Gambler Says he was Banned by UK Casino for Playing a Winning Roulette System to Tune of $80,000 Profit

Did he buy the house with Roulette Profits?

There are many articles about claiming to have winning betting systems, be it roulette, craps or baccarat, but this one is interesting because the casino that  has barred the player  refuses to comment on why it did so.

Article:

My take: Well, as interesting as this winning-betting-system story may seem, it's got to be bullshit. There is no winning system possible that is based on mathematics. Not in roulette, craps or baccarat. So whatever the guy is doing, it's gotta be playing a biased wheel or something else connected to cheating.

And obviously, the Rainbow casino in Birmingham doesn't want anyone to know what it was.

How to Spot a Rogue Online Poker or Casino

Scope out Online Poker and Casino Sites

I found an article for those of you who´d like to check out a new or unheralded online poker room or casino. I think it's pretty good.

Article:

Just for the record, theoretically, anybody in possession of about spare $1000 could set up their own online poker room without licensing and long validation processes. In case your funds count a little larger sum, hiring web-development specialists to clone an already existing gambling resource is also an option to embark on a business trip across entrepreneurship. Fair enough that the gambling segment is gradually getting penetrated by amateur enthusiasts upside down, that’s why the number of dishonest online venues now poses a serious threat to players’ wallets if they decide to get into depositing and wagering at all. Obviously, scams are everywhere we go, but places with considerable virtual cash flow are more inclined towards greater cheating on customers. The problem is that the internet represents a globally anonymous pool spawning with tons of suspicious spots which cannot be easily authenticated.

That’s why keeping yourself safe and sound presides over every item on the list when it comes to playing in an online mode. To deal with remote places could be difficult especially if a newcomer doesn’t understand some essential points about casino organization. The thing you should remember right now about gambling sites is hidden behind ‘client turnover’ notion –  a reputable venue, in any case, wants their customers to always come back and be loyal. A rouge place couldn’t care less about your hesitation because their main mission is to make you deposit money which, by the way, would never return to you. The rest is nuances. But what if in reality, it’s an easy task to find out whether a casino plays dirty with you? You still don’t know canonic red flags marking vicious places? Well, it’s high time to hop aboard and learn a bit more about spotting corrupted casinos.

#1: Become a little detective armed with review-portals

Unless a gambling venue has literally just arrived at the online shop, there must be present customers who have already tested gambling production out and hopefully posted an opinion comment. You as a potential client should always scroll through reviews written in a place and sometimes read between the lines. When reports are way too positive and burst with torrents of sweetness, it has to be a warning sign for you – even Apple have negative reviews. That’s how you’d better act in case a new place becomes an interesting option to try: find a review-portal (there are reviews on reviewers, bear this in mind) and look up the desired casino. For example, you work with Slot Mine web-portal and you want to dismantle, say,  PLAY OJO Casino Review. Carefully go through the information all the way down to support services closing hours and make sure the place is worth your attention.

A respectable casino site shall have mixed review ranging from ‘extremely atrocious’ to ‘have never ever seen anything like that in my entire life’. Yet, on the whole, the average score must be respectively optimistic. Besides, an authentic user-review includes various details and intricate, small things – do not trust general points like ‘fast withdrawals’ and ‘great welcome offerings’, search for petite descriptions filled with specific clauses. As a result, before delving into gambling, you would be equipped with precious information which will surely help you make right choices.

#2: Watch out for contact methods

Quality of support services plays an integral part in your casino experience because this is going to be your only third-party to resolve delicate matters. Always try out customer support even if you have deposited a single zero to your user account. First of all, a good casino should have at least several phone lines (of course, toll-free) for different countries and languages, and if it’s a really good casino, this phoning service has to work in a schedule – it demonstrates that support agents aren’t artificial people, but well-trained specialists operating efficiently during their working hours. Though one line is to be available 24/7 as international venues face various time zones and everyone might run into a problems at night or at daytime. Responsiveness through chatting is also up to point adding credibility and weight.  

