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2010 News Archives |
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 Poker
Dealer Steals From Players
A Poker dealer at the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh,
PA was caught stealing chips from pots and
depositing them into his tip box. A CompatiblePoker
article reported that, "His modus operandi was
relatively simple -- he would move chips to the
value of $1 and $5 from the pot with his right hand,
and slipping them away. He allegedly then pushed the
remaining pot to the winner of the hand and go about
collecting the cards to ready for the next round.
While others weren't looking, he'd then move the
stolen chips into his tip box." To read the December
31 article by Renee K titled "Pennsylvania Poker
Dealer Nabbed in Chip Theft" click:
HERE.(12/2010) |
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 Marked
Cards As Toys
A professionally marked deck of playing cards has
just been released to the general public by the
United States Playing Card Company. The deck is
released in the guise of a magic trick and is called
"Bicycle David Blaine Mind Reading Deck" which comes
with some magic tricks you can do with it. The back
design is a version of Blaine’s Split Spades and it
is printed on the Bicycle brand of cards. This is
the least expensive professionally marked deck you
will ever find. For more information or to purchase
from Gambling Incorporated click:
HERE. (12/2010) |
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 Camera
Installed At Break In
Sam Simon who co-created "The Simpsons" claims that
a camera was secretly installed over his friend’s
computer which led to $4 million in online losses.
An OnlinePoker article reported that, "Simon claims
a high stakes pro friend of his was scammed out of
$4 million after cheats broke into his home and
set-up a webcam directed at his computer screen. …He
kept "losing, and losing, and losing…[until] he
found a camera stuck in his ceiling, looking at the
screen." To read the December 15 acticle by A.
Mitchell titled "The Simpsons Co-Creator Sam Simon
Falls Prey To Online Poker Scam" click:
HERE.(12/2010) |
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 Chicago
Dealer Convicted
The latest conviction from the Tran Organization was
a dealer from the Resorts East Chicago Casino. A
Union-Tribune article reported that, "The ring would
recruit and bribe dealers… to execute 'false
shuffles,' a technique that created a 'slug' -- or
set of unshuffled cards, typically about 40 or so.
Other ring members would be at a table, tracking the
order of cards that were played. When the slug
appeared, the ring members would know the order of
the ensuing cards and bet accordingly, often winning
thousands of dollars." To read the December 16
article by Greg Moran titled "Casino worker
convicted in card-cheating scheme" click:
HERE. |
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 A
Grand Exposé
A very rare 1860 book about cheating has been
reprinted by Magicana. "A Grand Exposé Of The
Science Of Gambling," covers gambling, cheating and
con games. It has only been read by very few people
as there are less than 20 of the original copies
known to exist. This new edition has been retypeset
and contains the entire contents of the original as
well as a new preface by David Ben. It is limited to
500 copies. For more information or to purchase from
Gambling Incorporated click:
HERE.(11/2010) |
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 Fake
Journalists Used As Cheaters
A professional tournament poker player is
disqualified at the Partouche Poker Tour Cannes main
event where he made the final table and was accused
of cheating. A Bluff Magazine article reported that
"According to a report from the Partouche Poker Blog
and several European poker outlets, the tournament
staff reviewed video footage from early days of the
tournament and discovered evidence of Tekintamgac
working with fake journalists and bloggers who were
feeding him information about his opponents'
holdings using signals." To read the Nov. 5 article
by Jessica Welman titled "Ali Tekintamgac
Disqualified From Partouche Final Table" click:
HERE.(11/2010) |
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 "Gray
List" Removal For Recovered Cheater
Convicted Slot and Blackjack cheater, who is now a
security consultant, will be removed from the Las
Vegas Gray list so he can conduct business at the
new M Resort. A Las Vegas Sun article reported that,
"In the 30 years since the denial, Bertolero became
an expert at detecting card cheats and received
permission to take small individual consulting
contracts that did not require licensing. …He became
friends and business associates with the Marnell
family, which built the Rio and, more recently, the
M Resort. In his small consultant contracts,
Bertolero has observed customers and employees to
help uncover card cheats and employee thefts." To
read the Nov. 4 article by Richard N. Velotta titled
"Board recommends man’s removal from 'gray list,'
denial of another's license" click:
HERE.(11/2010) |
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 Persi
Diaconis Talks Shuffles
A rare and fascinating interview with Persi Diaconis
where he discusses card cheating, magic and some
information about his roots in magic and his
association with Dai Vernon. He also discusses faro
shuffles and their relation to mathematics and
mentioned that he is ambidextrous in some of the
sleight of hand he does. Daiconis also explained
that he decided to go back to school in order to
learn about probability theory in order to better
understand gambling. There is a lot of discussion
about shuffling and how edges can exist during
random shuffles if a person has a good memory and
apply it to shuffle tracking. He also discusses the
odds of random coin tosses and the similarities
between the world magic and the world of
mathematics. To listen to the December 12, 2009
interview by Jim Fleming select the second segment
at the Wisconsin Public Radio website by clicking:
HERE.(11/2010) |
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 Wild
Card & Jackpot Released
James Swain has just released his two latest Tony
Valentine novels featuring very suspenseful stories
with very accurate descriptions of real casino crime
and advantage play. The eighth in the series is
titled Wild Card and takes place in Atlantic City
and serves as a prequel to the seven previous
novels. Number nine in the series is titled Jackpot
and centers on a slot cheater in Las Vegas. What
makes these must-read books even more amazing is
that they are based on true events. I understand
that there is currently work being done to get Tony
Valentine on TV. They are available as e-books from
Amazon and Barnes and Noble.(10/2010)
>>>For Amazon Kindle click:
HERE and
HERE.
