Meet These 4 'Successful' Cheaters

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Meet These 4 'Successful' Cheaters

Cheating is an art in itself. Where there is big money to be won, there are always people who will do everything they can to ensure that they are the ones who win those big jackpots. Below is a list of the 4 most high-profile American cheaters in casinos!

Of course, every casino, like doctor spins casino, tries to prevent cheaters, and today it is harder than ever. But there have been people in the past who have just outsmarted casinos. Below is a list of the 4 most high-profile American cheaters in casinos!

Tommy Glenn Carmichael

Tommy started his legendary cheating career as a TV repairman around 1980, receiving less and less business. When a friend gave him a small slot machine and a tool known as a top-and-bottom joint, he was inspired. This tool, consisting of two steel wires, is designed to connect the sensors in old slot machines and thus trigger the jackpot, without actually triggering it! He used this technique to win millions in Las Vegas in just a few years. As technology advanced in the larger casinos, he had to take these tools to the smaller casinos, where this trick still worked. He was soon caught there in 1996 and had to spend 5 years in jail.

Then he just went ahead and did something to bypass the random number generators... He came up with the Monkey Paw, a tool that could trigger the switches and generate a payout. The casinos continued to develop. When this no longer worked, it was time for the Light Wand, which could activate the sensors with a light. With a team of other people blocking the cameras at the right times and distracting bystanders, Tommy and his team were able to rake in $5 million in winnings every day. Until one day, thanks to new cameras, he was caught red-handed. There wasn't enough evidence to hold him for any length of time. He has since been in trouble with the law several times, until he was sentenced to a year in prison in 2000 for his cheating practices. Since then he is no longer welcome in Las Vegas, but he does make all kinds of protections for the new slot machines, so that cheating is no longer so easy. Episode 8 of the series ' Breaking Vegas ' is about the casino cheat Tommy Carmichel. The series can be seen on Amazon.com's Prime. 

Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus had come up with a clever way of cheating after he felt as if the casino was taking money from him too easily... He had gained experience as a croupier and especially knew what the croupiers looked out for. As a player, he simply sat down at the table and played the game the way you should play the game, without any frills. He had mastered 1 special technique. He bet low with small chips that did not attract the dealer's attention. As soon as he won, he started cheering as if he had won big. As he did this, he placed a chip under the pile of chips that was worth much more, so that his winnings were nice and big and his losing amounts always remained small. He did this until he retired in 2000, having earned around $7 million from his practices. The casinos were obviously not happy about that...

Nowadays, Richard Marcus is no longer a cheater, but a 'Casino Table Protection Consultant', as can be read on his Linkedin. He has also written a book 'The Great Casino Heist' and regularly gives interviews.

Ronald Harris

Ronald Harris had a lot of courage and knowledge, and with that he managed to earn thousands of dollars in the 1990s. He worked as a programmer for the Nevada Gaming Control Board. There he was responsible, among other things, for detecting weaknesses and bugs in the various systems of all kinds of slot machines and gaming machines. He used his knowledge of programming to modify and customize certain slot machines.

After secretly modifying these slot machines, his plan could start. Ronald and his buddies went to the casinos and always managed to trigger wins on the modified slot machines. They did this by throwing a specific amount of coins into the machine in a certain order. Due to the adjustments in the code of the machines, they always released the jackpot by placing money in this way. A kind of cheat code, so to speak. Ultimately he was caught and after 2 years he was free again, but they no longer want to see his face on the Las Vegas strip; he is banned from entering casinos.

Dennis Nikrasch

Dennis Nikrasch (1941 - 2010) has won $15 million over his entire cheating career. While working as a locksmith, he discovered that he could recognize the locks from the outside, and therefore knew exactly how to open them with some tools. According to rumors, he previously used these skills to do a few jobs in the name of the mafia in Chicago. He did this until he was caught during a robbery and had to suffer for 10 years.

Fresh out of prison and with no money, he headed to Las Vegas. However, he didn't win much and started to wonder if there was anything he could do to ensure that he could pocket those nice jackpots. Thanks to a team of friends, he went into the casinos and opened the slot machines while the rest of the casino was distracted. He then installed a chip that ensured that the slot machine always gave away wins. The problem was the fact that this chip had to be inserted manually every time.

Things went relatively smoothly for the group, and they were not caught or interrogated. However, Dennis' accomplices were not satisfied with the way the loot was distributed. This unrest prompted one of his accomplices to go to the FBI in 1998 to inform them of the group's illegal practices. It didn't take long before Dennis was caught, and he was sent to prison for 7.5 years. After release in 2004, he lived a seemingly quiet life and died in 2010.

More stories about casino cheaters can be seen in the 'Breaking Vegas' series. Unfortunately, this series is not currently available in the UK. There are a number of episodes available on YouTube.