Check the Poker Rooms For Those Bank Cheats!

Have you heard about the couple from New Zealand who recently fled the country after discovering that their local bank had accidentally deposited $6 million in their joint bank account? Well, now they are being hunted by police all over the world, including Interpol. The last reports have the money-honeys in Hong Kong, but police there turning the city inside-out and upside-down looking for them are coming up empty.

Ah, come on! I know where they are. There is only one place they could be, and it's exactly where I would go if I stumbled upon six million bucks. And it's right across the casino from Hong Kong! Get it? Yes, I'm talking about Macau. No doubt the happy-go-lucky couple are using their cheat money at the poker tables in Macau. Why am my so sure about this? Because the couple is Chinese. Gambling is in their blood. So if they're willing to gamble on their new life on the lam, they're surely willing to gamble their newfound money at the poker tables, right? And would they actually cheat at poker if they knew how? You bet your ass!

And guess what: believe it or not, the same thing once happened to me, although on a smaller scale. Back in 1981, while I was a full scale poker cheat and casino cheat, a bank errantly credited my checking account for more than $6,000! I didn't flee of course because I was too busy cheating the poker and blackjack tables in Las Vegas. I didn't report the bank error either. I just simply waited to see what would happen. Well, the bank caught onto its error by itseslf and the next month my account was debited for the six grand. Oh well, I was never a bank cheat anyway, just a poker and casino cheat!

Harrah's Settles in Slot Cheat Case

A poor old widow had accused Harrah's Atlantic City of being Casino Slot Cheats. She took them to court, but before a judge could determine if the Atlantic City casino was indeed a giant slot cheat, they made a settlement. She had originally sued the casino for having cheated her out of an $86,000 slots jackpot.

Angela Domino of Egg Harbor Township sued when Harrah's Resort Atlantic City told her she had won just over $20,000 instead of the bigger amount her slot machine flashed on its meter. Her lawyer says terms of the settlement were sealed under a confidentiality agreement both parties recently signed. The suit had been due to go to trial on Tuesday.

Domino was playing a progressive slots game, in which gamblers at several casinos compete for the same jackpot. Domino says Harrah's told her that three minutes earlier, a player at Trump Marina won the $86,000 prize, and her jackpot was only $20,035.

Boy, the casinos will try anything these days! Even cheating!

How Important is the Online Poker Cheat Issue in the Regulation of Online Gaming?

Before the huge online poker cheat scandals broke in 2007, cheating at online poker didn't seem to have much of a bearing on the various debates about whether or not to legalize or regulate online poker. However, with the prevalence of major online poker cheat scams, especially those at Absolute Poker and UltimateBet, the issue of cheating online poker seems to be at front and center of all the discussions now. And who is referring to online poker cheating the most? The answer is those who are in support of legalizing it. Two main proponents of legalizing or regulating online gaming, Barney Frank, Alfonse D'Amato and other politicians behind the push to legalize online poker are constantly referring to how modern software technology can continually help reduce the amount of cheating that goes on in online poker, and some say that very soon the type of cheating we have seen online will soon be virtually impossible to duplicate. However, the question in my mind is: what new types of sophisticated high-tech cheating will come along in the next few years? In any event, there appears to be a correlation between improvements to online poker anti-cheating security systems and the chances for imminent legalization of online casinos and poker rooms. Personally, I believe we will see legal online poker and gaming in the US within the next five years, but the going still will be rough!

Poker Cheats and Online Poker Cheating Sites...What do I think of them?

There are literally tens of thousands of poker sites that deal in varying degrees with both poker cheating online and poker cheating in brick and mortar poker rooms, including, of course, richardmarcusbooks.com, which is, of course, one of the best. Some of the online poker cheating sites out there are strictly for selling you software that will either help you detect online poker cheats cheating against you, or help you become a cheater at online poker. For instance, onlinepokercheat.org offers Calculatem, Poker Crusher and other software online cheat packages tailored to specific online poker sites. Some of these devices are effective to a point, but I would stay way from the ones aimed at trying to get you to cheat on specific online sites. They are just looking to grab your money.

Other sites dealing with cheating at poker online are more informational. One of these, playwinningpoker.com does offer some good info and tips about online poker cheats and their cheating methods, but sometimes I find there stuff a bit hyperbolic. Also, of course, there are online poker cheat tips available on this site, and objectively speaking, it is probably the best place to go to get the most accurate information on online poker cheating and brick and mortar poker cheating as well.

Craps Cheating Defendent Rolls Dice At His Own Trail...Literally! And Also Claims He's TV News Star!

