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2009 News Archives |
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 Don’t
Need Casino Security?
The Gala Casino in London has decided to cut its
anti-cheating security efforts. The Times reported
that, "One veteran casino executive said: 'Gala has
obviously decided that the cost savings from having
fewer inspectors will more than outweigh any
additional losses from cheating. In practice, there
is very little cheating, so it’s probably a good
call.'" The article also mentions a number of the
classic cheating techniques employed. To read the
December 18 article by Dominic Walsh titled "Gala
Coral fancies the odds as it cuts inspectors at its
casinos" click:
HERE.(12/09) |
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 27
Banned For Cheating
Australia's Star City casino has seen a huge
increase in the amount of cheating in 2009. The
Sydney Morning Herald reported that "Twenty-seven
people were caught cheating at the casino's table
games in the past year and banned from the gambling
area." To read the December 14 article by Vanda
Carson titled "Steep rise in theft and fraud at Star
City" click:
HERE.(12/09) |
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 Legalizing
Card Counting
The Indiana Supreme Court has been asked to make it
illegal to count cards in the state’s casinos. A
recently enacted law states that card counting is
legal in the state’s 12 casinos. The casino’s point
of view is that they are a "private businesses and
should have the right to turn away anyone they
choose to keep order." To read the December 13
Associated Press article titled "Casinos want state
high court to ban card counters" click:
HERE.(12/09) |
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 Waterloo
Craps Cheat
A man pleaded guilty of cheating at the Isle Casino
Hotel Waterloo. A WCF Courier reported that
"Authorities said House cheated by moving chips
during a craps game at the Isle Casino Hotel
Waterloo on June 14 after he was twice warned that
doing so was breaking the rules." To read the
December 13 article by Jeff Reinitz titled "Man
pleads guilty to cheating at casino" click:
HERE.(12/09) |
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 L.A.
Shell Game Gang
A Los Angeles Times article focuses on the Shell
Game gangs in Los Angeles who are working the
holiday season. The article reported that, "Los
Angeles Police Department officers arrested eight
people between the ages of 27 and 67 over the
weekend downtown on suspicion of conspiracy to
commit gaming in connection with a shell-game
operation. The suspects set up shop in the 500 block
of Los Angeles Street, said Lt. Paul Vernon." The
article also explained that "Shell games and
three-card monte, a similar scam that uses cards
instead of shells, have long been a problem on
Broadway, which draws thousands of shoppers each
day." To read the December 10 article by Andrew
Blankstein titled "8 arrested in downtown L.A.
shell-game operation" click: HERE.(12/09) |
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 FBI
Warns About Online Poker
A Bloomberg article reported that the FBI has warned
that there are many ways to cheat at online Poker.
Shawn Henry, assistant director for the FBI’s cyber
division is quoted, "Technology exists to manipulate
online poker games in that it would only take two or
three players working in unison to defeat the other
players who are not part of the team… The online
poker vendors could detect this activity and put in
place safeguards to discourage cheating, although it
is unclear what the incentive would be for the
vendor." To read the December 3 article by Lorraine
Woellert titled "Online Poker Can Be Subject to
Manipulation, FBI Says" click:
HERE.(12/09) |
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 Scam
Psychology Report
The University of Cambridge issued a report in
August written by Frank Stajano and Paul Wilson
which tries to identify what makes scams and con
games successful. The report which is titled
"Understanding scam victims: seven principles for
systems security" is described as, "We examine a
variety of scams and 'short cons' that were
investigated, documented and recreated for the BBC
TV programme The Real Hustle and we extract from
them some general principles about the recurring
behavioural patterns of victims that hustlers have
learnt to exploit." To read the Abstract of the
report and to download the 22-page pdf version of it
click:
HERE.(11/09) |
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 Biggest
Gambling/Cheating Auction
The largest auction of gambling and especially
cheating equipment ever assembled will take place on
October 9-11 in Las Vegas. Produced by Sidlow &
McGuire’s Victorian Casino Antiques it features many
one of a kind cheating paraphernalia produced by the
major manufacturers of the past and some custom
pieces used by hustlers in the 1800s and early
1900s. The two-day auction will offer one-thousand lots and
will attract all of the major card, dice, chip and
gambling collectors. For more information and to bid
click:
HERE.(10/2009) |
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 Gambling
Collectibles At Auction
If you collect old gambling equipment and cheating
equipment October is your month. Some very rarely
seen items are up for auction. The first auction
takes place on October 2-4 in Ann Arbor, Michigan
and online. It is the complete Ron Wallace
Collection who was the former president of UPS and
amassed an unbelievable array of gambling artifacts.
