Those of you who have read my books know that my favorite casino to cheat during my 25-year cheat career was Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Well, apparently some of Caesars' own dealers and employees are taking a liking to rip off Caesars as well. Last month, Gaming Control Board agents arrested a ticket writer at the Caesars Palace sports book for allegedly stealing chips used to pay for bets and passing them off to an associate who cashed them out.
If that wasn´t enough, just days later GCB agents caught a craps dealer pocketing $1,000 in chips that slipped from a hole in his pocket into his shoe. It isn't clear how many of the grand chips he got away with, but based on my experience at Caesars, where they had very loose controls on their $1,000 chips, I'd say it was several dozen at least. BAck in my casino cheat heyday, I worked over Caesars Palace in Vegas with $5,000 chips and made a bundle. The question is: Will dealers start palming and stealing those biggies too???
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Interesting Glitch in $500,000 Slot Cheat Case--Is it a Crime or isn´t It?
Attorneys for two of three men accused of rigging a poker machine in The Meadows Racetrack & Casino said Thursday that taking advantage of a glitch in a machine isn't a crime. "If someone is smart enough to outwit a machine, is that a crime?" defense attorney Patrick Thomassey said. "I don't think it is. It might be cheating, but is it a crime?"
Thomassey's clients, Kerry Laverde, 49, and Andre Nestor, 37, both of Swissvale waived their rights to preliminary hearings before District Judge Jay Weller in North Strabane. Both entered pleas of not guilty. A preliminary hearing for Patrick Loushil, 42, of Brookline was postponed. The men are charged with manipulating a poker machine at the casino to collect $429,945 in fraudulent payouts. Authorities said the men started the scam in June and were arrested last week.
Nestor's attorney, Washington County Public Defender Glenn Alterio, said he agreed with Thomassey. "We're going to see if, in fact, a crime was committed," Alterio said. "It boils down to manipulating a machine."
Casino officials began to suspect the men when Nestor, posing as a "high roller," began frequenting the casino in late June, officials said. Laverde, a former Swissvale police officer, acted as Nestor's bodyguard, officials said.
District Attorney Steven Toprani disagreed with Thomassey's assessment. "There was money made out to the three defendants that they weren't entitled to," Toprani said. "It sounds like good, old-fashioned theft to me."
From late June through August, Nestor, Laverde and Loushil visited the casino 15 times, authorities said. The investigation showed Nestor repeatedly used "a complex series of button presses and screen changes to cause the slot machine to have an error in its programming. This resulted in the machine displaying a false jackpot," according to the grand jury presentment. Nestor always manipulated the poker machine alone, but all three men cashed the winning checks, authorities said.
Toprani denied that gambling safeguards were too easily bypassed by the three men.
"In my opinion, the safeguards did work. The Gaming Control Board alerted the state police," Toprani said.
Weller lowered bail for the two men to $100,000, at 10 percent, meaning Laverde and Nestor must post $10,000 apiece to get out of jail.
My Take: Of course it's cheating and of course it's a crime, but how 'bout a slap on the wrist and let the accused slot cheats keep the money!
Thomassey's clients, Kerry Laverde, 49, and Andre Nestor, 37, both of Swissvale waived their rights to preliminary hearings before District Judge Jay Weller in North Strabane. Both entered pleas of not guilty. A preliminary hearing for Patrick Loushil, 42, of Brookline was postponed. The men are charged with manipulating a poker machine at the casino to collect $429,945 in fraudulent payouts. Authorities said the men started the scam in June and were arrested last week.
Nestor's attorney, Washington County Public Defender Glenn Alterio, said he agreed with Thomassey. "We're going to see if, in fact, a crime was committed," Alterio said. "It boils down to manipulating a machine."
Casino officials began to suspect the men when Nestor, posing as a "high roller," began frequenting the casino in late June, officials said. Laverde, a former Swissvale police officer, acted as Nestor's bodyguard, officials said.
District Attorney Steven Toprani disagreed with Thomassey's assessment. "There was money made out to the three defendants that they weren't entitled to," Toprani said. "It sounds like good, old-fashioned theft to me."
From late June through August, Nestor, Laverde and Loushil visited the casino 15 times, authorities said. The investigation showed Nestor repeatedly used "a complex series of button presses and screen changes to cause the slot machine to have an error in its programming. This resulted in the machine displaying a false jackpot," according to the grand jury presentment. Nestor always manipulated the poker machine alone, but all three men cashed the winning checks, authorities said.
