ON - “Gaming pro teaches casino staff to watch for cheaters”
ALISON LANGLEY, Niagara Falls Review, Tuesday, May 29, 2007
As a child, Sal Piacente’s father taught him the secrets of the three card monte so he wouldn’t be swindled by it on the streets of Brooklyn.
Intrigued by the scam, Piacente began to practice card-cheating techniques. He studied every card, dice and gaming book he could get his hands on. His passion for knowledge of the different ways to cheat at casino games grew so tremendously he made a career of it.
But not in the way one might expect.
The 43-year-old has been a security consultant for the gaming industry since the late 1980s and is currently president of UniverSal Game Protection Development Inc.
The Kentucky resident is in Niagara this week to host a number of seminars for supervisors and dealers at Casino Niagara and Fallsview Casino Resort. Piacente teaches cheating methods - specifically, how to detect and prevent them.
This is the third time in the last three months he has been in Niagara for table games training.
“Training sessions reinforce the importance of following procedures which are built around game protection,” said Greg Medulun, public relations manager for the Niagara casinos.
Piacente said the casino industry has experienced such rapid growth recently that finding employees knowledgeable enough to protect a gaming hall’s assets can be difficult.
“Casinos can have the greatest surveillance equipment in the world, but it’s only as good as the people who watch them,” said Piacente.
He said naive employees are an easy mark for casino cheats, who prey on their ignorance. Just last week, several employees at Casino Rama were arrested following a four-year investigation into an alleged international fraud ring.
Fifteen people were charged on both sides of the border, including a Niagara Falls resident. Niagara’s casinos were not involved in the investigation.
Police allege casino dealers were recruited to fix the outcomes of card games, resulting in at least $2 million in losses.
Investigators in the U.S. said the scam involved a sleight of hand technique known as a false shuffle.
“False shuffles make it look like the cards are being mixed, but they’re not,” Piacente said.
While the dealer might appear to be shuffling, he is actually not changing the order of the cards.
“They do the false shuffles when the pit boss isn’t watching. It’s all over in seconds,” he said.
Cards are manipulated in the shuffle in such a way they come off the top of the deck in a prescribed order. Clumps of unshuffled cards are called “slugs.”
An accomplice stands near the table, writing down the order in which the cards appear.
When the cards from the slugs begin to be dealt, members of the group bet on the known order of cards.
Piacente said casino employees - typically, baccarat dealers - can be paid between $2,000 and $5,000 for their involvement in the swindle.
He has also found cheaters who use high-tech devices to record the action on the table.
The tiny transmitters can be hidden in a cigarette package and will send images of the cards to a digital camcorder as they’re being dealt.
With all his inside knowledge, is he not tempted to put some of his talents into practice?
“The truth of the matter is, my name is more important to me,” he said.
And his visits to casinos are for business, not pleasure.
“If I win legitimately, people think I’m cheating. If I lose, I’m not that good at my job. It’s a no-win situation,” he said with a smile.
The Art of the Swindle
Sal Piacente, president of UniverSal Game Protection Development Inc., teaches casino employees what to look for to ensure they don’t fall victim to scams.
One fraud involves a dealer and uses a slight of hand technique known as a false shuffle.
- the dealer shuffles the cards, but is actually only shuffling certain cards;
- the cards come off the top of the deck in a prescribed order.
- an accomplice jots down the sequence in which the cards appear;
- the thieves bet on the known order of cards.Visit us on the web at alangley@nfreview.com
© 2007, Osprey Media