>>>For Barnes & Noble Nook click:
HERE and
HERE. |
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 Indiana
Serious About Catching Cheats
A Courier-Journal article looks into the many
methods used the Indiana casinos and what the
casinos and law enforcement are doing about it. The
article reported that "Prosecutions seldom result in
jail time because felony charges in most cases are
reduced to misdemeanors that carry probation. But
gaming regulators since November have boosted the
list of gamblers who are permanently banned from
Indiana casinos, from 105 to 189 in September." The
article also quotes Bill Zender and describes the
most common forms of cheating. To read the October 4
article by Grace Schneider titled "Indiana casinos
battle cheaters, but high-tech defense can't always
stop the crooks" click:
HERE.(10/2010) |
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 Online
Poker Cheating Dissected
Online Poker cheating is dissected in an in-depth
BBC article which reported that "Pokerstars refunded
$2m to 25,000 customers after it uncovered
cheating." The article also concluded that, "The
problem for the authorities and the gaming companies
is that it is virtually impossible to prevent
collusion like this, because players can share
information about their hands via the phone or
internet messenger without being detected." The
article also offers inside information on what goes
on behind the scenes at the Poker sites. To read the
September 11 article by Adrian Goldberg titled "Can
the world of online poker chase out the cheats?"
click:
HERE.(9/2010) |
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 35
Years Of Cheating
Richard Turner recently released a DVD featuring
more of his card mastery, magic and gambling
techniques. The DVD also features two documentary
style segments narrated by Bruce Samboy titled
"Dueling Card Sharks" and "The Cardmen's Get
Together" where you see such gaming legends like
Steve Forte and Ron Conley and others casually show
each other card stuff and kid around. For more
information or to purchase from Gambling
Incorporated click:
HERE. (9/2010) |
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 Blackjack
Guys Nabbed
Doug Kelly describes the two Blackjack cheaters
sitting next to him and how they were caught. His
Security Management article reported that, "For
nearly 30 minutes, I watched this capping and
pinching take place. When the cheaters finally
departed, I estimated that their take was about
$250--low enough to stay off the radar screen but
high enough to make a nice amount of pocket cash."
To read the September article by Doug Kelly titled
"The Game Is On" click:
HERE.(9/2010) |
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 Baccarat
Cheating The New Rage?
Bill Zender explains why Baccarat cheating is on the
rise in a BlackJack Champ article. The article also
explained that the "…the largest casino cheating
ring in US history actually involved baccarat. A
team called the Tran Organization took dozens of
casinos across 10 states for some $15 million by
cheating at baccarat before they were shut down by
the FBI in 2007." To read the September 6 by Michael
Frank article titled "Move Over Blackjack --
Baccarat is the New Cheater’s Game of Choice" click:
HERE.(9/2010) |
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 A
Chip Capper In Singapore
A man caught at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore of
adding chips to his bet after the results were known
had an interesting defense, a TodayOnline reported
that "Yesterday, defence counsel Sarbrinder Singh
said his client was less culpable than other casino
offenders because he had 'genuinely won' with his
initial bet." The judge didn’t buy it saying that it
was, "very clear that it was a deliberate attempt to
cheat". To read the August 27 article by Teo Xuanwei
titled "Man who attempted to cheat casino loses
appeal" click:
HERE.(8/2010) |
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 First
Pennsylvania Cheater Arrest
A man is caught capping Blackjack bets at the
Hollywood Casino in Harrisburg Pennsylvania. ABC
News caught up to him and taped him explaining that,
"Other people was cheating, I just followed suit to
be honest, …A lot of people were doing it. I did
it. I didn't think nothing of it. I didn't think it
would be no formal charges pressed or nothing."