This guy Richard Taylor is really something else! The alleged master craps cheat took the dice in front of the judge, jury and spectators, and proceeded to roll them on the craps table that has been sitting in the courtroom the past few days. He claims that he has a winning system and therefore does not need to cheat at craps. And from reading the news article on this, apparently he held his own against the odds in front of the judge. I doubt, however, that his run of luck in the courtroom is going to spill over into a not-guilty verdict!

Richard S. Taylor took the witness stand at his craps cheating conspiracy trial in New London this morning but spent most of his time standing around a makeshift craps table to explain his “system” for winning the dice game.

Taylor, 43, of Memphis, Tenn., is accused of masterminding a conspiracy in which dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino paid players he sent into the casino for late bets. The players then split the profits of the cheating with Taylor and the dealers, according to previous testimony at the trial.

Taylor denies taking part in the conspiracy and maintains that he is a professional gambler who has shared his system for winning craps with anyone who is interested, including a TV news crew.

“On Fox 13 News in Memphis, Tennessee, they did a special on me,” he testified.

Taylor said that he was approached by Foxwoods dealers and asked to take part in the cheating conspiracy but that he declined.

With jurors standing up for a better view of the green felt craps layout on the floor in front of them, Taylor took a pair of dice that had been provided by Foxwoods and rolled them, using the judge's bench as a back wall and referring to a written explanation of his system that was shown on a projector. Attorney Ralph Bergman asked Taylor to explain what numbers “go with” other numbers and how his system works.

“Nobody knows the exact number that will come up,” he said. “But if you know the parameters of the numbers that will come up you can win.”

Taylor wanted to have somebody else roll the dice for his demonstration, but Judge Stuart M. Schimelman told him he had to do it himself. He explained how if he was playing at the casino, he would be placing $3,000 or $5,000 bets. Because he was a high roller, Taylor said, there would be pretty women around him and hustlers looking for money.

With Taylor as the shooter, the makeshift craps table was “hot” for a while. The number nine came up frequently as did numbers in Taylor's system. And when the number was not in his favor, Taylor pointed out that even if he didn't win, he didn't lose, either.

Taylor will face cross-examination this afternoon from prosecutor Stephen M. Carney.

Poker Cheat Numero Uno Coming To 2009 World Series of Poker!

I recently wrote a blog article about whether or not there will be poker cheating at this year's world series. Well, I can't say with absolute certainty that there will be, but at least we know now that there will be poker cheats present--at least one.

Russ Hamilton is reportedly going to take part in the 2009 World Series of Poker event called "Table of Champions". Hamilton is one of two controversial players scheduled to take part in that event, the other being Slim Preston (Amarillo Slim). Slim was alleged to have engaged in "inappropriate" behavior with a minor, something Preston insists was not "child molestation".

Both men will draw plenty of scrutiny though Preston's defense of his actions appears to have brought him some modest support. Hamilton, on the other hand, has said nothing in the wake of a 60 Minutes report that connected the one time World Series of Poker champion to a much publicized online poker cheating scandal.

Hamilton, who was recently reported to the IRS by some angry poker players, refuses to discuss the allegations lodged against him as per his lawyer's request.

Poker icon Doyle Brunson predicts that Hamilton will show up at the WSOP. "Russ Hamilton is caught between a rock and a hard place," Brunson said. "Russ is accused of being the mastermind behind the cheating scandal at UB. The evidence looks like Russ is guilty but I've learned to wait for the verdict to be handed down. If Russ shows up, he is going to take lots of abuse from angry poker players, and if he doesn't show, every will say, "See there, he is admitting he is guilty." My guess is he will be there."

The big question is: Will Russ Hamilton cheat the brick and mortar poker tables or will he play it on the square? I think we all know the answer to that one!

More Juicy Details In Foxwoods Craps Scam!

In what has got to be a first, prosecutors in Richard Taylor's casino craps cheating scam have set up a regulation craps table right smack in the courtroom, in front of the judge! This was done to give the jury an education on how craps is played, and then of course to show them how the crooked dealers and Taylor combined forces to cheat the Connecticut casino. I wonder if the judge halted the proceedings to make a bet!

Another in a string of Foxwoods dealers admitted Monday to his part in a craps cheating scam, and the state rested its case in the trial of Richard “Mr. Casino” Taylor, the Memphis, Tenn., man accused as the ringleader of the group. Taking the witness stand in New London Superior Court, former Foxwoods dealer Brian Miller, 41, explained how he paid late bets to Taylor, 43, and a crew of co-conspirators in exchange for a cut of the winnings. His first encounter with Taylor came in 2001 while dealing in the “Club Newport” craps area for high rollers at Foxwoods. After winning a large sum of cash on behalf of the dealers at the table, Miller said Taylor agreed to meet later at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Preston for payment. At the planned rendezvous, Miller said it was not Taylor who met him, but a “beautiful, young, black lady,” who walked over to his car and dropped an envelope containing $10,000 in cash in his lap.