Also included in the auction are games, toys and
much more.(9/2009)
>>>To visit the auction site click:
HERE.
>>>To view and bid click:
HERE. |
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 Slot
Scammers Plead Guilty
Three people who scammed slot machines in Las Vegas
Casinos in 2006 pleaded guilty. A Las Vegas Sun
article reported that “Police reports indicate
surveillance videos show Cushing and Lewanda would
stand watch at slot machines while McNeive inserted
$1 bills and forged them as $100 bills using the
cheating device.” To read the September 29 article
by Tiffany Gibson titled "Casino scammers in Black
Book plead guilty to cheating slots" click:
HERE.(9/2009) |
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 Black
Book Ban
A 36th person has been added to Nevada’s Black Book
of people who are not allowed to enter into casinos.
A Las Vegas Sun article reported that, "Deputy
Attorney General John Michela said McNeive used a
light optic device in his cheating scheme and was
able to trick the slot’s bill acceptor into giving a
player 100 $1 credits when inserting a $1 bill." To
read the Aug. 28 article by Richard N. Velotta
titled "Commission adds slot cheat to Black Book"
click:
HERE.(8/2009) |
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 Flash
To Finish
Blackjack dealer was arrested for cheating at the
Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center in West
Virginia. A Charleston Daily Mail article reported
that "[Trooper] Walton noted that in the video
footage Maple briefly flashed the cards and the
accomplices would wager accordingly…" To read the
August 25 article titled "Blackjack dealer at
Tri-State accused of cheating" click:
HERE.(8/2009) |
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 Gambling
At Internet Cafés?
George Joseph speaks to the 10News I-Team about the
recent trend of Internet Cafes offering both online
and offline gambling. The report mentioned that
"Recently, the San Diego Police raided five Internet
cafes and seized 31 video slot machines and
$13,000." Joseph concluded that "…the gambling at
Internet cafes will ultimately be legal, and added
that it is too tough to crack down on the growing
industry." To read the August 12 report titled
"Gaming Expert Speaks On Internet Cafe Gambling
Trend" click:
HERE.(8/2009) |
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 Cheated
Indian Casino In India
A casino in India was cheated by a team which
includes employees and local police officers. A
Times Of India article reported that "Police sources
said that the two policemen, in connivance with
casino staff, would purchase chips at the casino and
play roulette. Instead of placing the chips in
advance, however, they would place them once the
roulette was set in motion. This illegal move would
be pointed out by the operator who would then
pretend to remove all the chips. However, the
operator would retain those chips placed on the
highest denominators, ensuring that the constables
would win." To read the August 9 article titled "2
cops held for cheating casino" click:
HERE.(8/2009) |
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 Delaware’s
Upcoming Table Games
The subject of regulating the cash that is used in
the casino industry is the subject of a News Journal
article that looks at the process that Delaware will
need. The article also stated that the state is not
prepared to deal with the expected, "...card
counters. Roving teams of blackjack and poker
cheats. Dealers on the take and crooked pit bosses.
Cash skimmers and loan sharks." The article also
describes some of the recent scams that have been
uncovered in Atlantic City. To read the August 2
article by Cris Barrish titled "Del. not set to
regulate table games" click:
HERE.(8/2009) |
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 How
To Cheat Casinos
Cheating casinos is the subject of a Norwich
Bulletin article that discussed many of the current
and most popular methods employed. The article also
quotes George Joseph and Richard Marcus. Among the
many scams discussed is the following: "Cheaters in
the 21st century employ high-tech methods to fleece
casinos. Hidden cameras, for example, pick up the
hold card in table games, or players mark cards with
infrared dyes when touched during play. The card is
then transmitted to someone away from the game who
reads the dye." To read the July 22 article by
William Sokolic titled "They gamble, they cheat, and
casinos fight back" click:
HERE.(8/2009) |
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 Tran
Organization’s Demise
The FBI’s case against the Tran Organization was
finalized in San Diego and the indictment was
unsealed. "According to the two indictments, the
defendants and others executed a 'false shuffle'
cheating scheme at casinos in the United States and
Canada during blackjack and mini-baccarat games. The
indictments allege that members of the criminal
organization bribed casino card dealers and
supervisors to perform false shuffles during card
games, thereby creating 'slugs' or groups of
unshuffled cards. The indictments also allege that
after tracking the order of cards dealt in a card
game, a member of the organization would signal to
the card dealer to perform a 'false shuffle,' and
members of the group would then bet on the known
order of cards when the slug appeared on the table."