Unfortunately the surveillance video caught him
doing it 13 times and the new laws in Pennsylvania
are very severe. To read the July 20 article and
watch the video titled "Man Admits He Cheated at
Hollywood Casino Blackjack Table" click:
HERE.(7/2010)
>>>To read the July 20 Patriot News article
by Liam Migdail-Smith titled “Cheating suspect may
suffer a big loss” click:
HERE.(7/2010) |
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 Counterfeit
Chip Scam
A news story about counterfeit chips being used at
the Mount Airy Casino Resort reported that "Troopers
said a man used fake $100 chips at blackjack and
craps tables over the weekend. Some Pennsylvania
casinos began using real dealers for card and dice
games on July 13." To read and watch the July 20
WNEP-TV report by Jennifer Borrasso titled "Casino
Counterfeit Chips Caper" click:
HERE.(7/2010) |
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 Joseph
Talks Cheating
George Joseph’s training of casino staff in
Pittsburgh is profiled in a KDKA story and video
segment where they report "Every time a new casino
opens across America, there is a group of newcomers
who nobody wants to see. They are the professional
cheaters and even some amateurs who think they can
beat the system." Joseph explained, "If they can
somehow get our playing cards, they mark the cards
with special dyes that now are read with cell phone
cameras or hidden body cameras." To read the July 6
article titled "Cheating Expert Trains Casino
Officials, Security" click:
HERE.(7/2010) |
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 Creative
Roulette Cheating
A BetUs article looks at some of the more creative
methods employed to cheat at Roulette. Methods
covered include Chip Placing, Wired Shoes, and Laser
Scanners. To read the July 16 article by John Owens
titled "Wired Shoes, Mini Computers, and other
Roulette Cheats" click:
HERE.(7/2010) |
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 Joseph
In Chester Casino
George Joseph is featured in a CBS News story about
cheating in the new Philadelphia casinos. The story
reported that "He demonstrates low-tech and
high-tech cheating techniques; everything from
hiding a card up a sleeve, to using a device
disguised as an electronic car key fob to count
cards. It vibrates when it's time to bet big. There
are obvious signs someone is trying to cheat, he
says. In the game of craps, "Anything that happens
late, meaning the dice is out or in the air, you
should be suspicious." To read and watch the July 1
story titled "Ex-Cheat Helps Pa. Gaming Board Catch
Scammers" click:
HERE.(7/2010) |
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 Steve
Forte’s Legal Case Exposed
A very detailed and insightful interview with Jason
England about the Steve Forte cheating allegations
at the Borgata where he was prepared to serve as an
expert witness. All the charges against Forte were
eventually dismissed while many of the details can
be found in this article. The MagicTimes article
quotes England, "With all the hype and threats by
the authorities and a multi-state investigation that
lasted just under three years, do you think for a
second that the authorities would've dismissed the
charges against him had they had in their possession
a single piece of incontrovertible evidence against
him? Do you think that the authorities dismissed the
charges out of the goodness of their hearts?" To
read the June 7 MagicTimes story titled "Steve
Forte: Awarded Special Fellowship As The Borgata
Case Is Dismissed" click:
HERE.(6/2010) |
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 Fake
Casinos In China
Wealthy Korean golfers were lured into fake casinos
in China where they were cheated out of around seven
million dollars. An AFP article reported that “The
newspaper quoted one prosecutor as saying the gang
combined scams depicted in the Hollywood movie 'The
Sting' -- in which conmen stage a phoney horse race
-- and a Korean movie "The High Rollers" in which an
actress approaches a businessman at a golf club.
Most victims did not know they had been conned until
the investigation began." To read the May 12 article
titled "S. Koreans held over casino scam" click:
HERE.(5/2010) |
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 Bug
Creeps Into Online Security
The AbsolutePoker and UltimateBet gambling websites
are back in the news with an exploitable bug in
their software. A RecentPoker article reported that
"The current issue was exposed by the information
portal Poker Table Ratings and apparently has the
potential to result in the possibility of a cheater
‘seizing’ control of a player’s account and seeing
his or her hole cards." To read the May 8 article
titled "New Software Flaw for Absolute Poker and
UltimateBet" click:
HERE.(5/2010)
>>>For the May 6 detailed explanation of the
investigation by Poker Table Ratings click:
HERE.(5/2010) |
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 Cowboys
Full Of Cheaters?
