Cheat until you can cheat no more. A story about a successful
casino cheater: Richard Marcus

Story by Don Richard
11 July 2007

Richard Marcus is considered by many, a legend, the best of the best in his field; having successfully cheated US $ 20 million out of casinos across the globe, spanning over a 25-year career.

Richard was a master manipulator of chips. He either past posted bets after he had won or did the opposite, which was greatly decreasing the size of his bets when the casino lost. This is called dragging and pinching.

He came up with a roulette move where he’d bet a $5,000 chip underneath a red $5 chip on outside roulette bets. When the bet won, he would collect either five or ten grand, depending whether it was an even-money or 2 to 1 bet. When it lost, he lost only ten bucks. This move is widely considered by the upper echelon surveillance people as the best casino cheating move ever!

He never got caught. His mastery of the art of cheating was incredible. He would place the $5,000 chip underneath the $5 chip in a way that it was hidden from the dealer. In other words, the dealer knew there were two chips there but couldn’t make out the denomination of the bottom chip and therefore assumed it was another $5 chip. So when the bet lost, he would rake it off the layout before the dealer could sweep it. When caught, he’d just go into a drunken routine and claim in slurred words that he didn’t realize that the ball had dropped. Then he would put back the two $5 chips he’d had palmed in his hand. Since the dealer believed his original bet was just that, two $5 chips, there was never much of a problem.

When the bet won, especially if the dealer didn’t know the $5,000 chip was there, Richard would immediately start ranting and raving with joy, pointing to the bet, screaming, “There’s my $5,000 winning chip? As for the surveillance cameras, they backed him up each and every time they’d verify that it was a legitimate bet and not a past posted one.

Guts and courage are only part of what’s required to be a good cheat. Good cheating skills, creativity, intelligence, courage according to Richard are prerequisites, and you have to know when to stop of course. Richard would simply move to another casino or even another town or continent whenever the heat became too much.

Richard officially retired in 2000 from his work in casinos as a professional cheat. He lives in Southern France. But he tries to keep occupied. He’s written four books about his exploits, and trains casino staff around the world to be less vulnerable to cheats.  

He believes that dealers, floormen and pit bosses are all far too dependent on the casino cameras. Since every square inch of casino space is taped 24/7, casino personnel believe that they don’t have to be on their toes. That isn’t always the case Richard argues, because a camera never taps a pit boss on the shoulder to tells him about a cheat at a table. According to Richard it works the other way. The people on the floor have to know what they are looking for, as well as looking at. The cameras are just like computers. If you don’t give them proper input, you don’t get proper output. Richard guarantees prospective casino clients that his services will save them thousands and thousands of dollars each year!