Cheating Vegas

Last updated
Cheating Vegas.png

Cheating Vegas is a documentary television series previously airing on Destination America. The series is about the illegal industry of cheating in casinos, featuring interviews with several infamous cheaters and informative information, topped off with real security camera footage of cheaters in the act. The show also includes talks from Nevada Gaming Control Board members about the different cheaters involved. The show debuted in 2012, [1] and is currently not airing any new episodes.

Contents

Plot

The show is a compilation of security camera footage, phone calls to prisoners known to cheat in Vegas, and talks with Nevada Gaming members. As casino employees have noticed, if there's money involved, there are unscrupulous people out there willing to grab it. Real security camera footage probably unseen anywhere else allows viewers to have a look at the daily cheaters' main job. Many forms of cheating are included, such as point shaving, rigging slot machines, and manipulating the game of craps. [2]

Not addressed is the matter of casinos cheating patrons, although the Nevada Gaming Control Board certainly has such cases in its files.


Episodes

Cheating Vegas

Episode numberTitleRun timeAir Date
1"Insiders"44 minutesAugust 19, 2012 (2012-08-19)
Casino employees and other "insiders" commit gaming crimes.
2"Game Changers"44 minutesAugust 26, 2012 (2012-08-26)
Casino security must stay one step ahead of the "game changers," cheats who are constantly creating new scams.
3"Hall of Fame"44 minutesSeptember 3, 2012 (2012-09-03)
The most brazen cheaters in Vegas including Dennis Nikrasch, an infamous slot cheater who reigned for 22 years.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casino</span> Facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities

A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, concerts, and sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slot machine</span> Casino gambling machine

A slot machine, fruit machine, poker machine or pokies is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circus Circus Las Vegas</span> Hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip

Circus Circus Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the northern Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Phil Ruffin. Circus Circus includes the largest permanent circus in the world. It features circus and trapeze acts, as well as carnival games, at its Carnival Midway. The resort also includes the Adventuredome, an indoor amusement park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bally Technologies</span> American gambling technology company

Bally Technologies, Inc. is an American manufacturer of slot machines and other gambling technology based in Enterprise, Nevada. It is owned by Light & Wonder.

Cheating in casinos refers to actions by the player or the house which are prohibited by regional gambling control authorities. This may involve using suspect apparatus, interfering with apparatus, chip fraud or misrepresenting games. The formally prescribed sanctions for cheating depend on the circumstances and gravity of the cheating and the jurisdiction in which the casino operates. In Nevada, for a player to cheat in a casino is a felony under Nevada law. In most other jurisdictions, specific statutes do not exist, and alleged instances of cheating are resolved by the gambling authority who may have more or less authority to enforce its verdict.

Ronald Dale Harris is a computer programmer who worked for the Nevada Gaming Control Board in the early 1990s and was responsible for finding flaws and gaffes in software that runs computerized casino games. Harris took advantage of his expertise, reputation and access to source code to illegally modify certain slot machines to pay out large sums of money when a specific sequence and number of coins were inserted. From 1993 to 1995, Harris and an accomplice stole thousands of dollars from Las Vegas casinos, accomplishing one of the most successful and undetected scams in casino history.

American Casino is an American reality television series which tracks the daily events of the managers and employees of the Green Valley Ranch Casino resort in Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. The show began airing on the Discovery Channel on June 4, 2004, but was moved to the Travel Channel in June 2005. In other countries including Europe, the show continued to air on Discovery.

JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa is a resort in Summerlin, Nevada, near Las Vegas. The Rampart Casino is located within the hotel. The property is owned and operated by Hotspur Resorts, which franchises the JW Marriott name from Marriott International. The hotel has 548 rooms and the casino measures 57,610 square feet (5,352 m2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laughlin River Lodge</span> Casino hotel in Nevada, United States

The Laughlin River Lodge is a hotel and casino on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Richard Craig Estey. The property includes a 41,000 sq ft (3,800 m2) casino and 1,000 hotel rooms in a 25-story tower. The resort has 653 slot machines and a bingo parlor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgewater Hotel and Casino</span> Hotel and casino in Nevada, United States

The Edgewater Hotel and Casino is a casino hotel on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada, owned and operated by Golden Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Belle</span> Casino hotel in Nevada

The Colorado Belle was a casino hotel on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada, owned and operated by Golden Entertainment. Initially closed on March 17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on May 18, 2020, Golden Entertainment announced that the Colorado Belle would remain closed "indefinitely," even after casinos were allowed to reopen. As of January 2024, the property remains closed.

"Black Book" is the nickname frequently used to refer to a list of people who are unwelcome in casinos. The name comes from the fact that the people listed are essentially blacklisted. The term can refer either to such a list officially maintained by a particular gaming control board or to the Griffin Book, whose information is shared among subscribing casinos. According to technologist Jeff Jonas, "Casinos face legal and financial risk if they let the wrong people play. People with gambling addictions can place themselves on exclusionary lists, and can actually sue casinos if they are allowed to place bets."

The Nevada Gaming Commission is a Nevada state governmental agency involved in the regulation of casinos throughout the state, along with the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cactus Pete's</span> Hotel and casino in Nevada, United States

Cactus Petes Resort Casino is a hotel and casino located in Jackpot, Nevada. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Penn Entertainment. It has 296 rooms and 24,827 sq ft (2,306.5 m2) of casino floor space. The casino offerings include more than 600 slot machines, including reels, video poker, video reels and video keno; two gaming pits featuring 20 table games; a seven-table live poker room and a keno lounge and sports book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Fe Station</span> Hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada

Santa Fe Station is a hotel and casino located on North Rancho Drive in Las Vegas, Nevada. The casino is owned by Station Casinos and is located on 36 acres (15 ha) of land. The hotel-casino originally opened as the Santa Fe in 1991, and for several years included the only ice rink in Las Vegas. The Santa Fe was involved in a labor dispute with Culinary Workers Union that began in 1993 and lasted into 2000, when the resort was sold to Station Casinos. The resort was renamed as the Santa Fe Station, and subsequently underwent several expansions and renovations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Bayou</span> Casino in Nevada, United States

La Bayou was a casino located on the Fremont Street Experience in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry's Nugget</span> Casino in Nevada, United States

Jerry's Nugget Casino is a casino in North Las Vegas, Nevada, privately owned and operated by the Stamis family, with 24,000 square feet (2,200 m2) of gaming space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railroad Pass Casino</span>

Railroad Pass Hotel & Casino, named after nearby Railroad Pass, is a hotel and casino located in Henderson, Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poker Palace</span> Casino in Nevada, United States

Poker Palace is a locals casino located at 2757 North Las Vegas Boulevard in North Las Vegas, Nevada, near Nellis Air Force Base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Nevada</span> Casino hotel in Nevada, United States

Royal Nevada was a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It was owned by Frank Fishman, who leased it to various individuals during its brief history. The resort was designed by Paul Revere Williams, and construction began in August 1954. The Royal Nevada opened on April 19, 1955, and was among four Las Vegas resorts to open within a six-week period, at a time when demand had declined for additional hotel rooms. The resort faced numerous financial problems, and was closed and reopened several times.

References

  1. "Step Into the Lives of High Tech Card Sharks and Slot Swindlers in Destination America's New Series "Cheating Vegas"". The Futon Critic. August 13, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  2. Evans, Pat. "9 scandals that rocked the gambling industry". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-10-11.