David Ben, an accomplished sleight-of-hand artist,
reviewed James McManus' new book "Cowboys Full: The
Story of Poker," from the standpoint of cheating.
Ben summarizes, "Although I am interested in the
history of poker, I’ve never been too interested in
Texas Hold'em. I’ve always thought that the game's
most celebrated players were cheats. The game --
their game -- is a scam. While McManus may have set
out to glorify the history of poker, and lionize the
current crop of players, for me his book did the
exact opposite." To read the March 29 blog titled
"The Oldest Trick in the Book" click:
HERE. (4/2010)
>>>To buy the book from Amazon click:
HERE. |
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 Tossing
Broads
Tony Giorgio releases his work on the Three Card
Monte in a Tossing Broads Booklet. As he explains
it: "There's actually no game called 'Three Card
Monte;' it’s a total swindle, a con game designed to
separate larcenous marks from their money. In the
19th Century Victorian British underworld slang,
playing-cards were called broads. Playing a game of
cards was known as 'Spreading Broads.' Cheating at
cards was called 'broading' and a card sharp was
called a 'broadsman.' Tossing Broads is a gaffed
game that cannot be beat; hence, the broad tosser
plays a gaffed joint, or flat joint. A Three-Card
Monte game with the prevailing myth is that the
broad tossers used a queen as the winning card, and
would say 'Find the Lady.' For more information or
to purchase from Gambling Incorporated click:
HERE. (4/2010) |
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 Stox
Multi-Accounting Scandal
The founder of Stox Poker who wrote "Winning in
Tough Holdem Games" admits to playing on
multi-accounts and resigns from the company which is
now owned by Card Runners. An article in the Online
Poker Examiner reported that he, "…admitted on the
TwoPlusTwo Poker Forum, as well as the Stox Poker
Forum, to having two accounts on both Full Tilt
Poker and PokerStars as well as creating a third
account on both sites sometime in January.
Multi-accounting is not only against both sites'
Terms & Conditions, but also gives the player an
unfair edge over his opponents that he is familiar
with since it will suddenly give him anonymity." To
read the March 23 article by Steven Ruddock titled
"Nick Grudzien resigns from Stox Poker for
multi-accounting" click:
HERE. (3/2010) |
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 Tran
Mastermind Pleads Guilty
The leader of the "Tran Organization," was sentenced
to 70 months in prison for his part in the
multi-casino scam. A Desert Sun article reported
that, "The court also ordered Truong to forfeit $2.7
million and pay $5.7 million in restitution." And
the "Department of Justice officials said 37
defendants have pleaded guilty to charges relating
to the casino-cheating conspiracy." To read the
March 20 article by Mike Perrault titled "Admitted
card-cheater sentenced" click:
HERE. (3/2010) |
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 Spring
Break Monte
Three Card Monte scams are rampant during Spring
Break. A Daytona Beach News Journal article quoted
the police chief, "They (con-artists) come out of
the woodwork for Spring Break and BCR… They come
from Georgia, New York, Philadelphia, everywhere."
The article also reported on an arrest, A man from
"…Atlanta was charged with operating a game of
chance, a misdemeanor, Friday night and issued a
notice to appear after officers caught him with a
three-card Monte board and paraphernalia to run
other games." The article also goes into the history
of the Three-Card-Monte. To read the March 17
article by Julie Murphy titled "Cops break up 3-card
Monte on beachside" click:
HERE. (3/2010) |
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 Late
Arrest in Foxwoods Craps Scam
Another arrest in last year's Foxwood craps cheating
ring. A Norwich Bulletin article reported that he
"…joins more than a dozen people, including casino
craps dealers and supervisors, who were accused of
working with Richard 'Mr. Casino' Taylor to cheat at
craps tables at Foxwoods Resort Casino. …State
police claim [he] was one of 'Mr. C's' guys -- a
player who used code words to tip off participating
dealers, who would in turn accept late bets at the
craps table.' To read the March 16 article by Greg
Smith titled 'N.Y. man accused of being a part of
craps scheme at Foxwoods' click:
HERE. (3/2010) |
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 Hi-Tech
Payout Scam
The electronic table games are targeted in a London
casino by two computer contractors who rigged them
to payout no matter what the outcome. An Associated
Press article reported that, "The scam centred on
remote betting terminals at casinos that enable
customers to place bets without being at the
roulette table. Those who make winning bets are
given a printed ticket with details of their credit
that can then be cashed." To read the March 12
article titled "Computer experts stole £33,000 in
casino scam" click:
HERE. (3/2010) |
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 Iowa
Cheater Banned
A Texas Hold’em cheater is sentenced to serve two
years of supervised probation. A Clinton Herald
article reported that he, "…was arrested Feb. 5 last
year at the casino after he cheated at a game of
Texas Hold 'Em. According to prosecutors, Kendrick
palmed two betting chips and put them on top of his
bet after betting had closed, attempting to increase
his payout by $40." He was also "…banned for life
from entering Iowa casinos." To read the March 5
article by Jeniece Smith titled "Rock Falls man
sentenced for cheating at poker" click:
HERE. (3/2010) |
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 Expert
At The Card Table Cards
These cards were printed by the U.S. Playing Card
Company to commemorate the classic 1902 book on card
cheating, The Expert At The Card Table by S.W.