To read the July 17 FBI report click:
HERE.(7/2009) |
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 Australian
Casino Safety Measures
Casino supervising inspector Penelope Jane Hennessey
is featured in a Straits Times article that reported
"Cheating commonly happens in the card game of
baccarat. With just three options to bet on, it is
easy to flick a bet from one option to the other
when the dealer is distracted, she explained. …She
has also seen people sneaking in late bets when the
dealer is not looking. 'But don't forget, there are
people looking up above,' she said in a reference to
the bank of surveillance cameras every modern casino
has." To read the July 3 article by Carolyn Quek
titled "Keeping watch on casino cheats" click:
HERE.(7/2009) |
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 Colorado
Cheating Under Control
Colorado gambling regulators say that cheating in
their casinos is almost non-existent. The Denver
Post reported that, "The cheaters have refined and
jettisoned their tricks over the years. And casinos,
in turn, have honed their methods for detecting
them." The article also describes a variety of
recent cheating scams. To read the June 28 article
by Miles Moffeit titled "As stakes go up, casinos
brace for cheats" click:
HERE.(6/2009) |
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 60
Minutes To Online Cheating
If you missed the 60 Minutes/Washington Post
investigation, about the scandals of Internet poker
cheating, the video, transcript and report are now
online. Read about the Absolute Poker and Ultimate
Bet poker scandals and how the perpetrators got away
with it. To read the June 28 transcript titled "How
Online Gamblers Unmasked Cheaters" click:
HERE.(6/2009) |
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 The
Life Of A Crossroader
Just released is a three disc DVD set featuring Doc
Jon discussing his life as a dealer, mechanic,
crossroader, and card and dice cheat for crime mobs
in Las Vegas and Hawaii, as well as for the Yakuza
in Japan. I addition to his many adventures he also
teaches some advanced handlings and nuances on some
classic gambling techniques with cards and some chip
stealing moves. You will also learn his work on
marking and resealing a deck for Blackjack. It is a
rare glimpse into the life of a real cheater and the
obsticals in the profession. For more information or
to purchase click:
HERE.(6/2009) |
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 Card
Cheaters Caught On Camera
London's West End’s Empire Casino is cheated by card
mechanics. An Independent article reported that
"Security staff had watched the pair swap their
cards over a two-day period and had built up such a
wealth of evidence using high-definition CCTV
cameras that the two men had to plead guilty. Last
month, they became the first to be convicted under
the new Gambling Act, which makes cheating in
casinos a criminal offence." The article also
mentions that "The most technologically complex plot
he encountered was a four-man poker team, one of
whom had a camera hidden up his sleeve. The group
would look for a croupier who tended to deal the
cards at an angle the camera could pick up. The
pictures were relayed to a man in a van outside, who
told the other members of the team through hidden
earpieces what each player's hand was." To read the
June 20 article by Jerome Taylor titled "Circling
the card sharks: The dark world of casino fraud"
click:
HERE.(6/2009) |
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 Connecticut
Craps
Verdict: Guilty
The Memphis man known as "Mr. Casino" and "Mr. C"
was convicted of first-degree larceny, conspiracy to
commit first-degree larceny, cheating and other
charges. He could be facing more than 40 years in
Jail and will be sentenced on July 10. The Day
article reported that "Casino and Mashantucket
tribal officials who watched the trial shook hands
with the prosecutor before making phone calls to
gaming control officials in Las Vegas and Atlantic
City who had been watching the trial with interest.
