Casino Scams

Many gamblers are always looking for some method to shift the odds in their favor and those scams could fill several books. Some Blackjack players try to accomplish it by card counting or team playing by palming cards and swapping them under the table. Some crap players have been known to substitute loaded dice into the game.
Casinos shift the odds in their favor by structuring the rules of games so that "house" has a slight edge. They can, for example, set slot machines so that the payout is only 90% of the money inserted. They don't care who wins, they just want a lot of play. This percentage in their favor is what they call "vigorish."
Poker tournaments are some of the few games of chance that players do not play against the house. In those tournaments, the players pay an entry fee and play against each other. Those entry fees become the prize for winning and the sponsor or casino charges a fixed fee to provide all of the ingredients needed, such as tables, chips, and dealers.
This story uses the author's own experiences in poker tournaments to illustrate some of the things that can happen during the contest. Several fictitious tournament scams that challenge the intelligence of the authorities are intertwined with an ongoing fictitious corporate scam where various people are skimming money from slot machine owners
Not surprising, the mob figures into much of the action in this fast moving account that lasts a little over two weeks. The devious nature of these scams exposes the mindset of shady characters and produces some unexpected outcomes and some surprising results.