Top 10 Most Clever Casino Scams Of All Time

When it comes to the secret behind this first scam on our list, it's all in the wrist. Or, at least that what Dominic LoRiggio, aka "Dominic the Dominator" will tell you. You see, Dominic has made a killing - and a living - using a method he refers to as "dice control." With it, LoRiggio can turn a flick of the wrist into whatever winning combination he desires. Although some have countered Dominic's claims as the braggings of a seasoned con man, the fact that LoRiggio is banned from numerous casinos speaks volumes as to the success rate of his chosen method - which he teaches to others for a price.

Where there’s a will - and new technology - there’s a way. Case in point? This 2004 incident involving two Siberian men and a Hungarian woman who took the Ritz Casino in London to the tune of 1.3 million pounds. Their plan of attack? A method called "sector targeting," which used a laser scanner on their smartphones to predict where the ball would land on the Ritz's roulette tables. The real kicker? Though they were arrested after the casino reviewed securiy footage, many charges were reportedly dropped given that sector targeting wasn’t yet technically covered by gambling laws. Clearly it pays to be on the cutting edge.

Casinos rely on “Black Books” of names and photos, such as the famous “Griffin Book”, to identify advantage players and cheaters. Two names that reportedly appear in Nevada’s Black Book are John Dixon and Robert Aisle, who were both accused of card switching back in the 1980s. The men would allegedly sit close to each other and pass cards to each other beneath the table and under their wagers. They would also employ accomplices, usually bribed cocktail waitresses, to assist them in their scheme as either lookouts or distractions.

Speaking of bribery, the infamous, Californian-based Tran Organization went well beyond greasing the palms of the wait staff - taking their offers right to the dealers. The group, which reportedly was over 40 members strong, had their crooked dealers perform false shuffles at baccarat tables, during which Tran members would track the order of cards. The gang used microphones to share information and computer programs to predict what cards would be drawn, taking various North American casinos for over $7 million before they were caught. Of course, that’s just the activity that authorities were able to uncover.

Have you ever wondered why today's slot machines give out paper vouchers, as opposed to the tokens so often seen in old school movies? Well, it's in part thanks to the criminal activities of Louis "The Coin" Colavecchio, who took casinos in Atlantic City and Connecticut for a ride for years. He did this by creating replica tokens during his day job as a jeweler. Of course, the fact that Colavecchio was also in with the mob made the reproduction of these coins all the more lucrative...that is, until he was caught in 1998 and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Professional gamblers will often look to even the most minute of details in order to gain an edge. Phil Ivey was one such gambler, and he used a technique known as "edge sorting" to controversially win nearly $20 million dollars. The idea is to convince the dealer to rotate high-value cards, for example by saying you’re superstitious, then pick them out using asymmetrical irregularities on their long edges. Ivey took the Borgata Casino in New Jersey and London's Crockfords for millions, but wasn't allowed to keep any of it thanks to court decrees that deemed Ivey's edge sorting to be cheating.

Richard Marcus spent time behind the table as a Vegas blackjack and baccarat dealer, but it was his activity as a player that earned him infamy as a casino scammer. His technique was simple, but effective: Marcus took advantage of the fact that the red $5 chips looked remarkably similar to the brown $500 chips. He would place two red chips sticking out slightly from a bottom brown one. If he lost the hand, Marcus would switch out the bottom chip for another red, but if he won, then he would be sure to let the dealer know that the bottom one was brown, and keep the profit.

The next scam on our list also involves chips and the ol' switcheroo, and it reportedly hit Ohio area casinos big time in 2012. Dozens of people were reportedly involved in a roulette crime ring which involved people placing really low bets, and then stealing chips from dealers who were distracted by other members of the ring. The accomplices would then meet up in places such as public restrooms to pass along the stolen chips and bring them up to the cashiers. Although some of these scammers were caught, many remain at large today, while the ring itself reportedly scammed casinos in 18 different states, nationwide.

We mentioned earlier that smartphone technology has helped cheaters scam casinos. But what about something as seemingly harmless as a contact lens? Italian scammer Stefano Ampollini ingeniously used infrared contact lenses to get one over on Les Princes Casino in Cannes, France in 2011. With the help of an insider, Ampollini and his accomplices were able to mark a deck of cards with invisible ink. Ampollini was able to walk away with almost one hundred thousand dollars, but was arrested two months later when he returned for a second helping.

Before we name our number one scam, here are a few not so honorable mentions!
The ATM Job: Scammed in 60 Seconds
The Cutter Gang
Tommy Carmichael's Slots Scam

Who says you can’t beat the house? The MIT Blackjack Team used card counting to beat casinos worldwide in the 80s and early 90s. In its simplest form, card counting involves using a point system to track the ratio of low to high cards, by adding one point for low cards dealt, and subtracting one point for high cards. It isn’t illegal, although it might get you banned. The technique was pioneered by mathematician Edward O. Thorp in the 1960s. But the MIT Blackjack Team took it to new levels, hitting casino after casino and eventually expanding from a small group of six students to a team of 80. They later split into smaller groups, who continued to take casinos by storm.