{"id":1635,"date":"2018-06-06T10:30:04","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T10:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/?p=1635"},"modified":"2024-04-04T11:32:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T11:32:03","slug":"top-4-infamous-casino-cheats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planet7casino.com\/fun-time\/top-4-infamous-casino-cheats\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 4 Most Infamous Casino Cheats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
All of us can easily call to mind the images of various elaborate schemes. They’re pulled off by teams of smooth criminals with impossibly fool proof plans and clever quips. But in reality, the classic casino robbery is a pretty uncommon spectacle. Due to increasingly sophisticated security systems, heists have become less common and much more difficult to pull off. But some casino cheats have managed to game the system over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Intelligent people who are driven by motivation to outsmart casinos must engineer new, innovative ways. You\u2019ve probably heard the story of a group of MIT college student card counters<\/a>. But the thing is, they weren\u2019t actually even cheaters. They weren\u2019t tricking anybody; the casinos knew what they were up to. They were just managing to avoid being identified and stopped. Or, when those players were identified and banned, new members joined quickly enough to take their places seamlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read on for some truly entertaining stories about infamous casino cheats who gave casinos a run for their money, including insider information about the MIT team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Involved Parties:<\/u> Monique Laurent, her husband, and her brother<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Casino Game:<\/u> Roulette<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Basic Strategy<\/u>: Radio transmitters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winnings:<\/u> 5 million francs, the equivalent of approximately 1 million dollars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Location:<\/u> Deauville Casino \u2013 Deauville, France<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Although she wasn\u2019t actually the mastermind behind the plan, Monique Laurent was the essential link that pulled everything together into one seamless operation. In fact, although it was her brother who devised this clever scheme, Monique Laurent is the one who has remained relatively famous in the casino world, or shall we saw infamous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why was Monique Laurent the key figure to go down in history for this scheme? Well, first, she\u2019s said to have been an exceptionally beautiful woman. And second, without her key role, the roulette cheat never would have worked. But then again, the scam also never would have been discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1973, Monique Laurent\u2019s brother was a roulette croupier at the Deauville Casino in France. He also happened to have a radio technology hobby, and the scam was simple \u2013 on the surface, it involved just a pack of cigarettes and a roulette ball. But in reality, that pack of cigarettes was a device that contained a radio transmitter, and the roulette ball contained a receiver. All that needed to happen was for Monique\u2019s brother to replace the roulette ball with his own, then her husband would place bets at the table within a range of six numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once everything was in place, Laurent would simply push a button on the \u201cpack of Marlboros,\u201d causing the ball to land within that specific set of numbers on the wheel. The device had an impressive accuracy rate of 90%, and the team won 5 million francs in the course of a single week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how did their arrangement end, and what did Monique Laurent have to do with it? They were doing everything right \u2013 no unexpected mishaps or close calls. But they didn\u2019t count on the impact that Monique\u2019s good looks would have. Any operation of this kind requires the ability to blend into the crowd and remain unnoticed, but her striking physical appearance turned out to be a disadvantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enamored with her beauty, the casino owner noticed Laurent sitting at a roulette table one day. He approached her, and though she rejected his advances, it wasn\u2019t long before he saw her regularly. She visited the casino relatively frequently, always sitting at the same roulette table close to the table in question and placing consistently conservative bets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another key detail: the casino owner never saw Laurent actually take a cigarette out of her pack and smoke it. Now at this point, the casino had already dismantled the roulette wheel in order to examine whether there was any evidence of a malfunction, bias, or tampering. They\u2019d also scrutinized the dealer for signs of cheating, without any success. When they noticed Monique Laurent, however, they began to suspect a team effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If not for Monique Laurent\u2019s captivating beauty, perhaps the team would have gone on to cheat the casino out of millions more. As it was, law enforcement discovered their arrangement arrested them. Though none of them ended up serving jail time because they agreed to return their winnings. Their story eventually inspired \u201cLes Tricheurs,\u201d a 1984 French film about cheating scandals and gambling addiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Involved Parties:<\/u> J.P. Massar, Bill Kaplan, John Chang, Mike Aponte, Jeff Ma, Semyon Dukach, and others<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Casino Game:<\/u> Blackjack<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Basic Strategy:<\/u> Card counting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winnings:<\/u> Approximately 6 to 10 million dollars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Location:<\/u> Casinos in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Canada<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most widely known examples of casino cheats who succeeded in cheating casinos out of millions isn\u2019t just one individual. The MIT blackjack team was a group, and their activities weren\u2019t technically an example of cheating at all. Blackjack card counting<\/a> is legal \u2013 it\u2019s just that casinos have every right to kick you out or even ban you from re-entering the casino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recent developments in card counting strategies meant that a huge wave of people was learning to play blackjack. Among these people were a handful of students from MIT, highly intelligent individuals with the ability to perfect their strategies and make a significant amount of money as a team. Over the course of its existence, the group grew to massive proportions: it had approximately 80 players towards the end of its run, and at some points, there were about 30 members simultaneously playing blackjack<\/a> at casinos all around the globe. As a team, they meticulously developed various card-counting techniques that evolved over time, managing to win millions over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the glamorous portrayals, being a part of this team was a grueling job. You had to be on top of your game at all times, and the pressure, time, and energy caused players to burn out relatively quickly. Due to its size and potential for profit, the team ran the scam like a business. But the operation eventually ran its course. In all, they operated from 1979 to 1993, after which they split off into the Amphibians and the Reptiles. These two independent teams both split apart by the year 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s such a compelling story that it inspired the New York Times bestseller \u201cBringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions\u201d. There was even a subsequent film adaptation called \u201c21.\u201d<\/a> Both were criticized for a significant number of inaccuracies and dramatizations. But they undoubtedly contributed even more to the fame and enduring popularity of this unbelievable story about a group of smart kids gaming the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Involved Parties:<\/u> Phuong Quoc Truong, Van Thu Tran, Tai Khiem Tran, and others<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Casino Game:<\/u> Mini-baccarat and Blackjack<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Basic Strategy:<\/u> False shuffles, communication with corrupt dealers through wireless microphones and earpieces<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winnings:<\/u> Approximately 7 million dollars<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Location:<\/u> 29 casinos total, 28 within the United States and 1 in Canada<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Interested in more massive group efforts? Look into the Tran Organization, led by Phuong Quoc \u201cPai Gao John\u201d Truong with help from his wife, Van Thu Tran, and many of her family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With prior experience as card dealers, Truong and his family had insider knowledge regarding how casinos worked. The premise was simple. They bribed card dealers to perform false shuffles so that they could communicate the order of cards in the deck to players beforehand. They applied this method to mini-baccarat and blackjack, with players using mics and earpieces to work with their collaborators, relying on computer technology to calculate the probability of cards reappearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Casino operators were left baffled. They often didn\u2019t even realize they\u2019d been cheated until after the group was long gone. With the strong suspicion that they were the victims of a larger scheme, a few of these casinos went to the FBI for help. \u201cOperation Tran Wreck\u201d was ultimately a success. That’s because Truong was stingy with the dealers they partnered with. Soon, those dealers became FBI informants who ultimately brought the Tran Organization down in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All in all, they swindled approximately seven million dollars out of casinos. Unlike the MIT Blackjack players who were technically not breaking the law, this organization planned serious clear-cut cheating. A total of 47 people were indicted of the crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n4 – The French Cigarette Pack Scam<\/h2>\n\n\n
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How it worked<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How it ended<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3 – The MIT Blackjack Team<\/h2>\n\n\n
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How it worked<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How it ended<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2 – The Tran Organization<\/h2>\n\n\n
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How it worked<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How it ended<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1 – Tommy Glenn Carmichael<\/h2>\n\n\n