THE BIASED ROULETTE WHEEL

One of the oldest and most practical ways of taking advantage, and be sure to realize the key words here -"taking advantage", of a casino is by utilizing some very discrete flaws that exist in casino equipment, either from the point of origin, or flaws that develop after some wear and tear. As noted in the previous report about one way cards, there are also some very subtle avenues the advantage player can use that border on the law.

Lawsuits have generally favored the player in cases where no outside cheating devices were used. The problem of taking advantage of a weak link in the casino's system is a serious problem that all casinos must directly anticipate.

Over the last century the game of roulette has been a target of
sharp gamblers that noticed that the tiniest flaw will affect the
outcome of the spin and f911 of the ball. What seemed to be a
simple matter of recording each spin of the ball on pencil and
paper is actually a method to tell if a roulette ball is biased to
certain numbers. In Monte Carlo it is house policy to offer
anyone who is interested an accurate record of every spin of the
ball from the day the game started. In fact there is one person
who simply writes these results into a record book for the curious
gambler.

In Las Vegas the casinos donlt offer this service, rather you
must record your own results. Many casinos offer score cards
similar to the score cards used in baccarat to tally the day's
spins.

Some sharp gambler figured out that some patterns were
developing on certain roulette wheels that opened the door to
actually being able to beat the game simply by betting the numbers
that seemed to repeat more than others.

Why did certain numbers repeat? The answers to this question
are not complete, nor is the amount of money that was won using
this method determined. However from what is known on the
streets, a tremendous amount of money has been taken off the
games, simply because the wheel had an inherent flaw.

Upon examining most wheel heads, the numbers around the head
have been adhered in a continuous circular piece. In that piece
there is a seam that protrudes slightly. A ball falling out of
the track across the seam will be affected by the abnormality.
Simply by betting those numbers that are favored by the
imperfection will allow the player a tremendous advantage.

Variations in the size of the metal frets that separate the
numbers will also dramatically affect the randomness of the spin.
The frets can be either not even in height and width. It stands
to reason that if one number had frets that were slightly turned
inward, those numbers would have a less chance of showing.
The inserts where the ball drops are positioned in a continuous
red and black pattern around the wheel, excepting for the numbers
0 and 00, which are green.

What is important here is the fact that the inserts are individually seated with glue, and not a solid piece of material. The individual inserts are subject to
hot and cold temperatures and affixed in an manner that is subjective to the person doing the construction. Several inserts may have the last dab of glue from an old bottle that may not be
as bonding as a new bottle, for example. There also may be some air pockets in between the inserts and the base of the wheel. Any slight imperfection like this will cause the ball to have less resiliency than normal and therefore stay in certain number pockets more often than normal. Ideally for the advantage player a bigger roulette ball will perform better under these conditions, that is bounce less than a smaller and lighter ball.

Roulette teams have scouted for biased wheels and have sent teams out to play on them earning "classical" amounts of money, to use the vernacular of the road hustler. In Lake Tahoe, a prominent casino was beaten out of more than $400,000 over the course of the team's play, in just a couple of days. The players bet the exact set of numbers each spin of the wheel. The four to six number were bet straight up, with no other bets placed.

To ward off suspicion, the team traveled to Las Vegas and legitimately gambled with the winnings. This ploy is a clever method used by most hustlers to cover their tracks. They figure that after the dirty work is done, why not take a shot with the house's money. Very, very clever.

Another team that we were able to gather more information about played two different sets of numbers straight up in a different Las Vegas casino and won $40,000 in an evenings work last February. The numbers bet were 0, 17, 32 and 11.

A new wheel has been developed to prevent this type of advantage play from happening by Paul-Son Dice and Card Company of Las Vegas. Their new wheel, the brainchild of Lou DiGregorio, is designed to allow the numbers to be rotated to any position by the use of a movable ring. The frets can be moved in the same manner. Thus daily, even hourly, the wheel can be adjusted so that not even the cleverest of players could determine where the ball may fall.