Miller said he distributed $1,500 cash to several other dealers and kept the rest for himself. He testified to several face-to-face meetings with Taylor to collect payments outside the casino. At one point Miller said he thought about stopping. “I just felt it was getting out of hand and I didn’t want to get caught up in it all,” Miller said.

Miller was among a dozen people, dealers, players and shift managers, arrested in connection with the scam last year. Dealers were allowing players to call out bets and place chips on the table after the dice had been thrown. State prosecutor Stephen Carney is attempting to prove Taylor masterminded the entire conspiracy. The jury got a first-hand look at the fast-moving game when Carney set up a craps table Monday in the courtroom and let an expert explain the game.

The trial continues today. Taylor, represented by Ralph Bergman, is expected to take the witness stand in his own defense. Can't wait to hear what Mr. Casino Cool has to say!

InterCasino Jumps To Top Of Safest Online Casinos List!

The popular online gaming casino InterCasino has for the first time taken the #1 position of my top-10 safest online gambling casinos. For a look at the entire top-10list click here.

Inside Casino Dealer Cheat Scams Cross the Pond Over to the UK!

The Big Dealer Casino Craps Scam in Connecticut has a rival inside roulette cheat case going on across the Atlantic in London, England. It seems that inside dealer casino cheat scams are becoming more and more in vogue these days.

The casino cheating croupier in London, Wayne Wagner, apparently used his cheat winnings to fund a party lifestyle for six years while constantly cheating his roulette table. He would stuff chips he stole off his roulette game into his sock and then pass them to an accomplice who would visit the casino posing as a customer to cash them in. Wagner continued the ruse for six years, pocketing up to £1,000 a month.

My first question is: How the hell did he get away with this for six years! Come on, stuffing chips into his sock! Seems pretty amateurish to me. But the Grosvenor Victoria Casino, which I hit several times over the years with big roulette pastpost moves, confirms that Wagner indeed stole up to £1,000 a month from his roulette tables by stuffing chips into his socks.

But luck finally ran out for the 38-year-old when bosses at the Central London casino spotted him making movements towards his socks at a table one night. After monitoring the divorced father of two for a period of several weeks, management confronted him in March last year and he confessed.

Last October, Wagner was jailed for 15 months at Southwark Crown Court after admitting theft of £69,000. The judge told him to repay £36,000. But Grosvenor Casinos Ltd has now served a High Court writ on the croupier, alleging he stole between £250,000 and £300,000. Wagner refused to name his associate who cashed the chips, but a man is named in the writ. After Wagner's arrest, a police search of his home uncovered £11,000 worth of gaming chips and £5,000 in cash. He also had £66,000 in an account he opened with a deposit of £55,000 in May 2007.

Pictures posted on his Facebook account included several taken on wild nights out with women in nightclubs. Wagner, who is in Ford open prison in Arundel, West Sussex, was born in South Africa and came to the UK with his parents as a child.
He married Korean-born casino worker Miri Hong in June 1996, months after starting work in the industry. The couple, who have two sons, aged eight and seven, split a few years ago. Wagner was believed to be living with his father in Lewisham, South London, at the time of his arrest.

A family friend said: "Wayne is a lovely man, extremely honest and kind, and lived for his children. If he's been caught doing anything wrong I'm sure it's because he must have been led astray."

Grosvenor Casinos is seeking damages for fraud and breach of contract. The writ demands an account of all bank deposits Wagner made after cashing in the chips and a full refund.

I think that "full refund" is gonna be a bit tough! And I have one more question about this: Why did this roulette cheat story come out only now and not when it happened? Well, I guess the Victoria casino was embarrassed.

Melbourne´s Crown Casino Cheating Public and Luring High-Stakes Gambling Whales With Payoffs To Gamble At Its Casino!

Shame on this Aussie Casino! In a tale worthy of a motion picture, the Crown Casino has been exposed for literally bribing big-time gamblers to gamble on its blackjack, craps, roulette and baccarat tables. If this isn't casino cheating, what is?

It all centers around a devious plan to lure a banned pathological gambler to Crown was so secret not even Kerry Packer could know about it, the Supreme Court heard.

Lawyers for Harry Kakavas claimed that he was told by casino chiefs that Mr Packer would "kill us'' if he found out about incentives being gifted to the multi-millionaire property tycoon. Allan Myers, QC, said that pilots on board Crown's VIP jet regularly presented Mr Kakavas with boxes containing up to $50,000 cash.

In a conversation in September 2005, Crown's then chief operating officer John Williams, the stepson of former casino owner Lloyd Williams, allegedly told Mr Kakavas that the cash payments were authorised by James Packer. "Kerry Packer is the biggest gambler in the world and he does not get cash given to him to play at a casino,'' Mr Williams is alleged to have told Mr Kakavas.

