These are some of the most famous casino cheats ever. From counting cards to rigging machines, these scammers managed to bypass casino security and pocket millions in profits.
Tommy Glenn Carmichael, a former television repairman who went from running his business to using devices like the monkey paw to steal money from casinos in Las Vegas led him down an unexpected path that eventually earned him both jail time and inclusion on a black list of casinos.
Richard Marcus
Casinos devote significant resources to stopping casino cheats; yet some individuals still manage to elude detection through clever techniques and strategies. Some swindlers have even become famous for their devious schemes and schemes.
Richard Marcus traveled the globe for more than 25 years committing fraud against high-end casinos using techniques designed to fool surveillance cameras, even producing highly precise replicas of slot machine coins as part of his scamming scheme.
Tommy Glenn Carmichael used his skills as a TV repairman to fix machines, while Marcus used feminine charms and hand mucking to distract dealers and win bets on roulette wheels with stealthy bets using his Savannah Strategy. It proved so successful that Marcus became one of the most well-known casino cheats ever, now working with casinos to increase security measures.
MIT Blackjack Team
As casino cheats go, few could rival the famed MIT Blackjack Team when it comes to card counting. This group of students used card counting to win millions in battles with casinos and became known as “The Rat Pack”. These individuals helped rewrite the rules of casino gaming as we know them today.
As depicted by the popular film 21 which depicts them as living an extravagant lifestyle with champagne and lap dances, nothing could be further from the truth. Members of MIT Blackjack Team worked diligently throughout their run in order to remain hidden.
The MIT Blackjack Team was led by Kaplan and comprised of fellow students Massar and Chang; all three were graduates of MIT; Massar had introduced Chang to card counting. By 1984, this team had 35 members playing, all using $350,000 capital in total.
Tommy Glenn Carmichael
Tommy Glenn Carmichael may not be an easily recognized name, but over nearly two decades he used various forms of technical wizardry to cheat casinos out of millions. Inventions such as the “Monkey Paw” and Light Wand allowed him to rig slot machines according to his will and steal huge sums of cash from casinos.
Carmichael also ran a TV repair shop in Tulsa before turning back to gambling fraud for revenue. Unfortunately, once this business began to suffer he turned back to casino fraud as his alternative source of income.
Carmichael came up with an elaborate scheme using fake coins to deceive slot machines into paying out jackpots – leaving over 750lbs behind when he got caught! Although he was sentenced to prison, Carmichael continued his efforts in casinos by developing devices to fit slot sensors, eventually defrauding casinos out of an estimated total of $16 Million before getting caught again in 1996 and 1998.
Monique Laurent
These real-life thieves were inspired by Ocean’s 11 when attempting to heist millions from casinos using all manner of gadgets and people insiders to accomplish this feat. Most were eventually caught, yet some managed to slip away without leaving an impressionful legacy for casino lovers everywhere.
Monique Laurent was at the centre of what became known as the Cigarette Pack Scandal. Her brother worked as a roulette dealer and often found himself trying to beat it; during quiet moments in work he would use his free time experimenting with how he could control wheel spins with various methods of control.
Once they were prepared, he’d signal his sister and she’d press the transmitter hidden within her cigarette packet to activate its transmitter and influence the ball’s path until it landed within one set of six numbers – often with around 90% accuracy – to make an impressive operation that netted them 5 million francs a week in profits.