Erdnase. The box and back colors are the same green
as the original hard-cover book. Each deck includes
two custom jokers, a custom Ace of Spades, and two
ad cards printed to look like pages from the book.
The box looks like a miniaturized version of the
book. For more information or to purchase from
Gambling Incorporated click:
HERE. (2/2010) |
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 Blackjack
Cheating In NO
Two women caught cheating at Boomtown Casino in New
Orleans. A Times Picayune article reported that the
surveillance video, "…showed Tran making excessive
payouts to Nguyen and ignoring her losses.
Authorities have not determined exactly how many
times the two women used the scheme, or how much
money was stolen in total." To read the February 4
article by Allen Powell II titled "Boomtown Casino
dealer arrested in alleged cheating scam with
patron" click:
HERE. (2/2010) |
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 Mother,
Daughter Team
A mother and daughter team which were convicted of a
combined 79 counts of slot cheating had 37 of the
counts reversed by the Nevada Supreme Court. They
used a light source to manipulate the payouts. A Las
Vegas Sun article reported that "Security officers
testified that one of the women would insert the
device into the machines to draw the payout. The
other woman would place a pack of cigarettes over
the payout meter to hide the combinations on the
slot machine. A purse was placed top of the payout
chute to conceal the maneuvering." To read the
February 3 article by Cy Ryan titled "State Supreme
Court throws out mother, daughter slot cheating
convictions" click:
HERE. (2/2010) |
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 Ultimate
Capper
An Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em "Capper" found guilty at
the Wild Rose Casino in Iowa. A Quad-City Times
article reported that, "…he had added chips to a bet
he had already placed on the table after the cards
had been dealt. The dealer told police Kendrick had
been warned in the past about capping his bets. …A
Clinton County jury found Kendrick guilty Monday in
a one-day trial." To read the February 3 article
titled "Rock Falls man convicted of cheating at
casino" click:
HERE. (2/2010) |
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 Bamboozlers
2
The second volume of the pocket size booklet by
Diamond Jim Tyler subtitled "The Book of Bankable
Bar Betchas, Brain Bogglers, Belly Busters &
Bewitchery" has been released. It is a collection of
bar bets, brain teasers, jokes, puzzles and magic
tricks. Some of which are short cons which are of
interest. Includes a foreword by Tom Mullica. For
more information or to purchase from Gambling
Incorporated click:
HERE.(1/2010) |
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 False
Shuffling At The Mohegan
Mohegan Sun dealer pleads guilty to helping the Tran
Organization cheat the casino. An Ethiopian Review
article reported that he admitted performing, "false
shuffles at the direction of other co-conspirators.
Through this false shuffle scheme, a co-conspirator
tracked the order of cards as they were legitimately
played and then [he], who was bribed or had been
promised a bribe, performed a false shuffle. After
the false shuffle created a 'slug' of un-shuffled
cards, a co-conspirator tracked the order of cards
until the slug reappeared in the cards as they were
being dealt. A co-conspirator then signaled to other
co-conspirators as to how to bet on the subsequent
hands in order to cheat the casino out of its
funds." To read the January 20 article titled
"Former Mohegan Sun Card Dealer Admits Role in
Cheating Conspiracy" click:
HERE. (1/2010) |
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 Cheating
Houdini Greeting Card
A funny and elegant greeting card was released in
December that features Charlie Miller (1909-1989)
and Dai Vernon (1894-1992), who were the most
influential close-up magicians of the 20th century,
cheating Houdini (1874-1926) in a game of cards.
Designed by Akemi Yoshida the card is an ideal item
to tend to a gambler, magician or even a con man.
Highly recommended. For more information or to
purchase click:
HERE.(1/2010) |
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