FROM KLAS-TV IN VEGAS: Poker Cheating Scheme

[clevfan]

George Knapp, Chief Investigative Reporter
I-Team Exclusive: Poker Cheating Scheme

July 18, 2007 02:05 AM EDT

It sounds like the plot of one of those flashy casino heist movies -- a team of thieves, armed with high tech equipment concocts a scheme to steal vast sums of money from big shot gamblers.

It really did happen, although law enforcement officials are still unwilling to talk about it. Gaming agents in New Jersey arrested four suspects, including a Las Vegas man known internationally as an expert in how to thwart casino thieves.

In late June, the elegant Borgata in Atlantic City launched the largest poker event in the town's history, a $5,000 per-person buy in tournament with 337 players vied for $1.7 million. But someone else was after the money as well; a team of high tech cheats with a scheme worthy of Oceans 11.

Well-placed sources told the I-Team that New Jersey gaming agents staged a quiet raid on the Borgata and arrested four people. By one account, they stormed a hotel room and found it packed with electronic equipment. According to one source, gaming control initially believed the suspects had tapped into a live video feed generated by the hole card cameras that allow TV audiences to see a player's down cards in games of Texas Hold 'em, information that presumably could be relayed to a confederate playing in the tournament.

However, a spokesman for Boyd Gaming, which is a partner in Borgata with MGM, told the I-Team "the scheme did target high-end poker players, but off the floor," adding that "the security systems of the Borgata were never compromised, nor was the tournament. Customers were targeted but not the games."

The biggest surprise for gaming agents might have been who was involved. Among those arrested as part of the scheme was Las Vegas gaming consultant Steve Forte, regarded as a world class expert in countering cheaters. Forte's web site says he's been a consultant to MGM, Caesars, Station Casinos, as well as to the U.S. Attorney, FBI, Metro Police and the Clark County district attorney. His books and videos on how to counter gambling cheats are best sellers.

New Jersey authorities would not acknowledge that arrests were been made. However, Nevada Gaming Control told the I-Team they had been informed by New Jersey about the arrests, that four persons had been taken into custody including Steve Forte, and that a sensitive investigation was ongoing.

Back in Las Vegas, Forte has told friends that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, intimating that he was in the room with the alleged cheaters because he wanted to observe their methods and was not part of the scheme. Forte declined the I-Team's interview request but confirmed in an e-mail that he had been arrested. He says he maintains his innocence and will fight the charges at all costs.

The obvious question is could it happen at the much more lucrative World Series of Poker? Tournament commissioner Jeffrey Pollack says he's heard nothing about the New Jersey scandal but that he is confident that cheaters wouldn't stand a chance there.

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said, "I can't reveal our specific security measures, otherwise they wouldn't be very secure. But needless to say, Harrah's has the ultimate commitment to both responsible gaming and security, and we have a state of the art surveillance system in place at all times here."

Casino sources say they believe the FBI is now involved in the investigation, possibly to find out if the same high tech scheme has been used before.

The I-Team contacted several of the poker players involved in the tournament. None of them saw anything unusual, nor did they see any arrests. That fits with other information the I-Team has about how the scheme was intended to steal from the poker players when they were away from the tables. No one is saying how the plot was supposed to work. Even the arrest information is being kept confidential.

[broadway]

gaming control initially believed the suspects had tapped into a live video feed generated by the hole card cameras that allow TV audiences to see a player's down cards in games of Texas Hold 'em, information that presumably could be relayed to a confederate playing in the tournament.

have to admit that was the first thought i had when the hole card camera made its debut, somebody would get the info relayed to an earpiece

[StarnetGypsy]

if they compromised the hotel security system, then yeah it'd be more than possible because so many people had i-tune units on their ears.

must admit tho, i was surprised how lax and inexperienced the security guards were at wsop. it was pretty damned rowdy, and there were allot of loudmouth drunks all over the place, hanging over the rails, shouting nonsense while the players were trying to concentrate. i'da thot they'd been hauling morons outta there wholesale, but nooooo ...

hell, they didn't even check people coming in for weapons.

[Superfly]

The day I played there were no spectators allowed into the hall until after the dinner break, and absolutely none inside the rail. It was a zoo, but that was to be expected. I thought security did a good job. But I'm sure it changed as the action would down and most of the room wasn't being used.

[StarnetGypsy]

Originally Posted by Superfly

The day I played there were no spectators allowed into the hall until after the dinner break, and absolutely none inside the rail. It was a zoo, but that was to be expected. I thought security did a good job. But I'm sure it changed as the action would down and most of the room wasn't being used.

ayep. when it got down to the final four tables, it really dumbed down. pfftt! this whole fuckin society is dumbing down actually. moms aint home anymore to raise kids because they're working, so they'd be better off being raised by wolves ... instead, they're stupid

[Total Square]

Police crack high-stakes poker scheme
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Staff Writer, (609) 272-7258
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2007
ATLANTIC CITY — The police weren’t bluffing when they busted in on a high-stakes poker scam at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.

