Casinos are synonymous with games, money and luxury. However, they have also been the scene of numerous cases of cheating and fraud throughout their history. In this article, we invite you to discover some of the biggest scandals to have marked the world of casinos.
Table of Contents
Richard Marcus: the Master of Token Fraud
This famous American cheater is considered one of the greatest casino scammers of the 20th century. For more than 20 years, Richard Marcus managed to deceive the vigilance of dealers and security agents. He used a well-established technique called “pastposting”.
This method involved betting with low value chips on the gaming table and then discreetly replacing them with higher value chips if the bet won. Thus, he pocketed much larger gains than he normally should.
The Fall of Richard Marcus
It was in 1999 that luck changed for Richard Marcus. While he tries his past posting technique once again in a large casino in Las Vegas, a security agent spots him and arrests him. He will be fined $5,000 and banned for life from the city’s casinos.
The Campione d’Italia Casino Scandal
This Italian casino located near the Swiss border was the scene of a huge financial and legal scandal in the 2000s. Several casino employees, including dealers and other staff, were involved in a vast network of cheating and corruption.
The cheating System Put In Place
The employees involved had set up a system to manipulate card games so that certain players could achieve large winnings. To do this, they used marked cards and hidden electronic devices to rig the results.
In total, more than 50 people were charged, including several senior casino officials.
The Affair of Chinese Dealers In British Casinos
In the 1990s, a series of cheating scandals involving Chinese dealers rocked UK casinos. Croupiers were recruited by Asian criminal groups. They infiltrated casinos and set up sophisticated cheating schemes.
They thus took advantage of flaws in the system. That allowed their organization to earn enormous sums of money.
How Did Dealers Cheat?
The methods used by these croupiers to cheat were diverse. Manipulation of chips and cards, use of electronic devices or even collusion with other casino employees. Some of them even went so far as to bribe security agents to escape the vigilance of the authorities.
The Tran Organization Casino Scandal
This affair broke out in 2007 in the United States. It involves a Vietnamese criminal group, the Tran Organization. This gang had managed to infiltrate several American casinos. They set up very elaborate cheating systems, allowing them to win astronomical winnings.
This historic event has had a profound influence on how online platforms, such as the bizzo-Casino app, implement and enhance their security measures. Specifically, Slovenia Bizzo-Casino, a prominent player in the digital gambling space, has leveraged this cautionary tale to bolster its own defenses, ensuring that the integrity of its games remains unassailable.
The Method Used By the Tran Organization
One of the most effective cheating techniques of this group involved intercepting decks of cards before they reached the dealers’ hands and then marking them with invisible ink. The gang members then used special glasses to read these marks and thus know their opponents’ cards.
In total, more than 40 casinos were affected by this scandal, and the estimated losses are in the millions of dollars.
Several members of the Tran Organization were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms.
In conclusion, casino cheating and fraud scandals have taken various forms over the years, often involving sophisticated techniques and organized criminal networks. The development of online casinos and new types of secure games like Plinko or the chicken game now limits the possibilities of casino scams from people with bad intentions.
However, despite the reinforced security measures put in place by establishments, it is certain that new scandals will continue to break out in the future, thus testifying to the fascination that casinos exert and the human desire to try one’s luck to win the jackpot.