Mr Myers said Crown's chief jet pilot, John Torr, had admitted to Mr Kakavas that he had never before given cash to a travelling patron. Mr Kakavas, a confessed gambling addict, is suing Crown for the $20.5 million he says he lost during a 16-month baccarat binge, plus damages. He is also suing Mr Williams and Crown's global CEO Rowen Craigie, who he alleges devised a scheme to bring him back to Melbourne. He had previously signed a self-exclusion order, banning him from the casino for life.

Mr Myers said it was likely that Crown owed Victorian taxpayers more than $700 million for failing to enforce an interstate exclusion order placed on Mr Kakavas by the NSW Police Commissioner in September 2000.

Under national casino laws, all winnings generated by a gambler in breach of the ban are forfeited to the state. Mr Myers said that Crown had enforced 88 forfeitures between 2004 and 2007 totalling almost $170,000.

Crown was also accused of cheating taxpayers out of GST payments by falsely registering Mr Kakavas as an international gambler under the pseudonym "Harry Kay."

During a gambling spree that ran from June 2005 until August 2006, Mr Kakavas turned over more than $1.5 billion with bets of up to $300,000 a hand. "Crown knew that he was a compulsive, pathological gambler; they also knew that he was an interstate excluded person." But as one of the officers said, they "'didn't give a monkey's hoot,'" Mr Myers said.

He said Crown pursued Mr Kakavas after learning he was gambling heavily in Las Vegas, and had even flown to his Gold Coast home with a letter for him to sign, formally requesting that his ban be overturned. But Neil Young, QC, for Crown, told the court Mr Kakavas had repeatedly applied for the withdrawal of his casino exclusion order. "Mr Kakavas was banging on the door to be allowed entry to Crown,'' Mr Young said. He said Mr Kakavas had demonstrated "real control'' in 30 visits to Melbourne and was known to have been betting at other casinos in Australia and overseas.

The hearing, before Justice David Harper, continues on Tuesday.

How Not To Cheat Online Poker On Obama's Agenda!

Obama Plan Includes Anti-Online Poker Cheating Measures.

The White House released their Citizen’s Briefing Book last week. Online poker players should be happy to note that regulating and licensing online poker is the top technology issue and the 11th overall.

John Pappas of the Poker Players Alliance said this upon discovering the status of online poker within the Obama administration, “Poker players around the country are speaking with one voice to protect the game they love, and the White House is hearing that message.”

Pappas, the Executive Director of the PPA, went on to say that, “[This] proves that this is not a niche issue, but a national public policy that this Congress and this president should advance this year."

The White House asked citizens to submit policy proposals earlier this year to be voted on at change.gov. The issues with the strongest public support made it into the Citizen’s Briefing Book which was sent to Obama himself late last week.

The proposal called “Boost America’s Economy with Legal Online Poker” received 46,890 votes, or points. Originally crafted by Aaron Huertas of Washington, DC, the proposal asks the government to reform the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act to exempt poker. It also seeks to boost the US economy by letting American players and companies make money and pay taxes instead of sending that money offshore. There are also provisions in the proposal to protect against online cheating.

Pappas added that “The poker community stands ready to work with President Obama and Congress to make sure the will of the people is acted upon." He hopses that the “Administration hears and acts upon the clear message sent.”

Should Poker Cheat's Be Publicly Branded?

I just finished reading the book the "Scarlett Letter" for the eighth or ninth time and had an interesting idea. As adulteress Hester is branded publicly by being forced to wear a scarlet cloth bearing the letter A for adultery, why not force known poker cheats to wear T-shirts branding them as cheats when they play in public poker rooms? I am not saying that poker cheats are as bad as sex-offenders and should have to register if they live within 10 miles of a public poker room, but I do think that honest players sitting at a poker table have a right to know if a convicted or assumed-guilty cheat is among them.

And I think this should also apply to online poker cheats who are playing in brick and mortar poker games. Why? Well, you have to assume that an online poker cheat would also cheat the brick and mortar games if he has the chance. I am thinking of Josh Field, a.k.a. online JJ Prodigy. I don't know him by face but surely would like to know if he were sitting across the poker table from me.

And what about me? Should I wear a branding T-shirt if I sit at a casino blackjack or poker table? Absolutely not! I didn't cheat the players; I only cheated the house. So I think you will all agree with me that I would have the right to remain an anonymous cheat!

Is there a way to brand online poker cheats online? Like maybe attach OPC (Online Poker Cheat) to their Internet provider addresses. That would be great and serve the online poker playing public really well!

Looking forward to your comments.