Five Casino Secrets You Never Knew About
When one imagines the life of a professional gambler, there are plenty of illicit ideas that may come to mind - the gun slinging swashbucklers of the American frontier days, the dangerous decadence of prohibition saloons, or perhaps even the ruthless casino bosses and depicted in films like Martin Scorsese’s “Casino”. Whilst modern-day casinos - both online and off - are generally no longer such hotbeds of shady activity, there is still plenty of intrigue to be found if you know where to look. After all, where there are massive amounts of money to be won at a roll of the dice or a turn of the reels, who knows what can happen? Although the five secrets revealed here are not exactly classified information, they are the kind of facts that to which only casino employees are usually privy. In any event, we still think they’re pretty damn juicy.
There Are Cameras Everywhere
Okay, so maybe you already knew this, but we doubt you are aware of just quite how many there are. Even back in 2008, casino security expert, Jeff Jonas revealed that a casino like the Bellagio probably has around 2 000 cameras, connected to 50 monitors. Jonas also explained that casinos utilise tens of thousands of sensors to keep a tight grip on security. In this way, casinos keep track of every machine, every ATM, every teller machine, every doorway, and just about everything else at all times.
Casinos Are Crawling with Undercover Cops
Speaking of illegal, in addition to the measures taken by the casinos themselves, undercover policemen liberally sprinkled among the other players make life even more difficult for would-be criminals. And, if you think you’ll be safe from the law if you choose to carry out your unlawful activities in the bathroom, think again. There are even cops in there, just waiting to catch you in the act.
Casino Tricksters Are Incredibly Creative
You would not believe the lengths to which some people will go to cheat their way to a win. And criminals who practise their trade in casinos are among the most creative in their line of work. One popular tactic is to replace a real stack of $5 chips with a chip cup - a hollowed-out fake that can conceal a couple of $100 chips. In order to pull this off, however, the player needs to be in cahoots with the dealer, who will help to make the switch. Jonas even revealed how a cyber criminal employed as a video poker game programmer secretly worked in a section of code that automatically created a royal flush in response to a series of predetermined bets over seven or eight rounds. Then there’s the good old-fashioned palm - successfully manoeuvred by only the most skilled tricksters - by which a player conceals a card in his palm and then swaps it for another from his co-conspiring fellow player. Used in blackjack, this enables the player to create a better blackjack hand.
Sometimes Known Card Counters Are Allowed
Many people don’t know this, but card counting is not actually illegal. That’s because counting cards is simply a matter of keeping track of each card that is revealed to you in order to better anticipate the outcome of the game. And when did having a good memory become a crime? But casinos really don’t like it and they are legally entitled, at their full discretion, to refuse to allow you to play if you try it. So only those card counters who are able to do it without anyone noticing are able to pull it off. Casinos quickly flag players who rake in repeated wins or very large amounts of money. So you need to lose a little to win in the long term and casinos will also be quick to notice if your movements from table to table become suspicious. However, casinos will sometimes leave known card counters be if they aren’t particularly good at it and continue to lose despite their attempts at memorising the cards.
The Reason Why What Happens in Vegas...
It’s not called the City of Sin for nothing. Not everything about the “The Hangover” movies is completely farfetched. In a 2012 Reddit survey, anonymous Las Vegas casino employees revealed some of the most depraved acts in which they have caught guests over the year. According to these insiders, sex and drugs are the most popular pastimes among trouble-seeking casino-goers. Apparently, people seem to think that the fact that gambling is legal in Nevada means that pretty much everything else goes too. One Reddit contributor who worked in Vegas said that staff find patrons having sex in the oddest most public places. She also added that she’d seen people doing all sorts of drugs in spaces as public as main casino bathrooms and bars. “What happens in Vegas” indeed...
