Welcome to Casino Surveillance News, the first and longest-running online trade letter for Casino Surveillance and Security. With this issue I am adding something to the website that I have been thinking about for a long time. I am adding a set of pages specifically devoted to cheating devices. This will include slots devices, table game devices, and anything else for which I can dig up photos and a story on how it is used. It may also include a few specific links to other sites where information is published on these scams. I will NOT publish links to sites where illegal devices are sold. Watch for the new pages, under "Training Materials" in the site directory in the right column. I'm going to post photos of some of the old ones and any new ones I can come up with, along with an explanation of the scams. Obviously this is not something I can do in one day, so look for updates each month when I send you the newsletter. This is also an invitation for people to send photos and a story. It is totally up to you whether the originator is published with the story, or the place where the device was found in use. If you say "don't put in my name," or "don't put in my casino," I won't. Some of mine are so ancient that the place of origin is too vague to publish, or they were used in so many places that it doesn't matter. That's just what happens when you and your partners spend the better part of three decades accumulating information. If nothing else, some of those antique devices are highly amusing. I have started building these pages, and you can find them listed in the right column under "Training materials--Slots cheating devices" Please send photos, together with some description of how the scam works. I am really tired of holding on to information in hopes that someone will buy the training programs in which these are included. Since these are such a small part of the training packages, I am presenting them free to anyone who visits the site. We can all learn from these, and of course one of the things we can learn is that the cheaters work harder than anyone in order to create and work a scam. The news-only portion can be seen at http://casinosurveillancenews.com/newsletter-2

CSN News:

Currently Available Programs:

CSN's complete, on-site, one-payment permanent training program, customized for YOUR casino operation, can still be set up for you. We can accommodate privately owned, corporate, or tribally owned casinos outside of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Please see what is available at this page: http://casinosurveillancenews.com/surveillance-training-programs The training programs involve operating in the real world of gaming, in the prevention and detection of real-world scams and other threats to the actual bottom line of the casino. I am still acquiring experience, as we all do, in the delivery of training. Most recent experience is in exactly how basic I have to go in order to train people effectively to protect the games and the casino. My training in Surveillance has been among the most basic and complete delivered anywhere, for many years. Recent experience shows how very much it matters to go deeply fundamental with training in the actual mechanics and procedures of table games, slots, cage and security operations. Please visit these addresses for details of the available, customizable training plans: http://casinosurveillancenews.com/surveillance-training-programs http://casinosurveillancenews.com/training-materials/available-classes WE STILL SET THE STANDARDS FOR TRAINING OF CASINO SURVEILLANCE and for BASIC SECURITY TRAINING FOR CASINOS: Contact jimgoding@casinosurveillancenews.com * * *

Keynote Article:

This month, rather than writing an article of fact, conclusions from experience and opinion---since I am sure many of you are tired of hearing my opinions and conclusions---I am going to add some pages to the site dedicated to cheating devices. This will be the first of several such. The first pages are devoted to slots cheating devices, both historical and current. Some of the older devices are truly antiques, and will never be seen again. They are devoted to coin machines. The only time we will see these again is if we set up "legacy" sections, where guests can play machines left over (or in some cases redeveloped) from the old-time coin-in slots. The newer devices are much more current, and each one has been detected in use at least once in some part of the country or the wider world, including Europe and Asia. There are lessons involved in all of these, and the most important one is that, while some of these devices are simplistic and even quite dumb, they still worked, and were developed according to the technology of the time. Newer devices, too, were developed as soon---and sometimes before---the gaming machines even hit the casino floor. Last, I am inviting people to send photos of any devices, whether slots, table games, card games, or otherwise. Recently found have been some holdout devices used on baccarat (keep in touch), similar to devices sold through mail order at the turn of the LAST century (1800-1900). Remember: the bad guys work as hard or harder than we do. They might not be geniuses, but they do find work-arounds that allow them to violate the laws and get away with it, at least for a limited time. If you have cheating devices---slots, table games, computer hacks for casinos, or knowledge of any of this---please send photos, in JPG format, along with a description of the scam. With your permission, we will publish so that many others can benefit. These will not be sold but will become freely available on this site. Copyright 2010 by Jim Goding. All rights reserved under US and international copyright laws. Unauthorized publication or duplication is a violated of law and of the rights of the author.

It's News Time:

Busts and Scams:

By jamming an allen wrench into slot machines in a specific location, two men were able to run up $1700 in winnings with no investment whatever. See the story Three people accused in Cincinnati of robbing gambling winners from the Hollywood Casino could be connected to a similar case from June 2009. See the story Two men followed a casino winner as he rode home in a cab from Philadelphia's Sugarhouse Casino, assaulted and attempted to rob him. See the story (Note: this story includes Surveillance photos of the robbers, which NE USA casino Surveillance people may find of interest.) An undercover operation into a string of armed robberies of Indiana casino winners has led to three arrests. See the story Miami police cracked down on illegal gambling machines found at some convenience stores and mom-and-pop shops, which investigators said cheated players out of their cash. See the story (Note: this is the story when illegal, unregulated gambling occurs. It applies to both brick-and-mortar illegal operations and online gambling when unregulated.) A blackjack dealer at Mystic Lake Casino was charged with gambling fraud after he allegedly paid more than $18,500 to losing hands. See the story at http://www.plamerican.com/blackjack-dealer-charged-fraud-110 An admitted gambling addict has lost his court bid to make the Sydney casino and Nova Scotia government responsible for the $500,000 he gambled away over three years. See the story A Louisiana drop-and-count team manager was arrested for theft from casino ticket redemption kiosks. It also appears he was a candidate in a local school board election. See the story (Note: Looks like he qualifies better for politician than he does for casino employment.)

Other Casino News:

The Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh is apologizing for a computer glitch that mistakenly gave all slot machine players $1,000 worth of free credits for a few fleeting moments. See the story (Hmmm---wonder if any of the IT or promotions or slot tech's friends got in on this before it was discovered . . . . ) That's all for this month, Folks. Sponsors for this newsletter: Casino Surveillance Operations Manual and Gaming Glossary: inquire with consultant@casinosurveillancenews.com If you cannot access the Internet site casinosurveillancenews.com from the computer where you receive the newsletter, please re-subscribe from your home address or other email address. Many of my subscribers may have restrictions on their internet access at work. You can now subscribe to the newsletters from any page of the website at www.casinosurveillancenews.com Mailing List Policy: Our mailing list will never be sold to ANYONE, and we will never send spam. No special mailings will go out for advertising purposes, unless I judge that it will be of real use and real benefit to you, the readers. The only use for this list will be the newsletter and any major flash that looks important enough that you will all want to know. Copyright © 2009 by Jim Goding. All rights reserved. Unauthorized sales or duplication by any means is a violation of law and of the proprietary rights of the author. Purchase this author’s work at www.casinosurveillancenews.com.