Toprani denied that gambling safeguards were too easily bypassed by the three men.
"In my opinion, the safeguards did work. The Gaming Control Board alerted the state police," Toprani said.
Weller lowered bail for the two men to $100,000, at 10 percent, meaning Laverde and Nestor must post $10,000 apiece to get out of jail.
My Take: Of course it's cheating and of course it's a crime, but how 'bout a slap on the wrist and let the accused slot cheats keep the money!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Full Tilt Statement Claims Online Poker Site Has Software That Can Detect Bots BEFORE They Play!
Do I believe it? NO! But here's their statement:
Full Tilt Poker is a multi-million dollar Online Poker Room, one of the largest in the world. Poker players from all over sit down at the tables to play a few hands at all hours of the day, bringing many players to the tables who would otherwise be unable to participate in poker on a large scale. It is not uncommon for accusations to fly regarding cheating through these sites, and Full Tilt was a recent victim of such an allegation.
Recently, at Full Tilt, two players were recently banned from the poker room, forfeiting winnings of over $50,000 dollars. They had decided to bring a civil suit against Full Tilt, claiming that Full Tilt operates "poker robots" to play the game at a level of skill and logic that a human may not be able to emulate. The duo sought $80,000 dollars in damages, and filed the claim in California to recover said damages. Full Tilt had been quiet, but just days ago they released a statement.
“Full Tilt Poker has been made aware of the recent filing of a baseless lawsuit by former Full Tilt Poker customers - Ms. Lary Kennedy and Mr. Greg Omotoy. Both of these player accounts were appropriately terminated for multiple violations of the express terms and conditions governing fair and lawful play in the Full Tilt Poker online virtual cardroom, including their own admissions of using multiple accounts," was how they began.
Full Tilt went on to say that the claims have "no merit," are "false assertions," and that they will "remain committed to protecting their players from anything that might compromise the integrity of its [Full Tilt's] games."
Full Tilt was designed by poker players, for poker players, and they take a very severe stance against all forms of cheating and collusion. Just read a Review of Full Tilt Poker Room and you will see why thousands of players find this site to be safe and secure. Full Tilt also claims that they have software that will detect bots before they can even begin to play, but the matter will not come to a head until both party's attorneys sit down and delve further into the issue. The situation is undoubtedly going to explode, potentially harming the hope for completely legal Internet Poker.
Full Tilt Poker is a multi-million dollar Online Poker Room, one of the largest in the world. Poker players from all over sit down at the tables to play a few hands at all hours of the day, bringing many players to the tables who would otherwise be unable to participate in poker on a large scale. It is not uncommon for accusations to fly regarding cheating through these sites, and Full Tilt was a recent victim of such an allegation.
Recently, at Full Tilt, two players were recently banned from the poker room, forfeiting winnings of over $50,000 dollars. They had decided to bring a civil suit against Full Tilt, claiming that Full Tilt operates "poker robots" to play the game at a level of skill and logic that a human may not be able to emulate. The duo sought $80,000 dollars in damages, and filed the claim in California to recover said damages. Full Tilt had been quiet, but just days ago they released a statement.
“Full Tilt Poker has been made aware of the recent filing of a baseless lawsuit by former Full Tilt Poker customers - Ms. Lary Kennedy and Mr. Greg Omotoy. Both of these player accounts were appropriately terminated for multiple violations of the express terms and conditions governing fair and lawful play in the Full Tilt Poker online virtual cardroom, including their own admissions of using multiple accounts," was how they began.
Full Tilt went on to say that the claims have "no merit," are "false assertions," and that they will "remain committed to protecting their players from anything that might compromise the integrity of its [Full Tilt's] games."
Full Tilt was designed by poker players, for poker players, and they take a very severe stance against all forms of cheating and collusion. Just read a Review of Full Tilt Poker Room and you will see why thousands of players find this site to be safe and secure. Full Tilt also claims that they have software that will detect bots before they can even begin to play, but the matter will not come to a head until both party's attorneys sit down and delve further into the issue. The situation is undoubtedly going to explode, potentially harming the hope for completely legal Internet Poker.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Full Tilt Poker Makes Statement on Bot Cheat Scandal
The $80 000 lawsuit against Full Tilt Poker.com filed in California recently by two players banned for multi-accounting and robot play has triggered an official statement from the company. In the statement, the company claims:
“Full Tilt Poker has been made aware of the recent filing of a baseless lawsuit by former Full Tilt Poker customers - Ms. Lary Kennedy and Mr. Greg Omotoy. Both of these player accounts were appropriately terminated for multiple violations of the express terms and conditions governing fair and lawful play in the Full Tilt Poker online virtual cardroom, including their own admissions of using multiple accounts.
