From counting cards to rigging machines, these people found ways to defraud casinos out of millions – from gadgets and insiders on the inside, most ended up behind bars.
Tommy Glenn Carmichael became famous for his innovative ways of rigging slot machines. He pioneered devices such as the “Monkey’s Paw” and a light wand capable of blinding sensors and activating payouts on machines.
Tommy Carmichael
Tommy Carmichael was an expert at hacking slot machines and ran an effective gang to do just that. Over two decades of his career, this fraudster managed to scam casinos out of millions in profits using tools he designed himself; cheating slots was his livelihood – over 300 casinos were rigged through him alone! Even Nevada included him and fellow fraudster Mike Balsamo into its Black Book!
After serving his sentence in prison, Tommy Carmichael returned to gambling and set out on an ambitious path of reinvention. For over 18 months, he developed the Monkey Paw device which would force slot machines to pay out roughly $1,000 every hour.
However, its effectiveness was short-lived due to advancements in slot technology. Carmichael soon switched focus and began developing anti-cheating devices for slots before eventually consulting gambling operators to detect cheating by other gamblers.
Louis Colavecchio
Louis Colavecchio, also known as “Louis the Coin,” developed an arsenal of undetectable slot machine tokens and used them to cheat slot machines across Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Atlantic City casinos over four years – winning millions in this way reportedly.
He claimed he had broken into the programming chip that controls when slot machines payout, enabling him to rig it according to his needs and manipulate its spinners as desired.
He was banned from all Las Vegas casinos after quickly winning $2 Million, yet he persevered and eventually took his case all the way to the Supreme Court – becoming one of the most renowned casino cheaters ever known to exist.
Richard Marcus
These masterminds used simple math, insider knowledge of casinos, and gadgets to commit amazing heists in real life – and stole millions from unsuspecting gamblers! These scammers used simple methods such as simple math calculations or device theft against innocent victims who gambled their cash away unknowingly.
Richard Marcus displayed early evidence of gambling proclivities by placing wagers on sports and games of chance while still in high school. Working as a blackjack and baccarat dealer provided him with the insider knowledge required to create his own method for cheating at games of chance.
His plan consisted of stacking two red $5 chips on top of a $500 brown chip to give the impression to the dealer that his bet was only $15.
Garcia-Pelayo’s roulette trick may have worked initially, but eventually it was discovered and banned from all casinos. Now he writes books detailing his exploits to educate others while consulting with casinos to strengthen security measures and identify any possible scams.
Monique Laurent
Monique Laurent is a senior researcher at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica in Amsterdam and professor at Tilburg University, known for her expertise in combinatorial optimization and algebraic methods for polynomial optimization.
Monique’s brother worked as a croupier at a casino in France, and during periods of boredom would attempt to learn how to manipulate the roulette wheel. Enlisting Monique as his partner, they soon managed to rack up five million francs a week! Monique was beautiful enough for this scheme to go unnoticed by casino personnel until her inability to produce cigarettes when asked by management was enough for them to get caught.
Cheating casinos may look glamorous on film, but once caught it can be an unpleasant experience. Most casino cheaters receive prison sentences and lifetime bans from casinos they cheated; though some manage to avoid jail by working with the casinos that they scammed instead.