Taylor has been barred from casinos throughout the
country but has never been successfully prosecuted,
they said."(5/2009)
>>>To read the May 27 The Day article by
Karen Florin titled "Guilty verdict in casino
cheating conspiracy trial" click:
HERE.(5/2009)
>>>To read the May 27 Norwich Bulletin
article by Greg Smith titled "'Mr. Casino' found
guilty of Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun craps scam" click:
HERE.(5/2009) |
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 Foxwoods
Trial Defense
The Foxwoods Resort Casino Craps scam goes to trial
with some very interesting revelations. The
mastermind of the "cheating conspiracy’s" lawyer
contends that the accused was not cheating but had a
winning system and the casino had him arrested
because he was a winning player, "If you bet
everything that Mr. Taylor bets, you would have left
with your pockets full… Mr. Taylor doesn't have to
cheat. He has a winning system." Explaining his
system to the jury he explained "Nobody knows the
exact number that will come up… But if you know the
parameters of the numbers that will come up, you can
win." The jury also had to be taught how to play
Craps.(5/2009)
>>>To read the May 18 Norwich Bulletin
article by Greg Bulletin titled “Dealer details
cheating scam” click:
HERE.(5/2009)
>>>To read the May 20 The Day article by
Karen Florin titled “Accused Cheater's Trial
Includes Lesson In Craps” click:
HERE.(5/2009)
>>>To read the May 21 The Day article by
Karen Florin titled “Jury to begin deliberations in
cheating conspiracy case” click:
HERE.(5/2009) |
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 Casino
Cheating Mastermind On Trial
Jury selection begins for the Foxwoods cheating case
where teams of players and dealers conspired to rip
off the casino. A Norwich Bulletin reported that
"Police say a group of more than a dozen people,
including employees at Foxwoods Resort Casino and
Mohegan Sun, worked with Taylor to cheat the casinos
out of thousands of dollars." The article also
reported that "Dealers admitted to taking part in
the scam, some claiming it has been going on for
years…" To read the May 2 article by Greg Smith
titled "Casino cheating trial starts Monday” click:
HERE.(5/2009) |
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 Three
Year Slot Cheat Operation
A casino slot technician is charged with the largest
theft ever at the Grand Casino in Helsinki. A
Helsingin Sanomat article reported that "The thief
is suspected of pocketing money from slot machines
in the period from 2005 to 2008." It further
reported that "the person is suspected of making use
of 'technical expertise and certain knowledge
pertaining to the operation of slot machines' to
commit crimes." No specifics were given by
prosecutors. To read the April 23 article titled
"Largest theft on record revealed at Grand Casino
Helsinki" click:
HERE.(4/2009) |
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 Gambling
Protection Series
Steve Forte is by far the best sleight-of-hand
artist you are likely to ever see and he is regarded
as a leading authority on both fair and crooked
gambling. His highly regarded video series from the
1980s has just been released on DVD. In addition to
the four video tapes the DVD box set includes a
television special about casino cheating, a tour of
his massive gambling collection, a demonstration of
52 new techniques and much more. You must get this
set if you have any interest in the art of card or
dice cheating or want to be able to spot it when it
is being used against you. For more information or
to purchase click:
HERE.(4/2009) |
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 WSOP
Cheating Definitions
The World Series Of Poker released its rules for the
2009 series and it defined what it considers to be
cheating. A Poker News Daily article reported that
"These include, but are not limited to, collusion,
stealing chips, taking chips from one WSOP
tournament and then using them in another, marking
cards, switching out cards, 'or the use of any kind
of cheating device.' Examples of collusion include
chip dumping, soft play, players overtly or covertly
telling each other what cards they have, and
'sending or receiving signals from or to another
player.'" To read the March 13 article by Tom
Jenkins titled "Harrah’s Releases 2009 WSOP Player
Conduct Rules" click:
HERE.(3/2009) |
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 Online
Anti-Cheating Software
A software company announced that it is releasing a
program that could detect online poker cheating. A
Poker News Daily article reported that "The
software, called PitBoss, has the ability to prevent
cheating from online bots, online advisors, software
cheats, software hacking, insider information and
even collusion." To read the March 12 article by
Earl Burton titled "CogniSafe Develops Anti-Online
Cheating Software" click:
HERE.(3/2009)
>>>To read the official press release click:
HERE.(3/2009) |
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 2007
Borgata Case Update
The ongoing case of the four men who were arrested
at The Borgata in Atlantic City in 2007 is one step
closer to being tried. Two of the men pleaded guilty
and exonerated a third while the Judge insisted on
trying the remaining two men. A Press Of Atlantic
City article reported that the two defendants are
"…due back for status conferences May 4." To read
the March 10 article by Linda Cohen titled "Two
admit scheme to cheat high-stakes gambler" click:
HERE.(3/2009)
>>>For results of the Apr. 2 motions click:
HERE.(3/2009) |
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 iPhone
Card Counting App
The new Blackjack "Card Counter" for the iPhone is
discussed in a Las Vegas Sun article which also
touches on the laws of card counting and cheating,
"More than a decade after the seminal blackjack
strategy book 'Beat the Dealer' brought the shadowy
art of card counting to the masses, opportunistic
blackjack players in the 1970s and 1980s began
wearing miniature computers that tracked the value
of cards through slight movements of fingers and
toes…. Unlike the expensive homemade computers of
years past, Blackjack Card Counter is an online
application of the Apple iPhone or iPod touch and
available for download at the company's iTunes store
for $2.99." To read the February 28 article by Liz
Benston titled "iPhone's blackjack card-counting app
no hit with casinos" click:
HERE.(2/2009)
>>>To read the Feb. 20 Las Vegas Review-Journal
article by Howard Stutz titled "High-Tech Trouble"
click:
HERE.(2/2009)
>>>To read the Feb. 17 The Tech Herald article by
Stevie Smith titled "Contentious iPhone app bolsters
casino cheating" click:
HERE.(2/2009) |
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 Caro’s
Cheating Quips
Mike Caro, "The Mad Genius Of Poker," has long been
an anti-cheating crusader in the Poker world and the
February 16th issue of Poker Player recounted some
highlights and thoughts of his crusade, "In 1984
Mike founded his Cheater Monitoring Service, with an
office at the Bicycle Casino near Los Angeles. He
told me that players started slipping out of the
woodwork, confessing, confidentially, that they had
been guilty of cheating, but were mending their
ways, hoping to be allowed to play in the casino.