"The usage of multiple accounts not only violates the clear terms and agreements governing fair and lawful play, it creates an unequal and unfair advantage that Full Tilt Poker does not and will not permit. We aim to protect our players at all cost, thus we terminated these two claimants’ accounts.
"The claims of these former customers have no merit, their complaint is frivolous, especially given the lack of candor during extensive investigation and the unequivocal and unambiguous admissions of using multiple accounts. There is no reason to play poker anywhere else, the most tournaments, the top ring games, biggest prizes and most players. In addition we will give you $600 free on signup.
"With respect to alleged use of prohibited automated systems, the claimants’ false assertions will be revealed as such in due course. Full Tilt Poker has never knowingly allowed "bots" to play on its site. To the extent either of these claimants indeed used such prohibited “bots” in violation of all applicable rules, such impermissible use by the claimants was without the knowledge of Full Tilt Poker. When fraud, collusion, and cheating of any kind is uncovered, Full Tilt Poker investigates extensively, and then acts accordingly and appropriately, as was the case involving these claimants.
"As always, Full Tilt Poker remains committed to protecting their players from anything that might compromise the integrity of its games. Full Tilt Poker expects that this erroneous lawsuit and its spurious claims will be dealt with accordingly by proper courts of law and other appropriate tribunals. Full Tilt Poker expects that these claimants will be obliged to compensate the aggrieved defendants for any harm that may arise out of their false allegations, and for the wrongful institution of these bad faith legal proceedings.”
“Full Tilt Poker has been made aware of the recent filing of a baseless lawsuit by former Full Tilt Poker customers - Ms. Lary Kennedy and Mr. Greg Omotoy. Both of these player accounts were appropriately terminated for multiple violations of the express terms and conditions governing fair and lawful play in the Full Tilt Poker online virtual cardroom, including their own admissions of using multiple accounts.
"The usage of multiple accounts not only violates the clear terms and agreements governing fair and lawful play, it creates an unequal and unfair advantage that Full Tilt Poker does not and will not permit. We aim to protect our players at all cost, thus we terminated these two claimants’ accounts.
"The claims of these former customers have no merit, their complaint is frivolous, especially given the lack of candor during extensive investigation and the unequivocal and unambiguous admissions of using multiple accounts. There is no reason to play poker anywhere else, the most tournaments, the top ring games, biggest prizes and most players. In addition we will give you $600 free on signup.
"With respect to alleged use of prohibited automated systems, the claimants’ false assertions will be revealed as such in due course. Full Tilt Poker has never knowingly allowed "bots" to play on its site. To the extent either of these claimants indeed used such prohibited “bots” in violation of all applicable rules, such impermissible use by the claimants was without the knowledge of Full Tilt Poker. When fraud, collusion, and cheating of any kind is uncovered, Full Tilt Poker investigates extensively, and then acts accordingly and appropriately, as was the case involving these claimants.
"As always, Full Tilt Poker remains committed to protecting their players from anything that might compromise the integrity of its games. Full Tilt Poker expects that this erroneous lawsuit and its spurious claims will be dealt with accordingly by proper courts of law and other appropriate tribunals. Full Tilt Poker expects that these claimants will be obliged to compensate the aggrieved defendants for any harm that may arise out of their false allegations, and for the wrongful institution of these bad faith legal proceedings.”
Monday, October 12, 2009
2006 WSOP Champ and Accused Cheat Jamie Gold Sued Again!
Remember 2006 WSOP Main Event winner Jamie Gold? The erstwhile Hollywood talent scout bartered his way into that year’s tourney as part of a deal with online site Bodog in which he agreed to find celebrity personalities for Bodog to sponsor. Following a lengthy legal battle, Gold had to split his winnings with Bruce Crispin Leyser after it was disclosed that the two joined forces in helping secure celebrities for the event. It’s possible that Leyser wasn’t the only one Gold promised a share of his possible winnings to in exchange for assistance, as LA event promoter Francis Dellavechia recently filed a suit against Gold, alleging a promise from Gold for 1 percent of his winnings, equal to $120,000 from Gold’s record $12 million winner’s payday. No court hearings have been held in the matter to date.
