10 Biggest Casino Cheats

Meet the boldest, craziest and most famous casino cheaters of all time. But if we know their names, it means something went completely wrong. It’s no surprise that there have been many attempts at trying to cheat the casinos even before the first gambling establishments became popular. Now, let’s take a closer look at the people who were the masterminds behind some of the biggest casino cheats throughout the years.

How Did They Do It?

Some of these people got away with murder. You simply couldn’t make their stories up! But how did they manage it all?

Edward Thorp

Edward Thorp is the master behind the technique of card counting. He discovered that the player’s edge increases just by removing a single 2 from a deck of 52 cards. After testing his method, he created a system that allowed players to have more favourable odds, which he subsequently published in the bestseller, ‘Beat the Dealer’.

Ron Harris

There was a lot more to Ron Harris than meets the eye. At the time of the following incident, he worked as a computer technician with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. He took advantage of his position to gain access to the programming used at Bally’s casino in New Jersey in a fraud attempt. Since he was part of the Board, he couldn’t collect his winnings, so asked Reid Errol McNeal to do his bidding. They managed to pocket thousands of dollars from Las Vegas casinos in one of the most successful and undetected frauds in casino history. Unfortunately for both, they were caught. Harris is now listed in the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s black book and prohibited from entering casinos.

Tommy Glenn Carmichael

The top-bottom joint cheating device changed Tommy Glenn Carmichael’s life forever, with his cheating ventures spanning over four decades.

Although he was locked up for his first cheating scandal in 1985, he managed to devise a strategy while he was still behind bars. With his invention of the monkey paw, he went on to cheating casinos after his release. He then developed the light wand in 1991 and even went as far as selling this device to others, who successfully managed to bag over $10,000 per day. He went on to scamming casino boat cruises in 1995 but was then arrested again in 1996 with possession of and the manufacturing of tools used for cheating. So we guess slots pay but crime does not.

MIT Blackjack Team

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the film 21, it is based on a true story about six MIT students. They succeeded in developing card counting techniques and statistical strategies to beat casinos from all over the world at blackjack. They grew to become some of the most legendary casino cheaters in history. That’s quite impressive, but… still fraud.

Ida Summers

Although Ida Summers used her charm to distract dealers, she became known as the Vegas Vixen due to her ability to successfully beating the house in blackjack. She first used hand-mucking techniques to remove and add cards as needed, and the moved on to adding decks of cards that she had pre-arranged.

Gonzo Garcia-Pelayo

Another famous name that stands out in the history of casino cheats, is Gonzo Garcia-Pelayo – the pioneer behind roulette cheating. He spent hours analysing results to finally be able to reveal all the probabilities of the game and successfully crack the code. Through his recordings, Garcia-Pelayo confirmed that roulette outcomes weren’t indeed perfectly random, since particular numbers tended to land more than others.

Dominic LoRiggio

Commonly known as “The Dominator”, Dominic Lo Riggio was an expert at beating the house in craps and blackjack. Through his years of practising, he discovered a technique called “controlled shooting”. It’s all about the dice – they need to be set in a certain way, you need to have a firm grip on them, toss them in a way that they stay together and finally, have them land as gently as possible. You can’t charge a man for dice throwing, right?

Bill Brennan

To this day, no one knows for sure how Brennan managed to fill a bag with over $500,000 worth of cash and chips without anyone noticing him. It is believed, however, that he spent a lot of time observing the security systems to avoid getting caught on the surveillance footage.

Louis Colavecchio

Louis Colavecchio used his knowledge to manufacture and produce counterfeit slot machine coins, which he used in various American casinos. He was first arrested in 1998 after casinos started to notice a difference in their inventories, as well as in 2006 after he was caught again for similar activities. One does not learn.

Monique Laurent

The way Monique Laurent and her family managed to get her hands on a staggering $1 million had nothing to with pure luck or coincidence. In 1973, they knew a roulette dealer who would sneak a rouge ball that would land on a group of six numbers. Using a fake packet of cigarettes that contained a radio transmitter, Laurent would then control the ball in their favour. They were only caught after the owner of the casino became suspicious of any wrongdoing and decided to ask her for a cigarette, and that was it.

Who’s The Real Winner?

It’s crazy to think how many people got away, or almost got away with cheating the casino. This brings us to the question of does the house always win? Most of the time, yes, but as we’ve seen, people will find ways to try and beat it. Some may be successful, while others, not so much. Do you know any crazy casino stories? Share them with us in the comments.