The gambling industry has always attracted the attention of honest players and those seeking to circumvent the system. Some scams are so large-scale and ingenious that they leave a trace in history. Let’s look at 5 of the most high-profile casino and poker fraud scandals.
Fake chips at the Borgata Winter Open
In 2014, the Borgata Winter Open poker tournament was the center of a scandal due to Christian Lusardi’s actions. The player introduced fake chips into the game to increase his stack. The organizers discovered the excess chips and launched an investigation during the tournament.
In an attempt to remove the evidence, Lusardi flushed the fake chips down the toilet, causing the pipes to clog. That was the key to exposing him. Chips worth $2.7 million were found in the pipes. The tournament had to be stopped, and Lusardi was arrested. He later admitted to introducing $800,000 worth of counterfeit chips into the game.
Internal scam at Bellagio
Bellagio Casino, known for its security, fell victim to an internal scam in 2016. Croupier Mark William Branco, along with two accomplices, devised a scheme to cheat at craps.
The scheme was simple: the accomplices would place odd bets, and Branco would pay them winnings regardless of the outcome of the throw. The scam lasted more than two years and earned the crooks more than a million dollars.
Suspicions arose when statistics showed an incredible series of “correct” bets. The trio was exposed and received prison terms with the obligation to compensate for the damage to the casino. And after a few more years, the man was blacklisted by the state of Nevada.
Video poker software glitch
In 2009, John Kane discovered a vulnerability in the Game King video poker machines. Together with his friend Andre Nestor, they used the bug to win over $500,000 at various casinos in the United States.
The essence of the bug was the ability to change the denomination of credits after a big win. Players could place a $1 bet and then increase it to $10 or $20, receiving huge payouts.
Despite being arrested, Kane and Nestor avoided conviction. Their defense was that they simply pushed buttons without using external devices or tampering with the machines.
Since then, video poker has become much safer. And we are talking about its modern variations in online casinos as well. Well-known brands such as 4rabet or Megapari invest a lot of money in improving the security of the games. And since they have licenses, the user can not worry about the originality of all the software, which well-known providers supply.
As an example, we decided to download 4rabet on your phone, as most of the positive reviews players left about this application were positive. Analyzing the games and their developers proved the high level of the software. Therefore, today, when playing at a popular online casino, you should not even think about running any fraudulent schemes. Any suspicious actions become a reason to ban the account with all the money in it.
Mike Postle Scandal
One of the most high-profile poker scandals was the Mike Postle story at Stones Gambling Hall in 2018-2019. Postle had incredible results in live games, raising suspicion among other players.
Veronica Brill publicly accused Postle of cheating, suggesting he had access to the RFID chip data in the cards. Despite the lack of direct evidence, the poker community was convinced of foul play.
The trials did not result in a conviction, but Postle’s reputation was severely damaged. The story ended with a confidential settlement in 2021.
A security expert defrauded slot machines.
Ronald Dale Harris, an employee of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, used his knowledge to create vulnerabilities in slot machines. In the early 1990s, he altered the source code of some machines, allowing for large winnings with a certain sequence of coin inputs.
Harris shared the secret with accomplices who won hundreds of thousands of dollars at Las Vegas casinos. The scam was uncovered when one of the accomplices was caught cheating at a keno game in Atlantic City.
Harris received seven years in prison and was placed on a “black book” banning him from Las Vegas casinos