#3: Verification, licenses, papers

Note that there are dozens of sub-organizations regulating gambling business for the latter to run in a most legal direction. A rogue has nothing to displace – just void icons in the bottom of their website leading to no other website. To begin with, a good venue holds an active license issued by some floating gambling commission like UKGC or Malta GC depending on the audience the reviewed casino aiming at. Also, additional certificates stipulating fair and transparent gameplay must be displayed in the track record, so that you could personally witness audit reports on RTP percentages. When a casino hides game status, well, this shall drive you skeptical. Stick to big names like eCOGRA to ensure your gaming session is genuinely random and not biased.

#4: Software matters a lot

Overall casino reputation, undoubtedly, has initial importance, but so does a software company. Respectable and well-known developers will never mess with even slightly dodgy venues because providers also think of their own reputation in the first place. Therefore, looking through software reviews might be another helpful step on your way to evaluating a casino. Best casinos collaborate with best developers like Microgaming, NetEnt, IGT, Playtech, Betsoft which are the most trustworthy companies nowadays, so seeing them enlisted may be a nice sign. Become an informed player knowledgeable in moments like big software developers’ names.  

Finally

Wrapping up, the number of honest operators is actually a way greater than the number of deceitful rouges. In truth, you will be able to fully avoid bad places by following these four pieces of advice and nobody would drag you into working with obviously bad casinos. As the saying goes, information is power.

Incredible Lottery Scam!

Incredible Story!

I don't usually blog on stuff not directly related to casinos, but this scam is truly incredible and does have the same ingredients of many high-tech casino scams, both in brick and mortar casinos and online. This is using malicious computer codes to screw with the random number generators.

You just got to read it to believe it!

Lottery Scam.

Famed Blackjack Card Counter Tommy Hyland still out there.

Counting Legend Hyland

I have been hearing his name a lot lately as I visit US casinos on a game-protection training tour.

It certainly appears Hyland and his latest blackjack card-counting team are currently in full swing, and casino surveillance departments from coast to coast are talking about it.

I have heard differing accounts of Hyland's latest exploits. One has him playing at high stakes, often making $500 bets off the tops of new shoes. Seems rather high to me and does not seem like normal card-counting. It smacks more like some serious high form of advantage play.

I don't want to speculate what he may be doing but I'd bet it's something profitable.

Another account of Hyland's resurgence has him using himself as a decoy and purposely getting spotted in casinos so that his unknown cohorts can count down and play hot shoes while casino surveillance teams busy themselves following Tommy around the casino.

This does not seem probable to me, though you never know what someone as sharp as Tommy Hyland may be up to. In spite of that, no one loves counting down and playing hot blackjack shoes as much as he does.

In any event, Hyland, who's been active on the professional blackjack card-counting scene for some 40 years, is one of the most prolific counters ever and is a member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame.

Will Japan Follow its Asian Casino Neighbors as a Casino-Cheating Hub?

Japanese Casinos!

Soon we'll be seeing legal gambling casinos in Japan. They're already playing poker there, in a country that has scoffed at legalized gambling for decades.

So now the big question is: Will Japan's new casinos follow in the crooked footsteps of it Asian casino neighbors...mainly Singapore and Macau?

I don't think it will, although I'm not sure why. I guess it has something to do with Japan's centuries-old honor code, called Bushido. Japanese people just don't tolerate thieves and criminals the way other Asian peoples do.

And I imagine Japanese lawmakers will legislate severe penalties against those casino and poker cheats unlucky enough to be caught plying their trade in the land of the Rising Sun.

Do I think this would deter the hordes of casino and poker cheats that invariably invade new gambling meccas?

Absolutely not! Build casinos and the cheats will come...

The Origins of Casino Cheating...Dates Back 600 Years!...To Norway of all places!

World's first crooked die?

Well, I, for one, was always interested in the answer to the questions: Who was the first casino cheat and in which casino did the first actual cheat move take place?

We might never know the answer to who was the first casino cheat, but we just go an idea as to which casino that original cheat cheated in.

Apparently it happened in Norway on a craps table...

Well, sort of. Of course there were no craps tables 600 years ago, and there was probably no craps either.

But there were crooked dice.

That said, I'm gonna send you to this article on the discovery of perhaps the world's oldest crooked die...fascinating stuff!

