wffiffi FESSII|NAT ffiffiWffiffiffi-ffi 7 WW W H :ES$I DFF lplNr rffiffi #I ffirffiW ffiffi ffi HANDBOOK c( The Professional Gambler's Handbook: Beating the System by Hook and by Crook by Weasel Murphy Copyright @ 1997 by Weasel Murphy CASI rsBN 0-87364-915-X Printed in the United States of America Published by Paladin Press, a division of Paladin Enterprises, Inc., P.O. Box 1307, Boulder, Colorado 80306, USA. (303) 443-72sO Direct inquiries and/or orders to the above address. PALADIN, PALADIN PRESS, and the "horse head" design are trademarks belonging to Paladin Enterprises and registered in United States Patent and Trademark Office. All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, no portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher. ST Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in this book. GONTENTS crook INTRODUCTION t 1 CHAPTER 1 CASINOS, CARD ROOMS, AND THE PEOPLE WHO RUN THEM t 3 CHAPTER 2 CHEATING WITH CARDS i 15 GHAPTER 3 SLOT MACHINES t 47 CHAPTER 4 CHEATING AT CRAPS T 65 CHAPTER 5 CARNIVAL GAMES T 89 CHAPTER 6 STREET CONS AND OTHER CHEATING METHODS S 97 CHAPTER 7 STAYING ONE UP ON THE IRS t 109 GLOSSARY T 113 Y WARNING ln This book is written for the sole purpose of entertainment and education. It is not the intention of the author to promote ato or condone cheating. Many methods described in this book chea are illegal in any legalized gambling establishment or legal- uatir ized games. Penalties for cheating vary from state to state and are i town to town. In most.cases, cheating in a legalized gaming 8am establishment is punishable as a felony. mac, som( AUTHOR'S DISCLAIMER adva have Various incidents, dates, names, and location of events k may have been altered to protect the innocent, guilty, and parti those who wish to remain anonymous. one' it's t there Peop a ver It gami state Casir cheat ing rn usual YI INTRODUGTION :ainment This book is written for everyone who has been cheated at one time or another Promote and for those who wish not to be his book cheated. how J<nowing to cheat is being able to ia".,iify u ,it_ or legal- uation where cheating is taking place. Mu^y games oiit rr,.. ;tate and are identified in rhis book, anJ methoa, oi.i"uti;;;;;i"r" gaming games are explained. As fast as the manufacturers o? gr*i"g machines add devices to. keep people from cheati;;;-i"*, is finding ways to bypiss t-h".,.* devices. aqvancement::T_*"" With the of technology in the surveillance area, have cheats found ways to evade-t-hem as well. ,f events Knowing how to manipurate cards and dice is an art. At ilty, and parties and family functioris, it,s entertaining to watch ,o*"_ one who can perform tricks with cards u.,i di.". it's underhanded artt."gt and somewhat immorar to cheat others, there is a sense of power just in knowing how to do it. Most people can master many of the tricks outlined in this book in a very short period of time. All it takes is practice. It cannot be overstated that cheating in legalized public gaming houses is illegal. penalties for"cheating state to state, but most viorations are considered"r;y.f.o* feronies. Casinos take seriously- the prosecutitn of pe.so.rr lr"gt t rl,11l: gr, sambling' activiti es, gettin g ca u ght chea t_ mg*:l::,t: wilI not bring about fines or jail terms. Tie peiarties are usually more severe. 1 Gl AI RI 1 gaml has c I! but v gaml throv two I o the e; Wash oPera game Many mach Vegas to hol In 10 ye Dowr such i boost. CHAPTER 1 GASINOS, GARD ROOMS, AND THE PEOPLE WHO RUN THETVI This chapter deals primarily with bits and pieces gambling about and its beginning. trrctuaea are views tne-auir,o. has on cheating and differerit typ", of gambling houses. A QUTCK HtsToRY TESSON M1.y different . opinions exist on when gambling started, but who really knowi? Cave men probably ilua ,o*?iyp" gambling of interest. I can visualize contests that involved throwing bones into a circre. "I bet six land in the circll-and two will be within a boar,s ear of the center.,, Op:"-qambling in the United States took a slow start in the., early 1800s, from New Orleans to San Francisco, and from Washington, D.C., to Toledo. As fast as casinos opened for operation, laws were introduced to make them ifielainig games of that periodwere-faro, craps, blackjack, ,"Epotur. Many establishments had slot machines. In the tgsos, pinball machines became popular They were still playing frro'ir., Lu, kFu? early in fhe 7970s. The Unionplazawas