Poker TV "Face the Ace" Producers Targeted in Lawsuit
Was the concept for the new poker show “Face the Ace” an illegitimately borrowed idea? So claims Brandon McSmith, who says that he pitched a similar concept to “Face the Ace” production company Poker PROductions in 2006, only to be told that his concept, including star players emerging from a series of doors, lacked merit. McSmith seeks $85 million in damages, with no hearings held as yet. “Face the Ace,” which features a number of Full Tilt-sponsored pros, has struggled in the ratings to date and has already undergone one concept “Face”-lift as well.
Kahnawake Gaming Commission Releases Final UltimateBet Poker Cheat Report
While former WSOP Main Event winner Russ Hamilton remains the only participant officially named, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, responsible for oversight of the UltimateBet online poker site, released its final findings on the years-long insider cheating scandal. Twenty-one different user accounts and a total of 118 screen names were used by the perpetrators who cheated high-stakes limit and no-limit players out of more than $22 million (since refunded) from 2003-2007. The KGC report also cited 31 other individuals with connections to Hamilton and the ongoing cheating scandal, although these names were not publicly released. The KGC, however, did imply that these names and hundreds of pages of supporting documents were made available to selected authorities in other jurisdictions.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Are Poker Cheat Bots the Real Deal?
It is well known that strategy games have been an interesting and challenging domain for computer science research over the decades. Beginning with Tic-Tac-Toe, computer researchers have used games to develop and teach artificial intelligence the application of theoretical concepts to practical situations. The use of games to to develop artificial intelligence was brought to the fore in the 80’s in the movie WarGames, staring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy.
Long argued as a game of skill, the game of poker is a prime candidate for study because it is a conceptually simple yet strategically complex game that offers more dimensions than the one-on-one games such as chess, checkers, and other well-studied games. Therefore, it was only logical for the University of Alberta Computer Poker Research Group (“UACRG”) to set out and develop the adaptive software program named “Polaris” the poker playing robot. Used solely for scientific study, Polaris has been matched up against some of the best players in the world, in controlled environments. And while Polaris has been able to win a game or two in specific scientific settings, it is a work in progress. More importantly, Polaris is the proprietary scientific property of the UACRG and its artificial intelligence programming is not available to the general public.
Since poker players are always looking to get a leg-up in an effort to minimize losses and give poker players an edge, the development and sale of plug-in/add-on poker software has become big business. Typing the words, “Poker Robot” into your search engine of choice will produce several websites with statistics about the use of Poker Bots while advertising their software purported to give the purchaser an upper-hand over other players and other robots. While there are several legitimate programs and services that assist players in tracking play and calculating odds to aid in improving one’s game, any website purporting to sell robot software or other similar “cheating” programs should be overlooked as either illegal or a potential scam.
Poker bots are banned from almost all gaming websites. While they may be increasingly common they are really just poker calculators that run on auto pilot continuously, calling, folding, and or betting based on preset scenarios. While hardly artificial intelligence, the advantage is that the software never tires and can play consistently for days on end in multiple games and sometimes even multiple sites, therefore giving the user an unfair advantage over legitimate players.
Internet forums and social websites are chock-full of postings from disgruntled on-line poker players complaining about bad beats, rigged scenarios, and the suspected use of cheat software. However, the majority of the comments are unfounded criticisms based more in frustration than actual factual evidence so it is difficult to tell if a loss is truly the result of an unfair or illegal advantage. Besides, it is practically a rite of passage for a poker player to take the most unimaginable bad-beat possible by having a monster hand cracked on the last street. Like fishermen and their big-fish stories, poker players gather to compare their losses and eventually learn to wear them as a badge of honor, having survived to tell the tale and play again. And while the majority of the worst bad-beat stories seem to be the result of an on-line experience, given the number of hands per minute played on-line as opposed to in live play, overall the odds should remain the same.
Case-in-point, the 2008 World Series of Poker - Championship Event, when pocket Aces were beat by a lesser starting hand that resulted in quad Aces begin cracked by the rarest hand in the game, a royal flush.