THE PC-100 & EDDIE SEREMBA

August "Eddie" Seremba, a former horse jockey, casino owner, horse trainer, gambler and great golfer, who paled around with guys like Titanic Thompson, was arrested in the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, in 1978, as he was getting up from the blackjack game. He had just beaten the game for some money, when a pitboss saw a device hanging from under Seremba's coat. Seremba later confided in me that nothing was hanging from his jacket and the whole arrest was a setup.

He was detained and arrested for possession of a cheating device. Seremba says that he was "stripped almost naked" when authorities unwired Seremba from his box type computer. Eddie put up a little resistance and was mad as hell, because he feels that he was not cheating the casino.

Seremba later filed a $100,000 law suit to recover his computer. The computer, the PC-100, was finally returned along with a very sizable settlement. The district attorney of Clark County refused to prosecute Seremba and the case was dismissed.

The PC-100 was a two year investment of manpower that was designed specially for Seremba by some close friends, one of whom was a physicist. ~he main processor is worn over the shoulder on the inside of the jacket, suspended from a strap. A hand held device is the source of input and output from the computer. As the player sees each card. the value is entered into the computer and upon command can be signaled as to the true count of the remaining deck of cards. An small electrical shock is the signaling method.

The computer will automatically calculate a true count normalized for a one, two or four deck game. A player only has to use a simple basic strategy to consistently win. The computer was field tested for more than 1000 hours in Las Vegas casinos' before it was ever sold.

The hand held control box was wired through the jacket and directly into the left side jacket pocket. The box is held in the left hand concealed in the pocket. The player could only play with one hand while inputting card values. Each finger of the left hand rested on a switch, and the thumb was on the top switch. To count a cardI the appropriate key is pushed once and released.

Lawrence Revere, also known to his buddies as Speck Parsons, was honored to have his Revere Point Count used as an example in the computer's operating manual.
Quoting from the manual:

For the Revere Point Count:
Card seen Key pressed 2 or 7 +1
3, 4, 5 or 6 +2
8 or 9 10 or ace -2

To read out the true count, the "R" readout key is held down. When this key is pushed, the thumb will touch the two wires so the user can feel the readout pulses. For example, if the true count is +2, there will be 2 pulses. The intensity of the electrical pulse can be adjusted to suit the user. If the true count is negative, the user will feel a short burst of pulses (a sign burst) followed by single pulses to indicate the count.

The PC-100 sold for more than $2000 when it was first released and now it is presently prohibited from being used in play by Nevada law.

THE GAFFED SHOE

Any gambling game that uses multiple decks of cards that are too bulky to comfortably be held in the hand reauires the use of a dealing box commonly referred to as a "shoe' , or sabot, as it is called in France. The shape of the device resembled a person's shoe, hence the nickname. The earliest shoes manufactured for use in a card game were made of wood and metal. Presently most American made shoes are manufactured from plexiglas.

The earliest gimmicked shoe was discovered in France, that was used in the game of baccarat and chemin de fer. Certain cards drawn by the player side prevent the banker from drawing additional cards. An ingenious method was devised to allow the wooden shoe to "hold out", that is, keep out of play, certain cards in a secret compartment that kept the cards until the secret lever was deployed that would release the card and put it into play.

The chemin de fer shoe had a gimmicked handle that when turned, would release from a bottom compartment under the faceplate of the shoe the desired cards that would prevent further action bythe bank side. The cards in the shoe were selected according to which side the cheater would wager upon. For instance, in baccarat if the banker and the player side both had a two card total of 5 on the firts initial two cards each, if an additional card such as a 9 were drawn, the bank would win, and there would be no further action by the player side. The bank would beat the player with a total of 5 over 4.

The person that would operate the device does not have to be the heavy player, but rather a shill or other player betting in the game. Not much suspicion or attention is given to someone that is betting the minimum bet. Getting the card out from the secret compartment was not that difficult, since, the spring loaded gimmick shot the card out from the bottom into the hand as though it were actually dealt from the window of the shoe.