Is Simply Armed-Robbing Casinos Easier Than Cheating Them?

"Because that's where the money is."

Starting to seem that way, ain't it!

 It seems that hardly a day goes by that we don't hear of an armed robbery of some casino somewhere or some way-out-of-the-way card room.

It seems just the same that in Las Vegas there's an armed casino robbery every week.

What the hell's happening?

What's happened to good ol' casino cheating?

Okay, I'm just being facetious, but I'd really like to know why US gambling casinos have become the US banks of the '30s...albeit, judging from the surveillance photos of these casino bandits, they ain't exactly Bonnie and Clyde!

Notice that I said "US" casinos. That's because this type of dangerous casino assault doesn't occur anywhere else...or at least hardly.

So if anyone can explain why this is happening in our US casinos, please do...but don't give me that famous Willie Sutton chirp, "Because that's where the money is..."

More Ridiculous But Profitable Insider-Dealer Casino Scams

This Scam was a gas!

Two made headlines this week.

The first was carried out by 36-year-old London roulette dealer Stuart Shipp at the Grosvenor casino in Kensington. Apparently Mr. Shipp had a cocaine habit and needed to fund it. Thus he signalled his cohort over to the table by a tug on his hair, and the cohort placed several bets straight-up on the numbers. The cohort stood in a "strategic" position to block out the view of the roulette table's inspector. Then, as the coast was clear, Shipp just placed the roulette dolly on one of his cohort's numbers, regardless of which number came in.

The pair managed $10,000 in profits over several occasions before they got caught by surveillance.

My take: I read an article about this in which the writer used the word "mastermind" to describe dealer Shipp's role in the roulette scam. (GOL...grunt out loud) I would have used the word "minormind." I mean, come on, just paying losing bets is about the most idiotic scam on any casino game....

BUT IT WORKED!

So what does that say for the inspectors at Grosvenor casino?...Imagine if the surveillance crew was a bad as the inspectors on the floor!!!

The second scam occurred on (of course) the baccarat tables at the Crown casino in Melbourne, Australia, where the crooked baccarat dealer and his three cohorts took down over $400,000 during 58 hours of playing time spaced over 5 weeks.

The scam was simply that the dealer peeked at several of the cards at the top of each new shoe and then signalled his three female cohorts (who may have been wearing surgical masks during the play) how much to bet and on which side, Player or Banker.

They finally got caught by surveillance video.

My take: Did you READ what I wrote above about the details of this baccarat scam???!!!

FIFTY-EIGHT hours over five months getting away with this rinky-dink scam!

Wow!

What does that say about the inspectors in this pit?! And no kudos to surveillance either. Not after 58 hours of the cheats getting away with this one.

And they got away, more or less, in court as well. Sentences ranged from a forced $500 donation to charity to community service to diversion programs that expunged the arrests and convictions if the guilty parties stayed clean for a year.

I think Australia may be way down under when it comes to dealing with casino cheats!

And if they were indeed wearing surgical masks (their photos appeared that way), what were they for?...to choke off their laughs?

Casino-Cheat Insurance???!!!

Casino Cheat Insurance?

I've been around the casino cheating world for more than 40 years, and I thought I either knew or heard of everything that had to do with cheating. But that thought disappeared during a conversation I had with a very, and I mean very knowledgeable casino surveillance director. It proved as well that you're never too old or too experienced to learn something new...even if you are an "expert."

We were talking about a significant baccarat scam that happened a few years back. The cheats had partnered with crooked dealers who were marking the cards so the cheats could know in advance what first-card the PLAYERS hand would receive. They eventually got caught and the scam ended up in court, where the dealers, who'd confessed and cooperated with prosecutors, were convicted via plea bargains, while a jury acquitted the cheats.

And then the surveillance director said to me, "But it wasn't so bad for the casino because they had cheat insurance."

I said, "They had what?"

He repeated it, and after I expressed my disbelief and confusion, he reaffirmed that the victim-casino did indeed have cheat insurance, meaning that they were covered by an insurance company up to a certain amount (a large amount at that) for losses sustained from cheats cheating their gaming tables.

I couldn't believe my ears!