Long argued as a game of skill, the game of poker is a prime candidate for study because it is a conceptually simple yet strategically complex game that offers more dimensions than the one-on-one games such as chess, checkers, and other well-studied games. Therefore, it was only logical for the University of Alberta Computer Poker Research Group (“UACRG”) to set out and develop the adaptive software program named “Polaris” the poker playing robot. Used solely for scientific study, Polaris has been matched up against some of the best players in the world, in controlled environments. And while Polaris has been able to win a game or two in specific scientific settings, it is a work in progress. More importantly, Polaris is the proprietary scientific property of the UACRG and its artificial intelligence programming is not available to the general public.
Since poker players are always looking to get a leg-up in an effort to minimize losses and give poker players an edge, the development and sale of plug-in/add-on poker software has become big business. Typing the words, “Poker Robot” into your search engine of choice will produce several websites with statistics about the use of Poker Bots while advertising their software purported to give the purchaser an upper-hand over other players and other robots. While there are several legitimate programs and services that assist players in tracking play and calculating odds to aid in improving one’s game, any website purporting to sell robot software or other similar “cheating” programs should be overlooked as either illegal or a potential scam.
Poker bots are banned from almost all gaming websites. While they may be increasingly common they are really just poker calculators that run on auto pilot continuously, calling, folding, and or betting based on preset scenarios. While hardly artificial intelligence, the advantage is that the software never tires and can play consistently for days on end in multiple games and sometimes even multiple sites, therefore giving the user an unfair advantage over legitimate players.
Internet forums and social websites are chock-full of postings from disgruntled on-line poker players complaining about bad beats, rigged scenarios, and the suspected use of cheat software. However, the majority of the comments are unfounded criticisms based more in frustration than actual factual evidence so it is difficult to tell if a loss is truly the result of an unfair or illegal advantage. Besides, it is practically a rite of passage for a poker player to take the most unimaginable bad-beat possible by having a monster hand cracked on the last street. Like fishermen and their big-fish stories, poker players gather to compare their losses and eventually learn to wear them as a badge of honor, having survived to tell the tale and play again. And while the majority of the worst bad-beat stories seem to be the result of an on-line experience, given the number of hands per minute played on-line as opposed to in live play, overall the odds should remain the same.
Case-in-point, the 2008 World Series of Poker - Championship Event, when pocket Aces were beat by a lesser starting hand that resulted in quad Aces begin cracked by the rarest hand in the game, a royal flush.
Friday, October 09, 2009
UltimateBet's Sebok On UB's Attempts To Reset Online Poker Table
Recently recruited UltimateBet poker pro Joe Sebok, who appears to have become the online poker firm's spokesman regarding the cheating debacle by former consultants last year, has revealed further details on the company's attempts to satisfy disadvantaged players.
Last month, Sebok used his blog to explain how players who felt cheated by the hole-card scandal could get more detail on their individual play. This week, Sebok expanded on the topic and explained that players will need to contact Ultimatebet to initiate the process.
Sebok describes the process in detail as follows:
1. Once you send in your request to (pokersecurity@ultimatebet.com, include your name, account name, address) or we work our way through the current ones in the queue, you will be sent two spreadsheets. The first will be as before a complete summary of all the cheating accounts that you played again, the total hands you played against each, and the amount that you won/lost against each. This spreadsheet will have 117 lines, one for each cheating account.
2. You will also receive a data sheet with all the win/losses vs. each cheating account. This is basically a breakdown of all the information you could want minus the actual hole cards, which will be contained in the actual hand histories that will be sent out after this first piece of information.
This first spreadsheet will probably satisfy more of the requests that come in to take a look at the data. Of course, many of you want the real meat, the actual entire hand histories, so once you have gotten this first initial summary breakdown and taken a look, just shoot an email back in letting us know that you want the entire hand histories for all the hands you played against the cheating accounts.
The reason for this is that it takes much more time and manpower and thus we want to only get this out to those players who actually want them and will use them. If we fired them up for every request coming in, we would be doing a TON of unnecessary work for players who actually just want a summary. Might seem annoying to have to go this second step but the first request is faster and it covers most players needs and that’s why we chose to do it this way.
Once we get this second email shot in from you after you have had a chance to check out the summary sheet, we will then be shipping along the entire hand histories, complete with ALL cheating accounts' hole cards, whether or not they went to showdown with you. This is obviously a cumbersome process, so please practice a little more patience with us.