The person dealing only had to synchronize the timed actions together to make it appear as if a card was being dealt in a normal fashion. The wooden handle was turned just enough to allow the card to be released. This device has been used for over 50 years that we know of, and has never been actually detected in a
live chemin de fer or baccarat game. This device is similar in every respect to a normal shoe, excepting that the bottom compartment is hollow and connected to the handle release mechanism.

One not be concerned, you will never find a hold out shoe in a Nevada game, since all of the shoes being used in the state have a clear, see-through bottom that exposes the entire shoe for inspection.

There are other types of gaffed shoes that are used in baccarat and chemin de fer that are very similar in many respects to gaffed blackjack shoes. In fact the reason that all of the shoes used in blackjack and baccarat are clear, exposing the entire bottom, is the fact of a conspiracy that was perpetrated on a major casino many years ago.

Some zealous cheat went through the trouble of devising a blackjack 'shoe that had the capability of signaling the top card in the window to a player at the game. In other words, the playersitting at the table would know what the next card would be. He could then hit or stand pat accordingly. With this type of edge going for a thief, he would be playing the game with a 10 to 15% or more advantage against the house.

The shoe was designed to contain a receiver, batteries, and an elaborate fiber optical system that flashed just for a brief second, just long enough for the player to get the information. The player had to know exactly where to look on the shoe. Other players and the dealer would not see the information because of the angle of the shoe and faceplate. Another person in the scam might be 10 to 20 feet away from the blackjack table wearing the device to activate the shoe. This person may b~ playing slots or just standing near the table observing the action. Nobody would have reason to suspect him or connect him to the scam. The player at the table would not activate the system for fear of exposure in the event of detainment and search by law enforcement agencies.

The scam was discovered accidentally by an unsuspecting blackjack supervisor that was closing down the games for the evening. Upon picking up two shoes, carrying one in each hand, he noticed the difference in respective weights. The gaffed shoe was much heavier than the normal one. In every other detail, there was absolutely NO DIFFERENCE between the two shoes. The casino manager inspected the device and could not detect the gaff, until Gaming Control agents were called in to take the device apart to discover the elaborate system.

Someone or persons clearly stayed up many evenings. figuring out this unbelievable scam. It was as good as a movie script. How long was the device in the casino? How was the device put into the game? Who was responsible? How much money was taken from the house? These questions still are unanswered.

Another gaffed blackjack shoe makes use of a reflecting prism that signals to the dealer the top card. Simply by holding this card back with the fingers and then dealing the second card is easier than dealing seconds from a hand held deck. This type of shoe can be used against the player or against the house. The prism device is nothing more than a reflecting prism inserted near the face of the shoe. This can be removable or permanently implanted in the shoe. The house can use this against the players by having the dealer hold back cards for use in hitting his own hand, and for the( player with the dealer and the player in cahoots, signaling the
value of the top card to the player. The player can then make
more hands without breaking as often, thus giving him terrific
edge.

One version of this type of shoe has a small plunger to hold back the top card so the dealer can deal seconds. This method is more susceptible to being exposed, therefore it is not used as frequently as the non moving prism.

Still another version has the prism built into the lid of the shoe. Some smart crossroader working on the inside convinced management that lids should be placed on the shoes to protect the cards from being altered or touched in any fashion. Little did the manager realize that the very idea of protecting the cards from cheaters was the device to burn the casino out of a lot of money.

It might be noted that many suggestions and methods of operations have been purposely designed to cheat the house under the guise of a protective measure.
On additional gaffed shoe has a mirror built in the faceplate of
the shoe that gives the dealer the value of the top card of the
deck. The device is phony looking, but will get the money.
The price range for any of these shoes will vary according to
the blackmarket price, and how hungry the maker is, but generally
speaking a gaffed shoe will retail for $750 to $5000, depending on
the type and availability.

Currently, new technology is opening the door for cheats.
Through the advances of NASA's space program, and the advent of
the computer age, new ways of getting into the pockets of the
casinos are being developed. Rumor has it that a scanning optical
device is being worked out that would signal the order of the
cards from the top of the deck down to the bottom. This method is
very similar to the optical reader that is used in supermarkets to
decode the price of an item to the auto cash totaling device.

