I've gotten lots of e-mails asking me about variations of my famous Savannah move, including the "Reverse Savannah," which is hiding the lower denomination chip under the higher one and hoping the dealer pays you two higher denomination chips, and now I've got some cold evidence of people out there doing the Reverse Savannah--and getting caught!
The above pictures are actual casino surveillance shots.
Here´s what happened according to an Atlantic City surveillance report:
Our first scam happened on a BJ game. The suspect sits down on the game where a
lammer is holding a spot. The lammer is left in the wager circle and a gaming cheque is placed on top of the lammer. The scam was successful as the single cheque was paid two cheques by the dealer. The scam was realized and the player was confronted and returned the ill gotten gain.
This scam is a minor variation of the famous “Savannah” scam as the lammer creates an
offset due to its size and the dealer can’t see the lammer under the actual gaming cheque. Dealer is shown sizing into the bet with two gaming cheques. It was not realized that the lammer was under the original wager. Both of the circled photos show that the lammer is under the wager that was paid prior to being paid.
My take on this? It is not smart doing the Reverse Savannah because the dealer has too many chances to see the bogus chip underneath. With the real Savannah move, the claim is made BEFORE the dealer has a chance to pay the bet, immediately after the winning bet is realized. With the Reverse Savannah, the claimer has to sit and wait for the dealer to pay the bet, at which the dealer gets several looks. And when the bet loses, the bogus chip ends up in the dealer's rack and sooner or later will be noticed, which can lead to the giveaway of the scam.
In short, forget the reverse variation of my great cheat move!
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