Sebok says the exercise has already begun, so players may be about to have their patience rewarded.
Last month, Sebok used his blog to explain how players who felt cheated by the hole-card scandal could get more detail on their individual play. This week, Sebok expanded on the topic and explained that players will need to contact Ultimatebet to initiate the process.
Sebok describes the process in detail as follows:
1. Once you send in your request to (pokersecurity@ultimatebet.com, include your name, account name, address) or we work our way through the current ones in the queue, you will be sent two spreadsheets. The first will be as before a complete summary of all the cheating accounts that you played again, the total hands you played against each, and the amount that you won/lost against each. This spreadsheet will have 117 lines, one for each cheating account.
2. You will also receive a data sheet with all the win/losses vs. each cheating account. This is basically a breakdown of all the information you could want minus the actual hole cards, which will be contained in the actual hand histories that will be sent out after this first piece of information.
This first spreadsheet will probably satisfy more of the requests that come in to take a look at the data. Of course, many of you want the real meat, the actual entire hand histories, so once you have gotten this first initial summary breakdown and taken a look, just shoot an email back in letting us know that you want the entire hand histories for all the hands you played against the cheating accounts.
The reason for this is that it takes much more time and manpower and thus we want to only get this out to those players who actually want them and will use them. If we fired them up for every request coming in, we would be doing a TON of unnecessary work for players who actually just want a summary. Might seem annoying to have to go this second step but the first request is faster and it covers most players needs and that’s why we chose to do it this way.
Once we get this second email shot in from you after you have had a chance to check out the summary sheet, we will then be shipping along the entire hand histories, complete with ALL cheating accounts' hole cards, whether or not they went to showdown with you. This is obviously a cumbersome process, so please practice a little more patience with us.
Sebok says the exercise has already begun, so players may be about to have their patience rewarded.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
False Jackpot Attacks Plague Pittsburgh Casino to Tune of $500,000!
False jackpots paid at Meadows went unnoticed for weeks.
State gaming officials said the theft of money from a high-stakes slots machine at The Meadows Racetrack and Casino went unnoticed for several weeks because the false jackpots that the machine was paying out to a trio of suspects were not recorded internally by the machine.
State Gaming Control Board spokesman Doug Harbach said that detecting the theft of more than $430,000 would have been easier if the winnings displayed on the machine matched its internal records. The internal records automatically transfer data about the machine to the casino and the state Department of Revenue, which monitors the electronic records.
Department of Revenue spokeswoman Stephanie Weyant said she could not discuss individual machine revenue or data because the information is protected and confidential. Law enforcement officials believe the three suspects were able to steal more than $430,000 over a period from late June until the end of August. The theft was not discovered until a state gaming control board agent became suspicious in late August when one of the suspects attempted to cash in a jackpot.
Although casino and state gaming officials praised the work of investigators in uncovering the theft, a Las Vegas casino security expert yesterday, suggested the casino "failed to respond" quickly enough to the two-month long crime spree and is partly to blame for not doing a better job of monitoring its slots machines.
Andre Michael Nestor, 38, his roommate Kerry Laverde, 49, of Swissvale, and Patrick Loushil, 42, of Brookline, were charged Tuesday with 367 felony counts of theft, receiving stolen property, criminal conspiracy, computer trespassing and other charges. Although the men are from the Pittsburgh area, Mr. Nestor and Mr. Laverde lived in Las Vegas from 2001 to 2007 before returning here. The three are accused of exploiting a software glitch in a draw-poker slot machine at the North Strabane casino, and rigging the machine to display false jackpots. Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani said the men collected the fraudulent winnings during 15 visits to the casino from June 22 to Aug. 31.
State Gaming Control Board officials said nobody noticed the scam at first because the machine did not register the jackpots. The glitch affected only the display screen of the machine. The jackpot that displayed on the screen did not match internal records of the machine, they said. Officials said that they weren't sure how the men knew about the glitch, which was triggered when the "double-up" feature of the game was enabled. They said Mr. Nestor gained the trust of employees by giving them sizable tips and recounting his successful exploits as a "professional gambler," in Las Vegas.