Another method rumored to be in the research phase is the use of
a radioactive material impregnated into the playirig cards that
will signal the value and position to each card in a deck or
mUltiple deck.

Moon Landing

Here is the link of the Life Magazine photo of me at the Dunes baccarat pit watching the first moon landing.

THE UNREADABLE MARKED CARDS

I once worked in Aguacaliente, Mexico, which is near Guadalajara, at the annual St. Marcos festival in a casino that had at least 16 chemin de fer games, two baccarat games, 40 or 50 twenty one games and many other mexican games including cockfighting and bull fighting. My job was to watch the games for my dear friend Alfredo Hernandez. One of the finest gamblers I have ever met. Keeping everyone honest was not an easy task in a casino that lacked sophisticated surveillance equipment, however we managed to do a pretty good job.

I'll never forget being taken to the casino by'the Federales,
who carried machine guns on the front seats of the car we were in.
One day while shopping in the city, I met an American by the
name of Freddie. Freddie and I became pals very quickly as we
both shared the same interests. He said he used to be a dealer in
Hot Springs, Arkansas. He became very candid in his exploits and
soon after a half a bottle of tequila, he recounted how he had
swindled millions of dollars from the casinos in Las Vegas. All
of this happening many years before.

I suspected that Freddie was not the man's real name, and I soon found out that he had disappeared as quickly as he came on the scene. He did however enlighten me to the modus operandi before he departed.
Cards that were going to be used in the baccarat game were obtained from someone working in the casino. The cards were opened at the bottom and the plastic wrapping carefully removed. The cardboard box was then split down the side with an exacto knife and the cards were removed and secretly marked with a specially formulated daub. The daub was very lightly applied and only the most experienced reader could see anything on the backs.

Players were brought in to play as high rollers. Casino credit was applied for and extended. The players did not have any idea how the scam worked. They were only told to follow the signals of a man sitting at the table that was the mastermind. He would signal the players were to wager. They won better than 75 percent of the wagers, and they did not know how the scam worked.

The mastermind would simply look at the exposed card in the window and would determine the value. He would then decide which side, the player or the bank, had the best chance to win. And win they did. Freddie said that more than $1,000,000 in cold cash was won from the game before someone got suspicious and the team broke up.

The Case of Madame YU

Baccarat and craps are two of the best jobs in the casino. The chief reasons are 1)there are big limits on the two games, and 2) the dealers and floor persons make big tokes. (tips) In craps the boxman was also included. The boxman sits at the table and watches all play etc. When there is big action there are two boxmen; one for each side of the table.

I first started dealing paper baccarat in 1969 at the Dunes Hotel and the dealers plus the floor persons where included in an equal share of the tips. It made the game the most desirous of games to work.

(Bye the way if you are doing some currency (paper) effects, the best thing to use to make the bills slippery is tailor’s Soap. That’s what we used in Baccarat.)

The following confidential memo was circulated by a large casino in Lake Tahoe in the 1970's concerning some abnormal play in the baccarat game:

“The following subjects (names purposely deleted), were involved in a baccarat play at (deleted), Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Management feels that the casino was cheated, however, the method used has not been determined. The two subjects cashed out approximately $200,000.00, after playing for over 12 hours. The subjects sat in positions three and ten, varying their bets from a few hundred dollars to $2,000.00.”
What happened? Was the casino cheated? The answer is told as we get into the story of.......Madame Yu.


The Tahoe scam is very similar to a scam that this author uncovered at the Imperial Palace Hotel, in Las Vegas in 1980’s. Here is how it went....

I owned and operated a small casino for several years and was doing quite well until I found out the landlords would not renew my lease. The landlord group had operated it as a bar and pool hall without gambling. They saw something new in live gaming and thought they could operate a casino. So I decided to sell the business and take it easy for a year.

My closest friend owned Paul-Son Dice and Card Company and he was a very close friend of Ralph and Richard Engelstad, operators of the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino. Tom Endy introduced me to them.

