Slot Machine Cheating

[BillyJoe]

Well, this proves that anything is possible, I guess...
Federal prosecutors charge 4 for cheating at slots

Federal prosecutors said a ring of Russian gamers cheated slot machines at 10 casinos in the St. Louis area by using electronic devices. The foursome targeted the Aristocrat Mark VI slot machines with unspecified but "very sophisticated" methods that gave payouts at least in the six figures, officials say. Three of the men live in Moscow and were indicted by a grand jury on charges of traveling in interstate and foreign commerce in furtherance of the conspiracy. St. Louis Post-Dispatch

[Vman96]

I would really like to see what that article considers the "St. Louis Area". Only 6 casinos in that "Area", imo.

[olds442jetaway]

According to ksdk.com, they hit casinos in California, Missouri, and Illinois.

[Minn. Fatz]

The FBI release says:

[quote]According to the indictment, the charged defendants engaged in a conspiracy to cheat at least 10 casinos in Missouri, California, and Illinois through the use of electronic devices. The devices were used to predict the behavior of a certain make and model of slot machine game known as the Aristocrat Mark VI Electronic Gaming Device. By communicating with a foreign server, the devices allowed the defendants to predict the behavior of the Mark IV games and obtain winnings from the games that far exceeded what would be expected from fair play.[/quote]

My question: where do I get one?

[DaBurglar]

I am not going to say I "told you so", because I was not the only one to say it.....but Billyjoe summed it up best at this point, "Anything is possible"/Now, having said that......WTF is going on here??   HOW indeed is this even POSSIBLE?!?   just what exactly did these guys have, how did it work, etc>>>>>    Every person who insisted up to this point that "it just is not possible" for there to be ANY malfeasance in the North American Gaming industry (whether it be players, casinos, corporations etc)  because things are just "SO WELL and thoroughly regulated" clearly has been shown the light.....Now I am NOT saying at all that this totally invalidates or makes suspicious ANY specific or particular casino or location or person or whatever......we can ALL still be reasonably confident and safe in assuming the casino(s) we frequent today and tomorrow and the next day will be on the level.   But this certainly opens one's eyes to the POSSIBILITIES, and certainly shows that (as has been said before), if other HIGHLY regulated and monitored industries such as Finance, Banking, Medicine, and others, can experience serious and severe corruption and dishonesty, then certainly the casino business can too.   And in many cases, we will NOT hear or learn about it until well after the fact, for many obvious and telling reasons.

[Come Back Kid]

Billy, there is a couple who comes to our local casino all the time...They walk in and go directly to the same 3 machines, 1$ 5$ 25$ multi hand video poker.. download promo, and hit a jackpot right away...Usually both of them. They wait to get paid and walk out the door, not playing another dollar. I often wondered how lucky can one couple be...Your post make me think...hmmm

[kennybobby]

the 10 casinos in the stl area probably include the east stl back alley dice games...maybe
and best buy sells those i believe

[DaBurglar]

Any machine made by man is vulnerable in some way shape or form.....this is a cliche that still remains true today.   Of course, just because of the fact something is"vulnerable" does NOT mean that anyone with the inkling can go ahead and EXPLOIT that vulnerability!     Exploiting such things is another matter altogether.It is time everyone here faced up to certain things:    Slots (and VP machines) are NOT foolproof, and the casino business/industry is NOT the only business in existence that has virtually NO graft, corruption, incompetence or inefficiency!!!   This is but one example that proves this.....Now, we who play frequently at casinos can draw solace from the fact that the gaming industry is VERY good at policing itself, and IS very good at staying ahead of the curve when it comes to the majority of cheaters and scams (we hope!)    The regulatory bodies across all states and jurisdictions seem to be among the more integrity -filled although their ability to share information and cooperate remains a little suspect.   As players I believe we all can still have a general sense of confidence that most casino games we play are straight and non-rigged.    But the latin saying "Caveat emptor" (Let the Buyer beware) has as much relevance today as it ever did, and needs to be updated/modified to fit the casino business!!!!  Of course, Caesar's immortal words "Veni, Vidi, Vici"  (I came, I saw, I conquered) could also have relevance in a casino....." I came, I played, I filed chapter 7!"       Or  "I came, I drank, I woke up in someone else's room with a ATM receipt that says I have $3.87 reamining"!!     Help me out here fellas....