Various universal ways players cheat at any casino game

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Some scams are universal to all games, and examples include subs, the chip cup, and marker scams. Marked cards are universal to all card games. In this chapter, we 11 explore those scams with applications to many games.

SUBS

If a dealer decided to steal, wanted to work alone, and gave some thought to a method, some form of hidden pocket is the obvious solution. When designed specifically for the purpose of stealing checks, these pockets are called 'subs'. According to sources, subs were widespread in early Las Vegas and remained a problem right up to around 1970. At times, the problem reached epidemic proportions. Some clubs not only required the dealers to clap out when leaving the game, but they also had to remove their apron. Believe it or not, in the 1950s, more than one casino was forced to close down due to the excessive stealing with subs.

One of the first subs consisted of two pairs of shorts sewn together at the bottoms, and the outer pair was attached to the pants with hooks and eyes, as sold in fabric stores. The shirt tail was tucked in between the two pairs of underwear, and when a thumb or finger was placed on the inside of the pants and pulled slightly, a pocket was formed for ditching stolen checks. But many other improvements and innovations were to follow.

 

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Double Apron
The 'double apron' was the next step in the process, and was believed to have first surfaced in Steubenville, Ohio, in the 1930s. It consisted of two aprons sewn together at the side and bottom seams. The inside apron was either larger so that it could be tucked into the pants (Fig. 1), or smaller (about half the size of the outside apron) so it could be sewn to the front of the pants. Some dealers were known to sew the sub in place during their breaks, while sitting in a stall.



Spring-Loaded Sub

Around 1950 came the innovative 'spring-loaded sub', also known as a 'breather sub'. It was the first sub where the dealer didn't have to reach inside the top of his pants. A thin, flexible steel blade, such as a hacksaw blade with the teeth ground off, or an automobile feeler gauge, was sewn into the top seam of the pants. An elastic strap was attached to both ends of the blade to force a small opening, or an unmovable belly line. The steel spring in the lining gave the top of the pants some stiffness, making it easy for the dealer to drop stolen checks in over this ridge. All the dealer had to do was suck in his gut, come to a normal resting position with both hands against the belly above the sub, and let the stolen checks go. Each stolen check would fall into a large nylon bag. The front of the, bag was zippered to the front of the pants, and the back was zippered to a sturdy strap for support, almost like a corset. Many stacks of checks could be stolen during the course of a shift.

Sleeve Sub

One famous story is told about a dealer who is backroomed, searched, and asked to drop his pants, because he was suspected of using a sub. He confidently held his arms out as he was searched. No sub or stolen checks were found because, it turned out, the dealer was using a 'sleeve sub'. A thin, support stocking is worn on the arm, from the wrist up to the elbow. A rectangular strip of buckram (a stiff fabric) is sewn to the inside of the cuff of the shirt, and inserted inside the sub. This permits the check to easily slide between the arm and the buckram. With a stolen check in the left palm, the right hand goes over the left hand, resting it in a natural manner. The fingers of the right hand push the stolen check into the sleeve sub. It takes little movement) and these subs can effectively hold about ten to fifteen checks.

 

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Other Subs
Homemade subs were another option. They were easy to make and only required a piece of cloth, generally matching the apron fabric, and some strong cloth tape. A pocket, with a flap, was taped to the inside of the apron, and the flap was taped to the pants. Should the dealer sense heat, or for any other reason decide to clean up, the homemade sub could be ripped right off the apron and-ditched during the dealers break.
Hiding behind the apron, the 'fly sub' was yet another variation. A sock-like bag was attached to the fly area and supported with an elastic band strapped to the upper leg. Snaps were sewn to the fly so it would appear closed. Before getting to the game, the dealer unsnapped the fly sub and ; lowered his apron. A stolen check could now be shoved into the opening.
The 'shirt sub' is a small envelope sized pocket hiding behind the'shirti iri; the chest or belly area, with the opening in between two shirt buttons. Whereas many ofjthe apron subs could hold stacks of checks, the sleeve, fly, and shirt subs could hold very few, sometimes only one.
Even the box person has employed subs. Grie! option; is the lapel sub', hiding behind the lapel of a suit jacket. Another is the 'tie sub', unique because no extraneous material is needed; just some! clever stitching to the inner lining of the.!tiejro:-forrh a pocket.Tf the DOSS straightened out his tie, the :fftpeqc:was gone.
Having talked with manyoldtimerswhohavespecialized in this area, it never ceasesjto amaze me how much detail can go into the design;of a sub^ Gertain variations require;>p[!p^guh|r doth; tape, fastener, belt, stiffener, pocket, hook; zipper, shirt? and, soton.' ; Swinging,withialsub in the jl^,40s to 1960s was dangerous business as most of the clubs-were mob .cqntolledi^The’designhad to be secure, practical, and virtually indetectable. And many were! ;;
. By all accounts, Craps was! the, primary t^ dealers often swinging with entire
stacks, all in one move. I have talked with more than one,dealer \yhbv/as stealing as!much'as!; $l,p00i! in a single shift back in the 1950s and 1960s. Most worked with agents to help clean up dunnlg their, breaks, and now the dealer could, go back to the game empty and ready to steal again^One storyjjisj told of a dealer who, only! stoleonly,$25 a day • •
In craps, the dealer would.naturally square up his stacks/peripherally ’case the layout and the boxman, cop one or morei,checks;land thencome,-back'tb;u;restingipp^^ stolen checks.
In blackjack, after making a payment with the cleck more, check's could be slipped undey
the deck. As the dealer came back to a normal restingippsitionii’he wouldbutt/theback ofthe deck