Because of these experiences, and many others, Mike
has acquired insight into the cheating world ….Mike
is still working behind the scenes and is
considering joining a group of programmers to make
collusion monitoring a fact of life in the online
poker community." To read the February 16 column by
Diane McHaffie titled "Mike's Opinion on Cheating"
click:
HERE.(2/2009) |
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 Tribal
Casinos Cheated
Four men are suspected of cheating three Tribal
casinos at roulette. A Seattle Post-Intelligencer
article reported that, "The complaint describes a
scheme in which the men bought chips without
denominations on them at the roulette table for $1
apiece and instead of turning them in before leaving
the table, they secretly transferred them to a
confederate who later redeemed them for $25 per
chip." To read the Feb. 3 article by Paul Shukovsky
titlted "4 men charged with cheating tribal casinos"
click:
HERE.(2/2009) |
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 Tran
Cheating Team Pleads Guilty
The casino cheating team arrested in 2007 pleads
guilty. A San Diego Union Tribune article reported
that, "The indictment said they bribed casino
dealers to perform false shuffles, in which a group
of cards that have been played are not properly
shuffled. A ring member would be at a table tracking
cards as they were dealt. Using a transmitter and
cell phone, the order of cards was relayed to
another member who would enter them into a
computer." To read the Jan. 23 article by Greg Moran
titled "Man who helped cheat casinos admits guilt
for role in scheme" click:
HERE.(1/2009) |
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 Kronzek’s
Poker Cheating Book In Vegas Sun
Allan Zola Kronzek and his book are profiled in a
Las Vegas Sun article that reported, "Since its
release, '52 Ways to Cheat at Poker' has been well
received by the magic community yet largely ignored
by poker publications -- perhaps, Kronzek suspects,
because poker's de facto cheerleaders have no
interest in spotlighting the seedier side of the
game." The article concludes with some advice,
"Always cut the cards. Change decks a lot. Use
caution. Be vigilant. If you still suspect
chicanery, Kronzek advises, 'Do the math and get out
of the game.'" To read the Jan. 13 article by Jeff
Haney titled “Like magic, toward illicit ends”
click:
HERE.(1/2009)
>>>To buy the book from Gambling Incorporated click:
HERE. |
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 Yonkers
Joe
A new movie about card and dice cheaters is reviewed
in the New York Times where they begin, "Yonkers Joe
offers more information than you probably ever
wanted to know about crooked small-time gamblers and
the sophisticated surveillance techniques employed
by casinos to detect them." To read the Jan. 9
review by Stephen Holden titled "Playing at Life
With Dad’s Loaded Dice, at Home and in Las Vegas"
click:
HERE.(1/2009) |
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 Texas
Cheat 'Em
A new Poker video game to hit the market where the
point of the game is to cheat your way into victory.
An IGN article reported that "Cheating is encouraged
in this eight-player online multiplayer card game.
Though traditional Hold 'Em rules serve as the base,
expect party games and minigames to be peppered
throughout the experience. It's through these games
that you can earn special cheats including X-ray
vision, precognition, chip stealing and card
swapping." To read the Jan. 8 article titled "Don't
Hold 'Em, Cheat 'Em" click:
HERE.(1/2009) |
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