I knew casinos had blackjack "insurance." But casino-cheat insurance?

You mean casinos actually take out insurance to cover casino-cheating losses???

Then I cracked a joke, maybe just to cover my ignorance. I said, "So why then are casinos so worried about being cheated if they have insurance to cover their cheat losses? Why do they bother with all this game protection then?"

Then I thought half-heartedly, "Well maybe if they got hit too much by cheats and filed too many casino-cheating claims, their policy rates would go up too much." LOL

This lighthearted moment reminded me of a famous line once uttered by baseball Hall of Fame great Mickey Mantle, who said, "Had I known I was gonna live this long, I woulda taken better care of myself."

I chuckled and then said to myself Mickey-Mantle-like, "Had I known casinos had casino-cheat insurance to cover their cheat-losses, maybe I should have cheated them out of more money during my 25-year career cheating casinos. I mean, maybe they would have cared less while I cheated them out of more...

I can just gleefully imagine the following situation:

I do a monster multi-thousand-dollar cheat move and the dealer is suspicious. He notifies the supervisor, who is in turn suspicious and notifies the shift boss, who is in turn suspicious and notifies surveillance, who run back the video and confirm the cheat move to the shift boss, who immediately notifies the casino manager expecting a swift reaction to bust me, but instead receives a shrug of the casino manager's shoulders with an "Ah, forget about it...we have cheat insurance here, didn't you know that?"

And when the shift boss gives him a befuddled look, the casino manager adds, "Just let Marcus cash out his cheat winnings. Let some other casino that doesn't have cheat-insurance deal with him,"

Just joking! Please don't take it or me seriously!! 

Another Guilty Party in Phil Ivey Edge-Sorting Cases?

Defective or Not Defective?

I know you've all heard enough of my opinions on Phil Ivey and his baccarat edge-sorting scam...but before you say you've had enough of me, this is an entirely different angle!

I promise.

Some of you may not know that Phil Ivey's lawsuit against Crockfords casino and the Borgata's lawsuit against Phil Ivey (both of which Ivey lost) are not the only lawsuits in the case. The Borgata in turn sued Gemaco Playing Card Company, the manufacturer of the defective cards used in the games that Ivey and his partner Sun beat the Borgata for $10 million. Borgata sued Gemaco for that same $10 million--and received the embarrassing judgment that the most it could recover from Gemaco was $27, the cost of replacing the defective cards with new, flawless cards.

Which brings me to this article: Should Gemaco be held liable for its defective cards that caused this whole baccarat-cheating debacle in the first place?

Well, this time I am not giving my opinion. I would much rather hear yours. So what I'm going to do is state the obvious in support of each side of the argument. I'm sure I'll have left out something when it's all said and done, so you can let me know any pertinent facts I may have missed.

At the end, those of you who would like to share your comments on whether or not Gemaco should be held liable to some extent more than $27, please do!

Argument 1: Gemaco should be held liable:

Assuming they entered into a contract with Borgata to supply and deliver high-standard playing cards protecting the integrity of the casino using them, and that they were indeed paid for those very services, then Gemaco certainly breached the contract, therefore their defective cards exposed the Borgata to the very dangers by which they were victimized. That's to say that had their defective cards not been supplied and delivered to the Borgata, Ivey and his partner Sun never would have been able to scam the casino for $10 million.

Simple enough? Sounds good to me.

Argument 2: Gemaco should not be held liable:

First of all, the cards are not defective! Just because the backs of the cards on one side had a infinitesimal difference in the size of the white border columns or a tiny tip of the diamonds cut off, who is to say that that constitutes defective cards? No one inside Gemaco could reasonably think that such a slight "imperfection" could be used to wipe out a casino's baccarat tables. Furthermore, even if these infinitesimal imperfections can be considered a constitution of defective playing cards, then the casino should be responsible to inspect each and every pack of cards they receive from Gamaco before putting them on the games. Had they done so, they should have noticed the defect and immediately removed them from the casino decks ready to be played, and then notified Gemaco of the imperfections so that new, perfect decks could replace them.

Simple enough? Sounds good to me.

I await your vote...and please: No "It could go either way" votes!