What they found was a room filled with high-tech surveillance equipment that allowed a cheating ring to rip off poker players who participated in private games, authorities said.

One of four men arrested at Borgata on June 7 by New Jersey State Police was Steve Forte, a Las Vegas gaming consultant who is an internationally recognized expert on ways to thwart casino cheaters.

Forte, 51, is the author of Casino Game Protection, described on his Web site as a comprehensive guide covering the intricacies of casino scams and strategies. Perhaps the members of the State Police Organized Crime Bureau and Casino Unit read Forte’s book before making the Borgata raid.

Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, said Forte and his alleged co-conspirators set up private, big-money poker games at Borgata to cheat unsuspecting players. The private games were not connected to Borgata’s normal casino operations.

The scam artists used strategically placed surveillance cameras to peek at the players’ hands. The information was secretly relayed to an accomplice who wore an undetectable radio receiver in his ear. Computer programs and marked playing cards also were used by the cheaters to enhance their chances of winning, according to Aseltine.

“They were involved in a high-tech cheating scam that utilized sophisticated video and audio equipment, along with laptop computers,” Aseltine said.

Authorities divulged details of the scheme for the first time Tuesday, although they declined to say how they cracked the case. The investigation continues and could lead to other casino jurisdictions, including Las Vegas.

Forte, who lives in Las Vegas, was charged with using a computer and cheating devices to commit theft, attempted theft by deception and conspiracy. Joseph T. Ingargiola, 50, of Playa del Rey, Calif., Stephen Phillips, 52, of Las Vegas, and James Calvin Harrison, 41, of Duluth, Minn., are facing the same charges.

All four have been released on bail pending court hearings.

Forte did not return messages Tuesday to a Las Vegas telephone number listed on his Web site. He is the president of a consulting firm called International Gaming Specialists.

The Web site says Forte has been hired by gaming companies and law enforcement agencies worldwide to help them catch casino cheaters. He has acted as a gambling adviser for “Dateline NBC,” the Discovery Channel and a number of motion pictures, including “Rounders,” a 1998 movie starring Matt Damon about a reformed gambler who returns to playing high-stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks.

In addition, Forte produced a four-part video series distributed worldwide to “help protect all those that play in private games from card and dice cheaters,” his Web site says.

Forte and the other suspects used hotel rooms at Borgata to conduct their alleged scheme, according to Aseltine. The games were private and not connected to the casino’s regular poker play.

At the same time that the scam was unfolding in June, Borgata had held a $1.7 million poker tournament that attracted 337 players and was billed as the largest event of its type in Atlantic City. Dave Coskey, Borgata’s vice president of marketing, said the tournament was untouched by the alleged cheating ring.

“To the best of my knowledge, they weren’t targeting our tournament,” Coskey said. “It was off the gaming floor. It wasn’t affecting our gaming at all.”

Unconfirmed reports had circulated that the suspects had tapped into a live video feed from a camera showing the “hole cards” of players in the poker tournament. However, Coskey said there were no hole-card cameras and no television coverage of the event, so the tourney could not have been compromised.

“There was no concern of a hole camera being tapped,” he said. “There couldn’t be, because we didn’t have a camera. There was no television.”

Police crack high-stakes poker scheme

[count zero]

Steve Forte once explained shuffle tracking and card steering to me over dinner. He paid for the dinner too. Many years ago.

Just dropping names.

[pokerjoe]

Besides general maturity and decorum, another reason to ban outrageous and apparently drunken behavior is that it can be a cover for cheats. One of the most basic part of cons/cheats/magic is distraction. You want to bring a marked card on or off the table? Throw cards, rip up cards, spill drinks, etc.

[clevfan]

indicted in alleged poker scam at Borgata

October 2, 2008

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ Four men have been indicted in what New Jersey authorities say was a high-tech poker scam in Atlantic City.

The four _ James Harrison of Duluth, Minn., and Las Vegas residents Joseph Ingargiola, Stephen Phillips and Steven Forte _ each face a charge of second-degree attempted theft by deception. The indictment was handed up Thursday by a grand jury in Atlantic County.

Forte is a well-known gambling consultant who once hosted his own television show.

Authorities said the four rigged two hotel rooms at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa with surveillance cameras and computers, then invited another man to play in high-stakes games of Chinese poker, backgammon and chess.

Before the intended target of the scam arrived, New Jersey State Police seized the equipment and arrested the four men. They remain free on bail.

A person answering the phone at a Las Vegas number listed in Forte's name would not take a message for him. Listings for the others could not be located.