They wanted to open a baccarat game and my job was to assist the General Manager and the Casino Manager in setting up the game. After a few meetings, I give them some direction of the different ways that the game could be operated. I furnished rules and procedures for operating the game, including dealing/floor person proceedures that would safeguard the game against cheaters, both on the inside and on the outside.

I was asked by management if I would like to work in the baccarat game, and I accepted. I then was told that I would be called in very shortly to be processed. I waited and waited for the telephone call. It didn't come. I called the Casino Manager and was told that he didn't have a position for me. I sensed that something was wrong and immediately arranged a meeting with the General Manager and the Casino Manager to see if I could possibly figure out why my services were no longer needed.

I soon found out that I was the only outsider that was considered for a position in the baccarat game, and that the rest of the crew was hand picked by the newly appointed baccarat manager. In gaming anything can happen, and it did. The man that they picked as the baccarat manager never had any direct baccarat experience in Las Vegas. That is, he was never a floorman or even a dealer. I thought in my mind, "Does this person have the experience necessary for a high rolling baccarat game?"

After letting Richard Engelstad and Tom Endy about what was going on they overulled the Casino Manager and I was finally hired, and placed in the position as floorman. I had more experience in the game than anyone working in the entire pit. I sensed though that I was an outsider. I was not treated as part of the crew or felt welcome. I was given nothing but a hard time from the moment I walked into the job. I was the only person that was not hired by the baccarat manager.

We planned a soft opening, however that night we had quite a bit of business for a new baccarat game, especially since we didn't advertise the opening. An interesting lady sat down to play. She was adorned with very expensive jewelry and had on the finest garments. Her name was even interesting, Madame Yu. Oriental looking and very charming was Madame Yu, and we were happy to have found a very good high rolling baccarat player. She deposited $10,000 in the cashier's cage to play against. That is, she would draw markers at the table which would be deducted from the total deposit in the cage.

Madame Yu gave one the impression that she was a big player and very affluent. She did have a lot of money and she did play heavy, but I sensed something wrong with her "act". Her purse was not expensive and didn't match the rest of her dress. She looked oriental, but the more I observed her the more convinced I was that she was trying to convey to us that she was an oriental, which in fact she wasn't. Her play was hot and cold as far as were she placed her bets. That is she would play the bank side and then switch her wager suddenly to the player side. Sometimes she would switch in the middle of a hand after the cards were already dealt. According to the proper rules, switching is not permitted after a card has been dealt from the baccarat shoe. Occasionally one courtesy switch
is permitted, but never a continuous switch.

I felt that she was not complying with the rules and I was over ruled by the shift manager. I was told to let her play the way she wanted. This was against my grain, and a very dangerous thing for the house. I might point out that the dealers were being tipped very heavily. Note: Heavy tipping is a natural way to mis-direct improper playing methods. Dealers will tend to overlook procedures. Nobody wanted to rock the boat. I felt that the casino was not being given a fair shake, however I was constantly over ruled by the immediate baccarat management.

THE TIP OFF

I finally noticed that every time that Madame Yu sat down to play, two other gentlemen also sat down to play, and always in the same seats. I became very suspicious and made every attempt to talk to the men and Madame Yu, hoping to get the slightest clue as to what was the scam. One man was an oriental and the other was red headed, both about 50 years of age. The red headed man, I shall call Tony, told me that he was a designer and handled wall coverings. He would even go over to the walls in the baccarat pit and talk as if he knew exactly the brand of paper and the manufacturer. He was a master of deceit.

The oriental man would not engage in any conversation at all. He would just smile or stare at me.

I once again brought my suspicions to the attention of my supervisors, I was told that I was paranoid. Again I gave my full attention to the developing problem. That evening, Madame Yu began losing which made my theory look very bad. At the close of the evening however, she did win a little, and had given the dealers thousands in gratuities.

I recalled how giving tips has been used as a decoy in many casino scams. The dealers and floormen become blind with greed to see anything out of the ordinary. It never fails.

The following morning, Madame Yu returned to the game bearing a gift for the shift manager and me. I was honored with a solid sterling silver Gucci pen. I still have the pen as a reminder. I thought, beware of Greeks bearing gifts. I became even more cautious.