Police said Mr. Laverde -- known as "Joe Blow" by friends -- posed as a bodyguard for Mr. Nestor, flashing his badge to employees and hinting that he carried a concealed gun. Mr. Loushil, they said, assisted in diverting employees' attention and sometimes cashed in winnings for Mr. Nestor. A technician activated the double-up feature at Mr. Nestor's request, but came back to the machine later after his supervisors told him that the double-up feature couldn't be used without the permission of the Gaming Control Board.
The technician disabled the feature, but inadvertently neglected to save his programming changes, leaving the option available. Other employees didn't notice the oversight, and for the next two months the trio exploited the glitch through a complicated set of keystrokes that would cause the machine to display jackpot winnings that didn't exist.
Eventually, on Aug. 28, state Gaming Control Board Agent Josh Hofrichter became suspicious when he noticed that Mr. Loushil was trying to cash in a jackpot won by Mr. Nestor. Three days later, when Mr. Nestor came back into the casino, he headed for the same machine and tried to claim a $2,350 fraudulent jackpot. But this time, when Mr. Nestor attempted to collect the winnings, he was secretly being watched by state troopers. He was told by casino staff that he could not collect his winnings until staff could verify that the internal controls of the machine were working properly.
Police said Mr. Nestor told them he had to make a phone call and left the casino in haste. What followed was a five-week grand jury investigation, which culminated in the arrests this week.Ken Braunstein, a security consultant licensed by Nevada who specializes in casinos and gaming, and who has taught criminal justice for 29 years at the University of Nevada, said glitches like the one exposed in the Meadows slot machine are "not at all uncommon," and are usually caught by experienced security personnel.
Because slot machines have electronic controls, they are vulnerable to occasional hiccups, much like a computer program or the electronics systems in automobiles, he said. However, Mr. Braunstein was critical of the Meadows management, saying the excessive payoffs should have raised a red flag and triggered an investigation much sooner. "Management failed to respond to the information that was given to them by the machine," he said. "It was their fault."
Meadows spokesman David LaTorre said the casino disputes the claim that they did not act quickly enough, saying that it was an isolated incident and that the problem has been remedied. "We disagree with that assessment," Mr. LaTorre said. "We're confident it's not going to happen again, period. We have taken several internal security steps to prevent that."
The machine's manufacturer, Reno, Nev.-based International Game Technology, is one of the world's leading providers of slot machines and gaming software. Director of Marketing Julie Brown said the company has pulled similar slot machines from casino floors so the glitch can be fixed. She couldn't estimate how many machines were affected or where they were located, but said the company provides products all over the world.
Mr. Laverde was a former Swissvale Borough police officer, and claimed on an Internet site three years ago that he also was a security investigator for a Las Vegas bank. The Nevada Gaming Board said none of the three men worked for any casinos in that state. Swissvale police Chief Greg Geppert said yesterday that Mr. Laverde left the police force in 2001 and that he was ordered yesterday to stop wearing his badge. "It's really embarrassing to have somebody like him ... He hasn't even been here for eight years and he's still giving us a black eye. I have a lot of really good guys here, a lot of professional guys, and this is embarrassing," Chief Geppert said.
Stephanie Waite of West Penn Allegheny, the parent company of Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville, said Mr. Laverde has been a security officer there for a year and said it was the company's practice to suspend employees without pay after they are charged with a crime.
State gaming officials said the theft of money from a high-stakes slots machine at The Meadows Racetrack and Casino went unnoticed for several weeks because the false jackpots that the machine was paying out to a trio of suspects were not recorded internally by the machine.
State Gaming Control Board spokesman Doug Harbach said that detecting the theft of more than $430,000 would have been easier if the winnings displayed on the machine matched its internal records. The internal records automatically transfer data about the machine to the casino and the state Department of Revenue, which monitors the electronic records.
Department of Revenue spokeswoman Stephanie Weyant said she could not discuss individual machine revenue or data because the information is protected and confidential. Law enforcement officials believe the three suspects were able to steal more than $430,000 over a period from late June until the end of August. The theft was not discovered until a state gaming control board agent became suspicious in late August when one of the suspects attempted to cash in a jackpot.
Although casino and state gaming officials praised the work of investigators in uncovering the theft, a Las Vegas casino security expert yesterday, suggested the casino "failed to respond" quickly enough to the two-month long crime spree and is partly to blame for not doing a better job of monitoring its slots machines.