 

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against his stomach, which is not unusual, and drop the checks into a spring loaded sub. Another technique had the dealer swinging with a check as the last customer walked and the game went dead. The dealer would spread the cards and take a look at his watch. With the check palmed in the right hand and the right fingers resting on the watchface, the left fingers would open up the sub as the stolen check was dropped and ditched, all under the natural cover of checking the time.
Swinging Without Subs
The dealers apron was designed to cover the front pockets, but it rarely goes all the way around in order to achieve this goal. Most aprons are just supplements to the uniform with the biggest benefit being that they provide a buffer between the dealers pants and the inside of the table. A common move occurs when the dealer lets his apron slide to the right or left, in preparation for moving directly to|uS pocket with palmed checks, all done under the guise of adjusting his apron. Sometimes a nylon sock runs down from the pocket to hold and store the stolen checks. This might also help in case of a pat down.
There have been scams where the dealer has dropped checks into a pants cuff, where the dealer scratched the back of his neck and slid stolen checks down his shirt, and where the dealer used his mouth as a sub, stealing one or more checks as he coughed. Dealers have even ditched stolen checks under the arm, and continued to deal the game until their break. In one case, a girl was moving to behind her ear and onto some putty, then quickly covering everything with her hair. It was once common for the dealer to drop tokes into his breast pocket, so stolen checks were often ditched during the same action.
There are many cases where the dealer has attempted to hide stolen checks on the game. They have been slid under cocktail napkins and glasses to be handed to the dealers partner, the cocktail waitress. Stolen checks have been hidden under the wheel, hidden under ashtrays, and dropped into trash cans to be picked up later by maintenance. Scams along these lines went undetected for years.
In another famous scam, a player sips his coffee, and then places the Cup too close to the betting circle. The dealer reacts by moving the cup back with a warning, “Sir, please keep the cup back near the rail.” In the act of moving the cup to safer grounds a hidden check is dropped into the coffee.
For a rare, offbeat variation, the rubber backing on the inside of the crap table can be pried loose by the dealer with a little effort and leaning, as only the slightest opening is needed. Stolen checks have been hidden behind the rubber backing and later retrieved by agents hanging around a dead game, or maintenance crews working graveyard.
Most gamers would probably assume these scams to be smalltime,*but this is not always the case. In the Reno Gazette Journal of 12 January, 2004, a story can be found regarding the arraignment ; of a female Lake Tahoe dealer accused of stealing $700,000 over a three-year period. She was stealing checks and having her daughter cash them in. The method was undisclosed, but it must

 

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have been one hell of a pants sub! It was later discovered that with her salary at less than $50,000 a year, she had paid off her house and the homes of other family members, made a $50,000 down payment on another property, purchased and paid off four vehicles, and purchased a $100,000 boat.
This is the nature of these kinds of crimes. Its not uncommon for them to go undetected for long periods of time.
CHIP CUP
The 'chip cup' is a shell designed to look like a small stack of checks. It's slightly larger than the size of a regulation check. Its purpose? To hide and steal higher denomination checks inside the shell.
No simpler cheating device has ever been invented that stole so much money from a table game. Believed to have been invented in the early 1970s, a hustler got the idea from a magic trick where a stack of nickels would instantly change into a stack of dimes. This was accomplished by cutting oiit the centers of the nickels and then gluing them together with one legitimate nickel on top. This miniature cup would sit on top of. me dimes to conceal them, and when the performer palmed the cup, an instant transformation took place. The same principle was adapted to checks.