one of the last to hold a faro game. early 1930, Nevada legalized gambling, "would but it would be 10 years before casino. ga*U_ti.,g i'..o*" O;;;"r. Downtown clubs like the Er Coriez and ruxury rt.fo-tot.r, such as the El Rancho Vegas gave Nevaaa gamUtini itstig boost' Today, the Er Corteiis #u i.r operation and has one of THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK the best steak specials anywhere. The EI Rancho Vegas like burned to the ground and is presently a vacant lot across the CEC street from the Sahara. Although much is said about Las CASE Vegas, for many years Reno topped Las Vegas in gaming and big-l entertainment activity. At one time, Reno had the dubious A SIT distinction of being the divorce capital of the world. rolle Organized crime got its start in casino gaming in the mid- I 1940s with the opening of the Flamingo Hotel. This hotel was mak the mastermind and dream come true for the infamous the r "Brtgsy" Siegel. In its day, the Flamingo was the ultimate in exP( gambling atmosphere. As of this writing, the Hilton betr,r Corporation owns and operates the Flamingo. Rumor has it hotel Mr. Siegel built secret passages behind walls in the casino for long, his escape, should the need arise. As many know, the need Par.ir arose, but Mr. Siegel didn't make it. vour to ch DO CASINOS CHEAT? ,A of ch Of course they do. Most of the blatant cheating takes usua place in small, out-of-the-way places, and most of that cheat- the h ing is done by floor-level employees. It wouldn't be fair to most say cheating in major casinos is excessive, but the only reason for that is the Gaming Commission. An argument often used concerning whether big casinos cheat is, why? Why do they cheat when a1l the odds are in I their favor? Why do people place themselves in a position to \-egas lose their license to operate? Greed is one of many answers. Arabr Stealing just to get away with it is another. There's a saying These that answers why people in good positions cheat and steal: rr-oul "Which tastes better? A watermelon stolen from a melon There patch, or the one you had to buy in the store?" sheik chasir MAJOR CASINOS sheik greeti The operation of a major casino in today's environment is A( 4 CASINOS, CARD ROOMS, AND THE PEOPTE WHO RUN THEM Vegas l]I1u"y- other big business: almost all have stockholders, rss the CEos, a board years of directors, and so on. ago this wasnit the ut Las case. Many were run by organized crime finities or former ng and bigtime gamblersmakingerren bigger big time. In those days ubious a small-time gambler cou-ld e_njoy most oflne ambiance a high roller could: free buffets, fine shows, and inexperri,u" .oar,-r. ie mid- days .Those are gone. Corporations feei the necessity to lel was make money at every turn. Tilkets for shows u." ."pu*irr", lmous the cost. of dining is outrageous, and luxury .oo.r.,r'*a too nate in expensive for the average working .rrur,. Competition Iilton between these casino gianls is tremendous. several malor : has it hotels have built theme parks so families on vacation will no ino for longer !lp*r Las vegaibecause there's nothing for *re kids. e need Paying for these new idditions is extremery expEnsive. io ask yourself, would these expenses give management the motive to cheat now and then? Although_upper management does its share, many cases of. ch.eating take prace at th6 floor level. cheating at flo6r ierret takes usually I benefits the floor men and dealers u"[.ur"iy r,"rp, : cheat- the house. Reasons for these people cheating ,r" ,.,uir,y, Ur, fair to most often it comes down to pLin greed. reason FLEECING THE ARABS casinos ; are in I knew a dealer who worked at a major casino in Las ition to vegas who was calred on to do his handiwork whenever the 15\^/ers. Arabs came to town. I,m not_talking about the average Arab. saying These are the oil barons and .walkingtheir fairilies. Ten millioi dolars C steal: would be considered around money,, to tt melon There's joke a connected with thlse people that says ur.aruU"*. sheik and one of his wives went to an irt gallery. After pur_ c,haling several paintings valued at millio"ns sheik turned ,,Now to his wife and said, that"1a"jir.r,tin" we have the greeting cards, let's go buy some gifts.,, ment is According to this dealer and others in the know, it was 5 THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK normal practice to fleece these Arabs every time they came to rool town.