Conference to help casinos ban cheaters with richard marcus

Conference on table game security, and cheating

The conference season has started again. And it can continue again, now that in almost all countries measures concerning corona have been lifted. The once infamous casino player Richard Marcus has a unique conference lined up: the Table Game and Security Conference.

Conference table games and security

There have always been separate conferences around table games and security. If you, as a casino operator or employee, wanted to visit both, it meant a lot of travelling time and several days of absence. Marcus now combines the two disciplines in one conference.

And that has advantages. Because there are more similarities than many people think. They will be more closely connected during the conference. And there will be more and faster exchange of information.

Security

A conference table game is all about new developments. For example, the adjustment of Blackjack game rules that is in the pipeline. But it’s also about the supervision that croupiers and dealers have to keep on protecting the game at the table.

While a security conference is about surveillance and safety in general. In casinos, you often see separate managers. The game security manager, who keeps an eye on the rules and actions at the table, and the security manager. In practice, these functions are an extension of each other in several areas, they touch each other or overlap.

Weaknesses brought to the surface

During the corona measures and lockdown, weaknesses in security operations were brought to light in various places. Security staff suddenly had to familiarize themselves with Covid legislation and rules, and other security regulations. This reduced their ability to supervise by dealing with mask wearing, decontamination and the like.

They had to delegate some of their new and old tasks to the staff at the tables. This admittedly enforced desire for cooperation reinforced the idea of overlap in function(s). And it gave the insight that such cooperation offers more possibilities for the future. For example, by merging protocols and procedures for game monitoring and (gaming) security.

Cheating

The Conference on Gaming and Security thus has a travel and time advantage, and ensures a faster exchange of developments. The latter is still needed in the field of cheating, according to insiders. There are those in the casino world who claim that cheating has declined in recent years.

Others disagree. They point out that it may have decreased in number, but the damage is greater. Moreover, more modern methods are used with advanced technology.

Old methods

RFID technology, artificial intelligence, facial recognition and other technology have prevented much cheating. But it still happens. Which methods are used is of course only revealed when one is discovered. Like the recent case of the team that used the somewhat older card-cut-scam in baccarat.

But old methods are also still being used. What is called ‘the human factor’ often helps. Of course, we immediately think of our national illusionist Victor Mids with his diversion and persuasion techniques. With these you can fool croupiers and dealers. Unless they themselves take part in the fake game. Like with the Las Vegas Cup, a cup in the shape of a stack of chips.

Additional information Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus was once infamous for his years of cheating in Las Vegas. He was able, with his team, to cheat casinos out of millions of dollars without much money of his own, using both intelligent and remarkable methods. For example, he used the ‘drunk player card’, also known as the Savannah strategy.

Marcus has now, by his own admission, stopped cheating. He now has a website on which he explains his cheating methods in detail and discusses those of other fraudsters.