Andre Michael Nestor, 38, his roommate Kerry Laverde, 49, of Swissvale, and Patrick Loushil, 42, of Brookline, were charged Tuesday with 367 felony counts of theft, receiving stolen property, criminal conspiracy, computer trespassing and other charges. Although the men are from the Pittsburgh area, Mr. Nestor and Mr. Laverde lived in Las Vegas from 2001 to 2007 before returning here. The three are accused of exploiting a software glitch in a draw-poker slot machine at the North Strabane casino, and rigging the machine to display false jackpots. Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani said the men collected the fraudulent winnings during 15 visits to the casino from June 22 to Aug. 31.
State Gaming Control Board officials said nobody noticed the scam at first because the machine did not register the jackpots. The glitch affected only the display screen of the machine. The jackpot that displayed on the screen did not match internal records of the machine, they said. Officials said that they weren't sure how the men knew about the glitch, which was triggered when the "double-up" feature of the game was enabled. They said Mr. Nestor gained the trust of employees by giving them sizable tips and recounting his successful exploits as a "professional gambler," in Las Vegas.
Police said Mr. Laverde -- known as "Joe Blow" by friends -- posed as a bodyguard for Mr. Nestor, flashing his badge to employees and hinting that he carried a concealed gun. Mr. Loushil, they said, assisted in diverting employees' attention and sometimes cashed in winnings for Mr. Nestor. A technician activated the double-up feature at Mr. Nestor's request, but came back to the machine later after his supervisors told him that the double-up feature couldn't be used without the permission of the Gaming Control Board.
The technician disabled the feature, but inadvertently neglected to save his programming changes, leaving the option available. Other employees didn't notice the oversight, and for the next two months the trio exploited the glitch through a complicated set of keystrokes that would cause the machine to display jackpot winnings that didn't exist.
Eventually, on Aug. 28, state Gaming Control Board Agent Josh Hofrichter became suspicious when he noticed that Mr. Loushil was trying to cash in a jackpot won by Mr. Nestor. Three days later, when Mr. Nestor came back into the casino, he headed for the same machine and tried to claim a $2,350 fraudulent jackpot. But this time, when Mr. Nestor attempted to collect the winnings, he was secretly being watched by state troopers. He was told by casino staff that he could not collect his winnings until staff could verify that the internal controls of the machine were working properly.
Police said Mr. Nestor told them he had to make a phone call and left the casino in haste. What followed was a five-week grand jury investigation, which culminated in the arrests this week.Ken Braunstein, a security consultant licensed by Nevada who specializes in casinos and gaming, and who has taught criminal justice for 29 years at the University of Nevada, said glitches like the one exposed in the Meadows slot machine are "not at all uncommon," and are usually caught by experienced security personnel.
Because slot machines have electronic controls, they are vulnerable to occasional hiccups, much like a computer program or the electronics systems in automobiles, he said. However, Mr. Braunstein was critical of the Meadows management, saying the excessive payoffs should have raised a red flag and triggered an investigation much sooner. "Management failed to respond to the information that was given to them by the machine," he said. "It was their fault."
Meadows spokesman David LaTorre said the casino disputes the claim that they did not act quickly enough, saying that it was an isolated incident and that the problem has been remedied. "We disagree with that assessment," Mr. LaTorre said. "We're confident it's not going to happen again, period. We have taken several internal security steps to prevent that."
The machine's manufacturer, Reno, Nev.-based International Game Technology, is one of the world's leading providers of slot machines and gaming software. Director of Marketing Julie Brown said the company has pulled similar slot machines from casino floors so the glitch can be fixed. She couldn't estimate how many machines were affected or where they were located, but said the company provides products all over the world.
Mr. Laverde was a former Swissvale Borough police officer, and claimed on an Internet site three years ago that he also was a security investigator for a Las Vegas bank. The Nevada Gaming Board said none of the three men worked for any casinos in that state. Swissvale police Chief Greg Geppert said yesterday that Mr. Laverde left the police force in 2001 and that he was ordered yesterday to stop wearing his badge. "It's really embarrassing to have somebody like him ... He hasn't even been here for eight years and he's still giving us a black eye. I have a lot of really good guys here, a lot of professional guys, and this is embarrassing," Chief Geppert said.
Stephanie Waite of West Penn Allegheny, the parent company of Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville, said Mr. Laverde has been a security officer there for a year and said it was the company's practice to suspend employees without pay after they are charged with a crime.
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