Like the exploits of criminal masterminds out of a movie or a novel, there have been some pretty elaborate scams pulled on casinos around the world in the past.
Here are three of the most infamous casino cheats to ever walk through a casino door.
Tommy Glenn Carmichael
With the subject of casino cheats and the name of Tommy Glenn Carmichael will always come up. Although there are other cheaters who have stolen a lot more, it’s the manner in which he did it that makes him stand out.
In the 80s, and over following decade, Tommy, a television repairman by day, swindled millions out of casino slot machines in and around Las Vegas. He did this by using various devious and inventive devices and methods entirely of his own creation, while somehow also skillfully managing to avoid the cameras.
Although he was caught and did jail-time on several occasions, it was not until 1999, after being sentenced to a lengthy prison term, and likely facing more, that Tommy eventually agreed to turn over a new leaf.
He now works with casinos, rather than against them, in creating anti-cheating devices for slot machines. Although he is, understandably, banned from ever playing in them again.
Richard Marcus
Richard Marcus is notable amongst the most infamous of cheaters, as he was never actually caught. Self proclaimed inventor of best casino cheats ever, he apparently spent over twenty years visiting casinos, learning their weaknesses and inventing ways to exploit them.
One of his most notorious inventions was a way to win up to $500 000 on the roulette table using a modified slight-of-hand cheating technique called past-posting, together with an elaborate drunk act. His method was so well thought out, that, even though he was caught several times, there wasn’t ever enough evidence to pin on him.
In fact, it was only because he later decided to quit cheating and write a book detailing all of his exploits, that the world even knows who he is.
Today, he also works with casinos, devising methods to protect them from cheaters, and, like Carmichael, he is also banned from playing in them ever again.
Monique Laurent
Chief coordinator of the infamous “French Cigarette Pack Sam” of 1973, Monique Laurent, along with her crew, managed to swindle over $1 million from roulette tables at Deauville Casino in France. Not a small amount for its time by any means.
Her rather ingenious method involved a rogue roulette dealer and some very sophisticated equipment, well ahead of its time and worthy of a spy movie.
As legend goes, it was only because of her great beauty that they were eventually caught. The casino owner himself had taken a fancy to her, and, after she’d repeatedly rebuffed his advances, he eventually grew suspicious.
Following her arrest, along with her accomplices which included her husband and brother, Laurent became somewhat of a celebrity in France, both for the ingenuity of the scam, and her good looks. She was dubbed “La Belle Voleuse” (The Beautiful Thief).