time they were brought to court, the Tran Organization had cheated in various American and Canadian casinos. According to 1XBet Casino, they collected more than $15 million using their baccarat cheating method. With the help of casino employees, fake shuffles were used during the game, before which they noted the order of the cards. During the game, they kept track of the cards played, so a member of the group could signal to the dealer when to do the fake shuffling, and the others then bet on the order of the cards. 

They used this method several times to win thousands of dollars in different casinos. At the beginning of 2011, the police questioned 42 people, all of whom admitted cheating. The founder of the organization got a three-year prison sentence. He said they used the method in about 29 casinos and made $7 million. You can find other similar stories at online gambling sites in the UK!

Edward Thorp – The Legend

We can’t leave Edward Thorp’s name out of the list of legendary casino hustles because he did something revolutionary that changed blackjack forever. He was the father of card counting and the first person to rob casinos with the help of mathematics. He inspired many players, and his technique and method are timeless. Although, Edward was not at all interested in gambling in the beginning.

Until one day, they traveled to Las Vegas with a friend, where he was fascinated by blackjack, and, since we are talking about a guy with a sharp mind, he immediately noticed that with a method, he could gain an advantage over the house. A long study followed, where he simulated many various hands. The technique turned out to be pretty easy. The less valuable cards favor the dealer, so if they no longer count, the player has the advantage from then on. That is when the gambler has to raise the stakes.

How Thorp Achieved One of the Greatest Legendary Casino Hustles

After the birth of the method, Thorp and his friend who took him to Vegas began robbing the casinos. The technique worked, and the money flew to the two fortune hunters. Of course, this is unthinkable today, but nobody knew what card counting was back then. Thorn didn’t stop at blackjack. Later, he was able to use this unbelievable knowledge on the stock market and acquired an enormous fortune. 

His legacy is unquestionable. Nothing justifies it better than his place in the Blackjack Hall of Fame, which is pretty surprising, but also an acknowledgment of his brilliance. Also, his books still sell well to this day. Since card counting is not illegal, only discouraged, you can try it at 1XBet Casino! Here is an article about how to practice card counting! Thorp changed the way people think about blackjack forever. He inspired the famous MIT Team, who modeled the movie 21, or Al Francesco. You can check out their stories at online gambling sites in the UK!

Legendary Casino Hustles – The Cutter Gang

The members of this Malaysian group hid a tiny video camera in their coat sleeves to record the order of the cards while playing baccarat. The scammer then recorded seemingly innocently the value of the cutting card, and the suit, using their index fingers to separate the cards a little so that the camera could have a clear view of the order of each card. 

He transmitted the image from the video camera to his companions, then the others entered the casino, sat down at the table, and bet on the already known order of the cards. The Asian group “won” tens of millions of dollars in casinos around the world in 2010 and 2011 this way. However, the house always wins! Except for when a group of students beats the house!

Legendary Slot Trick by Dennis Nikrasch

Dennis Nikrasch, who people consider to be the inventor of the largest slot machine fraud scheme, pulled off one of the legendary casino hustles in Nevada history! He used slot machine keys to manipulate the machines in the 1970s. Nikrasch and his men distracted the mechanics and copied the keys to the slot machines. Later, they used these keys to open them and set the reels to a winning jackpot combination. In 1986, Nikrasch was caught, but, according to the online gambling sites in the UK, between 1976 and 1979, he “won” $10 million from various Las Vegas casinos using the mentioned method. 

They released him from custody, and Nikrasch was on parole in 1991. However, five years later, he was already doing his specialty again. This time, he used a much more sophisticated method since computers had already taken over the slot machine market.

According to court documents, he used a self-made device to connect to the slot machine and manipulate it to hit the jackpot in a short time. Meanwhile, another scammer stood between Nikrasch and the security camera so that the security people could not see the cheating. 

He spent very little time in the casino. He just poked the machine and then left. He was not present when the slot hit the jackpot. He involved a dozen people in the scam to play, and monitor the manipulated slots. According to court documents, Nikrasch owned 50 to 70 percent of the profit, the others sharing the rest.

In June 1998, he was arrested again, together with three of his partners, and in the trial, he was accused of stealing six million dollars. Between September 1996 and November 1997, the group hit jackpots at six major Las Vegas casinos.

Legendary Casino Hustles – The Dumbest Trick

Richard Marcus pulled off the simplest but no less brilliant scam. The point of his trick was as simple as it could be! He entered the casino and placed three five-dollar chips at the roulette table. When he won, he started screaming and waving like crazy, which confused everyone, including the dealer, who did not understand why this guy was so happy with such a small prize. He then showed that a $500 chip lay under the three other chips.

What happened when he lost? He waited for the dealer to turn to the wheel and slyly smuggled out the lowest, most valuable chip. No matter how simple, he used this trick with immense success. After some experience and winnings, he hid a $5000 chip under a $100 one. When he got caught, he already “won” more than 5 million dollars! With this legendary casino hustle, he made history! 

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