East European cheats in Western Europe...............by John Connolly
John Connolly (Casino Protection). KYC, Physiognomist
Owner/Partner @ Finger | Gaming Board for Great Britain Manager's Certificate, Casino House Protection.
Not since the turn of the century (year 2,000) have we seen so many casino cheats enter from Eastern Europe and beyond (ex-Soviet Union satellite countries) into Western Europe.
The reason being they have become too well known in their own region and now need to ply their trade beyond old borders.
At the end of the last century and into the new millennium many Armenians some with family members swept across Europe with what is known as the “bottom steering” trick, this is when the last card or bottom card in the deck is seen and memorised as the marker card. Since this time on Blackjack most casinos are using two cutting cards, one to cover and hide the bottom card and the other to be used to cut the deck. We have seen the misuse of the cutting card on many occasions and therefore attention has to be made when the player is given this task. Especially attention should be made during the shuffle, this is a given.
On Baccarat, for example, I prefer that the dealer cuts the deck and the player is not allowed near the deck until it’s protected inside the shoe. However, the Armenians fooled many casino managers and their staff by placing the cutting card flat on top of the deck, half on and half off, then with the use of their thumb under the cut card they would fan and memorise the first half dozen cards. These cards are then used later in play to bust out the dealer, leading to many strange decisions so as to steer bad cards into the dealer’s hand and bust that hand out.
Some of these same Armenian bottom steerers are on the move again in Central and Western Europe, distracting the dealer during the cutting of the deck.
The dealer is distracted by the accomplice waving a lit cigarette under his nose during the cutting of the deck and the camera is also blocked by his arm.
This is just one type of distraction used, there are other methods.
The main perpetrator (the cutter) was around in the year 2000 and was also active in South America during 2001, according to one of our society members.
Casino Surveillance & Security Society
https://groups.google.com/group/casino-security
Connecting the world of Casino-Security.
They are family members but not all, some are cheating associates mostly Armenians but Czech, Belarusians and Russians are also known to be masters of this simple trick.
Also at this current time active in Malta is a well known Russian blackjack advantage player and his innocent looking girlfriend described as looking like a twelve-year-old.
Girlfriends are often used just to give some credibility to the operation, this is a ploy used by many cheats, bringing their young daughters into the scheme.
During the same week, two more Russians were spotted also in Malta, video recording slot machines. The casino director called me and although she couldn’t give me details of the two involved (because of GDPR concerns) when I asked if they both came from the Saint Petersburg area she was able to confirm that they actually resided in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg as we know is the home of "Alex" the mastermind of the slot machine hacking fraternity and most of these Russian cheats are coming from that area of recruitment.
As seen in this photo (right) the slot machine hackers are becoming more difficult to detect as they mostly try to conceal their cameras on their persons.
Although their mannerisms and their country of origin can sometimes give them away. Most of them are known to the International Casino Cheat Detection agency.
They are in the Finger database.
Another Russian who has been very active recently has appeared in Bulgaria with his female partner. He is known to belong to a larger group of card markers, one member being Belorussian.
They are known for marking the aces only on house poker games and usually with a concealed mini camera up their sleeves, images of the marked cards are relayed to an accomplice outside of the premises and card information is usually sent back to the player through the use of an earpiece or other electronic devices.
One Russian member of this team was arrested in Chile by border control when his luggage was seen to contain too much electronic equipment used to cheat casinos. (See image below).
A young couple from Kyrgyzstan known to mark cards on poker was also recently in Bulgaria. Once inside the E.U. expect them to turn up in any European country.
For more information contact the writer John Connolly at [email protected]
https://groups.google.com/group/casino-security
