slickslotster

September 15, 2003 11:26 PM

How to win at slots: Cheat "Carmichael is no two-bit slot cheat. Authorities have anointed him one of the best, a master inventor who conspired with an elite group of thieves to steal millions from casinos. "
posted by srboisvert (16 comments total)

What goes around comes around. All slot machines have a 2% bias toward the house. Should casino owners be arrested for "cheating?"

The "creative gambling" legislation written into federal laws is ridiculous. If you use a cheating device to get $35 out of a nickel slot machine, you should be arrested for stealing $35, not for pointing out vulnerabilities in the gaming industry. This guy is only as guilty as the money he stole. Putting him in federal prison and devoting a team of FBI agents to his investigation is overkill.
posted by PrinceValium at 12:10 AM on September 16, 2003

Um, he stole just a little bit a bit more than $35. In any case, he knowingly and deliberately broke the law and has to face the consequences.
posted by dg at 12:28 AM on September 16, 2003

He drove a Jaguar JX6.

I DON'T THINK SO.

.....god I need a life....
posted by Frasermoo at 3:46 AM on September 16, 2003

Interesting story, though I wish it were better written.
posted by cortex at 5:20 AM on September 16, 2003

The house edge varies, PrinceValium. Some video poker pay tables, perfectly played, actually give a slight edge to the player. Many variants only give the house a fraction of a percent (again, assuming perfect strategy.) Combined with a good slot club, one can break even or make a small profit. Reel slots, on the other hand, tend to be heavily negative. The house edge on some reels can run as high as 15 percent. And you have no way of knowing which are the good machines and which are the bandits. Smart players stick with video poker, craps and blackjack.

I do wish they could have given more technical details, although I understand why they didn't. This stuff is fascinating.
posted by SealWyf at 6:08 AM on September 16, 2003

Slot Machines/VideoPoker/ Any Computer based Gambling Device programs should be Open Source by law. If Casinos are business that live over people love for a game in which you routinely lose more money ( somebody call this behavior stupidity) that doesn't automatically allow them to cheat the player. It's cheating already as Princevalium said ; it would be much better to have an entrance ticket and fair machines, so that Casinos don't have any "fixed cost recovering" excuses.
posted by elpapacito at 6:43 AM on September 16, 2003

Agents feared the entire slot industry was in jeopardy.


ROFL!
posted by jpoulos at 7:25 AM on September 16, 2003

Open source will solve all social and economic ills. And so will socialism.
posted by mecran01 at 8:16 AM on September 16, 2003

I'm with cortex. Interesting information, sucky writing.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:38 AM on September 16, 2003

(I thought I was the only one who thought the writing sucked. Whew!)

It would be nice if he could pull a Frank Abagnale and use his criminal mind for good instead of evil, but does anyone (else?) actually cheat at slot machines? That's almost pathetic. Besides, I doubt that anyone could get away with anything like inserting a cheating widget into a machine with 21st century casino security.
posted by lnicole at 10:11 AM on September 16, 2003

Here's a cool story about a group of students from MIT who were experts at counting cards and walked away with millions from blackjack tables.
posted by Espoo2 at 10:44 AM on September 16, 2003

Open source will solve all social and economic ills. And so will socialism.

but only if they are blogging it.
posted by quonsar at 11:07 AM on September 16, 2003

No-one will notice unless they are "A-lister" bloggers, of course.
posted by dg at 2:55 PM on September 16, 2003

WIRED had excerpts from the book about the MIT blackjack hackers.
posted by dhartung at 11:16 PM on September 16, 2003

cool!!!
I never even knew you could do that..

Agents feared the entire slot industry was in jeopardy.
If only it were true !
posted by mary8nne at 8:42 PM on September 21, 2003

I"ve never really understood how its "illegal" to count cards. What law could you possibly be breaking? Are there laws set up specifically to protect the gaming industry in all its evil.
posted by mary8nne at 8:49 PM on September 21, 2003