I have cups made from metal, plastic, and tin (Fig. 3). Some have a top, and some come with a ridge to set one legitimate check on top. The cups are painted with the appropriate color and insert markings, and the cup is ready to go. They are generally made to look like five $5 checks, but other denominations are possible.
The chip cup has surfaced in blackjack, craps, and baccarat. It's ;in baccarat that the largest score as a result of this gaff is known to have occurred. The place was Sun City, South Africa, and the chip cup was used to steal tens of millions in ajmassive conspiracy.
Let's use blackjack to illustrate one application. An agent bets the cup, and it appears as if he has bet $25 consisting of five $5 checks. If he wins, the dealer cuts into the cup in the same manner as if he were cutting into a stack of checks. So far, so good. If the agent loses; the cup is picked up and moved to the $25 tube first, slid over four $25 checks, and then immediately placed on top of the

 

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nickel tube where it belongs. It might appear that the dealer mistakenly put the losing bet into the wrong tube, then corrected it.; It happens very quickly. The cup now sits in the proper tube with four $25 checks hiding inside. When the hand is complete, the agent either buys in for $25, or asks for $25 check change. The dealer reaches into the nickels, moves the cup with the hidden checks to the layout, and then casually slides the cup to the agent. The transaction looks completely normal and duplicates the actions of a routine buy-in or check change. One hundred dollars has just been stolen!
There are different methods of handling the chip cup, and all have been conceived to minimize detection. In one variation, as the dealer pushes the cup across the table, the agent palms one $5 check from his playing stack. Before picking up the cup, he appears to take one $5 check right off the top and bet it. Its actually the palmed check. To a street smart man in the sky, this simple throwoff can take the heat off the traditional series of moves.
In craps, a dealer picking up the cup as a losing bet and moving it on top of the black checks to set iip the steal of $100 checks, would appear to be an obvious tipoff. Not always. Consider the following scenario. Two cheaters bet the field, one bets the cup and the other bets $400. If the bets win, its over and the cheaters make a payday. If the bets lose, the dealer picks up the cup first and then the $400. Moving to his black stack first, as if to put the $100 checks on top of the proper stack, the blacks slide automatically into the cup, and then the loaded cup is moved back to the red stack. This setup and sequence of moves avoids the obvious, and illogical, initial movement to the black stack. Now there's a reason for every every move.

Also in craps, with a metal chip cup, moving the cup off a stack requires an awkward grip as the fingers have to curl under the loaded cup to stop the stolen checks from falling out. This can be a tell. The plastic chip cups can secure the stolen chips with light pressure to the sides, making the handling more natural.


Double-Sided Checks
Another twist on gaffed checks is the little-known 'double-sided chip'. Made to look like a $5 check on one side and a $25 check on the other, its made from two checks that are filed down, flattened, and glued together. The checks edge is painted half red and half green (Fig. 5).
With a boss standing to the dealers left, the agent bets the gaff with the $25 side up and the green edge facing the boss. If the bet wins, it gets paid; if it loses, its moved to the rack, flipped Fig, 5 - Double-sided check over, and placed to the $5 tube, with the red edge
facing out. For the cleanup, the agent comes in with a $25 check, asking for change. The dealer plucks

 

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five checks, one at a time (which isn’t possible with the chip cup), keeping the $5 side up and the red edge facing the boss, and sprays the checks in front of the player. The checks separate and spread slightly. What could be cleaner? Spraying the checks is, of course, impossible with the cup. It's also possible to bet more than one double-sided check at the same time.
The gaff is rare due to the craftsmanship needed to make a quality piece. It takes a special tool for securing the check so only the top half of the check can be cut, sanded, or milled, away. I have only come across a few of these unusual gaffs, and they can be crude, or constructed with care and precision.^Tp^ a boss watching the game from ten feet away, the quality of the gaff is not a factor; either one would get the. money.,
ADMINISTRATIVE SCAMS
Any scam having to do with money, or the representation of mo ney, can fall into this category: fills, credits, openers, closers, (counterfeit checks, counterfeit travelers checks, counterfeit money, stolen payroll checks, and skimming are just a (few,'examples; ^,1
Markers
Marker scams represent the most successful scams in the history of gaming. Were talking about hundreds of millions of dollars. Markers were a favorite method for the mob to skim money some years back. I remember one friend telling me;"Back then there were certain guys, they had no credit lines, they never signed anything, they just got whatever they wanted" With todays computerized systems resulting,in significantlymore accountability,’ most marker scams are safely behind us. But nothing is impossible^ they still surface from time to time.
In the most basic form of the scam, the cheater, better known as a welsher, is one who borrows money with no intention of jpaying it; back.
The gaming industry is not in the banking or lending business, but they are in the business of