British cheaters jailed for illegally beating the odds

Joining the ever-growing list of folks using technology to unlawfully beat the odds is a group of British gurus who claimed nearly £250,000 ($487,400) before being sniffed out by curious officials at the Mint Casino in Cromwell Road. As with so many other high-rolling hijinks, the trio seemed to doing just fine, pulling in £38,000 ($74,084) during a single week at one point, but greed ended up getting the best of them, as you're bound to get scrutinized after winning 34 out of 44 matches in a row. The average joes-turned-poker-sharks utilized sleeve-mounted cameras to beam card deals to a completely wired up van waiting outside, which then rolled the footage in slow motion and passed along the top secret information to the actual table sitter, who listened intently via a hidden speaker. Their method illegally snagged massive chunks of coin from an estimated six of the capital's 25 gambling locales, and now they each face nine months behind bars, coupled with 150 hours of unpaid community service. Of course, one may argue the ethics behind stealing from a venue which thrives on suckering people in that stand little chance at walking out with any profit at all, but regardless, you won't see these folks in any gambling parlor for two full years after their stint, which should be ample time for RFID-infused playing cards to hit the underground market.

[Via Fark]

[JennyGarlandTX @ Jan 16th 2007 1:25PM]

Wonder if people will be scanned in the near future in casinos to make sure they don't have devices like these guys had?

Loopedy Loop Designs

[mastershake @ Jan 16th 2007 1:38PM]

This same ploy was used here in Vegas years ago! And they too were caught do to greed. Look casinos look for patterns, and they talk to each other. If you walk down the strip winning, by the time you make it to the end....they are already waiting for you.

[Ray-- @ Jan 16th 2007 2:16PM]

9 months in jail? Hrmmm i might be willing to spend 9 months in jail for 1/2 million... sounds like a good premise for a reality tv show.

[NHAnimator @ Jan 16th 2007 2:57PM]

Can we just lock up the cast of Armed & Dangerous instead?

[Jonathan @ Jan 16th 2007 4:26PM]

The casino didn't lose any money as they take a rake out of each hands. The people screwed were the other players.

[Chris Heinonen @ Jan 16th 2007 4:40PM]

First, that 250,000 estimate is by the casinos, and is just a guess, they don't seem to offer any proof in the article to back that up, just the one night total that is accurate. Second, it's correct that the house lost nothing on this, just the players at the table, since the house gets a rake out of every single pot (or, if this is no-limit poker, they just earn an hourly rate, no rake at all, and many casinos in the UK don't let you even tip the dealers). Finally, I'm sure they had to pay back to money in response to #4.

[FireAndGlass @ Jan 16th 2007 4:42PM]

@Ray 1/2 a million for 9 months? That's great! Sign me up! Really that's a slap on the wrist. I'd just smile to myself when the sentance for that came across. Throw the money in some stable funds somewhere for a bit and start planning your vacations.

[Rick Lyon @ Jan 16th 2007 6:02PM]

Yea, no mention of returning the money. Key tip- if you ever steal this much money open a swiss bank (or other off shore) account immediately. That way, it doesn't matter if you get caught, they'll never be able to get the money.

[Nobuyuki Idei @ Jan 18th 2007 12:53PM]

Wrong. With a court order, the Swiss banks are as open as anyone.

[David Gayler @ Jan 16th 2007 6:17PM]

Am I alone in finding this judgement dangerous? What is a player not allowed to do when playing in a casino? The casino seem to have carte blanche to use any technology to control the play. Are players allowed to talk to one another? Or is it that the punter has only a general approval in law to lose money?

[Aryeh @ Jan 19th 2007 12:56AM]

"Key tip- if you ever steal this much money open a swiss bank (or other off shore) account immediately. That way, it doesn't matter if you get caught, they'll never be able to get the money." -Rick Lyon

That's generally a good idea, but I'm sure the casino -- or whomever you owe money to -- could sue you for the money you owe in which case you would be broke if you were to leave the money it an international account.

[Evan @ Jan 25th 2007 10:23PM]

why cant they just garnish future wages if you put it in an offshore bank account? I dont think your plan will work as well as you think it may.

[MS @ Jan 16th 2007 7:12PM]

And the reason this item is reported in a gadget blog is?

[Aaron @ Jan 17th 2007 8:38AM]

they used gadgets to steal the money?