Finally I caught one of the gentlemen flashing the cards after they were dealt to the player sitting opposite him. (The cards are dealt as follows: one face down to player side, one face down to bank side, one face down to player side and one face down to bank side.) When the cards are dealt to the bank side they are supposed to be slid under the outside corner of the shoe. In this case the gentleman let both cards lay on the table overlapping slightly on the table. He then would slide both cards together under the shoe. At that moment as he slid the cards under, he slightly raised the outside corners allowing a very slight flash or view of the indices of the cards to the player sitting opposite him. That was the move. All of a sudden I just clicked and picked up the move. It was quick and almost imperceptible.

That player would secretly signal to Madame Yu, who was at the other end of the table. She would act like she was not even watching the game, and ask to have her bet switched from the bank side to the player side, or to put down a bet after the cards were already out. She was a master! This was one of the most clever schemes I have ever seen. No marked cards. No
extra cards. No gaffs of any kind. The floorman allowed the changing of the bets, he technically allowed the scam to happen.


When they could determine the value of the player hand, they would know which hand would probably win. It was a simple matter of switching bets. They won quite a bit of money doing this before I raised enough eyebrows to stop the play.

The following week all three individuals returned to play. Also at the table were four Nevada Gaming Control Agents. All parties were arrested right at the table. One of the culprits confessing and confirming my theories.
Several questions still remain unanswered. Was there anyone else involved in the operation beside the trio? How did they know that the baccarat game was being opened in the casino? Actually those questions are not mysteries. Just put 2 and 2 together.

A Jimmy Grippo Caesars Palace Story

Here is an interesting story about Jimmy Grippo that I would have never found out about for not having a conversation with one of the original owners of Caesars Palace.

I first became acquainted with Jimmy Grippo in the late 60’s while I was working in the Dunes baccarat pit. He was a friend of many people at the Dunes Hotel and would stop in the evening after working at Caesars Palace and do a few tricks right on the baccarat table. I would always miss him, because of my day off or working hours.
Then I decided to go to Caesars and meet him. I made reservations in the Bacchanal Room where Jimmy performed by request. He stayed at my table for almost two hours and that was a beginning of a wonderful friendship. I was in awe of his magic and could not believe my eyes. His talent with cards, coins, and other items, coupled with his unique personality, were beyond belief. I had never seen a close-up magician of this caliber.
Jimmy’s master of the card index was one of his greatest feats. I watched and watched. I couldn’t catch a clue. Other friends of mine who watched him posed the theory that he was using a card index. Yes, but what kind? How was it made? I asked myself many questions. I never could get the right answers.
I searched every magic book available to me and found very little information on the index, other than a line drawing sketch of the apparatus. I don’t believe I ever found an actual photograph of the item. I found a set of indexes for sale from Supreme in England. I purchased them and found out very quickly that Mr. Grippo could not be using this sort of contraption. His method was too smooth and too quick.
Jimmy would always invite me to Caesars in the evening to hang around with him at the Palace Court, one of the most lavish restaurants at Caesars Palace. Many nights he would allow me to entertain guests for him, if he had to go to a special request performance in the hotel.
Morrie Jaeger a casino boss at Caesars recently told me a Jimmy Grippo story that would have been lost forever. A Caesars Palace casino employee found an unusual card holding device in one of the many public restrooms in Caesars. The first inclination that this holder was left in the restroom by mistake and probably for sure was a cheating device that a card mucker would use in the casino. Card mucking is a cheating method for switching cards. The men’s room attendant thought for sure he was on to something, especially since the holder had regulation Caesars Palace cards in place. Jaeger was notified and examined the device. Neither he nor any other experience casino personnel could identify its use.
No one was allowed to have a deck of Caesars cards unless they were cancelled.
So he called Jimmy Grippo asking him for his input. Alas Jimmy put their fears to rest. He had left it in the restroom. Jimmy did not explain the use of the item, but simply picked it up and left.
Only at Caesars……………