Customer Reviews

American Roulette: How I Turned the Odds Upside Down---My Wild Twenty-Five-Year Ride Ripping Off the World's Casinos

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book tells the author's story of how he lost everything he had gambling, took a crappy job as shill--promoted to baccarat dealer--at the Four Queens in Las Vegas, and then had the opportunity to join a group of gambling cheaters and thieves. The cheating moves described in the book are mostly "pastposting"--placing high bets after the outcome is known by swapping in a new stack of chips for the ones previously bet. The trick is that high-value chips are concealed underneath low-value chips, and the cheater often has to issue a "claim" by pointing out to the dealer that he's been underpaid for the bet. The book begins and ends with a move he calls the "Savannah" which is an opposite maneuver--a high bet is placed, with the high-value chips concealed by lower-value chips, and if the bet loses, the high-value chips are pulled off. With that move, the winning bets are legitimate and surveillance tapes show that the high-value chips were there all along.

The group also would occasionally make money with other scams, like "railing"--stealing directly out of the chip racks of their fellow players. They also narrowly avoid getting involved in a card-marking scheme, violating their own rules of not using any specialized equipment that could be incriminating.

The book is most interesting for the characters involved and how they dealt with "steam" from the casinos when they caught on to what was happening.

The author appears to have no guilt or remorse for his actions on the grounds that casinos are regularly "stealing" from people every day (though that certainly doesn't justify the thefts directly from other gamblers, and ignores that gamblers are willing participants who know the odds are stacked against them).

I read _Bringing Down the House_ about the MIT Blackjack Team about a year and a half ago, and the comparison between the teams is interesting--the MIT team's methodology was far more sophisticated (and wasn't technically cheating), but both had to use similar psychological techniques.

It's surprising that the casinos didn't come up with better countermeasures quickly (a rule that there are no payouts for high-value chips not announced in advance, for example), but I find Marcus' overall tale quite plausible, in part because of the factors he points out in the last few pages of the book--"practically all casino jobs are monotonous" (p. 369). The boredom results in lack of attention and the jobs' high turnover results in inexperienced people up against very experienced cheaters.

American Roulette is a fascinating read. As a fan of true crime/adventure stories like Ben Mezrich's recent bestseller Bringing Down The House and Frank Abagnale's Catch Me If You Can, I was eager to pick up American Roulette as soon as I heard about it.
The true story of Richard Marcus' 25 year career as a casino cheater, American Roulette presents itself in a straightforward manner, similar to Frank Abagnale or Nicholas Pileggi, rather than Mezrich (a former novelsit, who, although entertaining, seems to take more liberty with the constrictions of truth).
American Roulette's emphasis on believability, over stylized drama, pays off beautifully. And why should he over stylize anything, when his adventures feature the allure of exotic locales, beautiful women, an investigator obsessed with busting him, and almost constant tension.
A group of colorful, carefree and quite likeable outlaws band together travelling the globe successfully cheating the world's casinos. Several close calls remind us of the motivation for Marcus' close knit teams to invent new cheating "moves" in a constant effort to stay one step ahead of the gaming security systems.
Perhaps the author's most impressive accomplishment besides never having been arrested and prosecuted for his deeds is that the detailed workings of the actual cheating "moves" he successfully employed are made crystal clear to the reader, even those unfamiliar with casino gambling.

A highly recommended glimpse into an unseen world.

First of all, I must confess that I know next to nothing about gambling. I don't know the rules of any card games, and the intricacies of games such as roulette and keno are lost upon me. My experience in casinos is limited to dropping a quarter into a slot machine and pulling a lever, and that is just for grins and giggles. Accordingly, AMERICAN ROULETTE qualifies for me as a great book, given that it deals with a topic that I know very little about and makes it the subject of fascinating and compelling reading.

AMERICAN ROULETTE is about gambling, but it is more about cheating at gambling, or more specifically, systematically cheating at casino gambling. Author Richard Marcus made a very nice living for decades by cheating casinos. He is unapologetic about it; in fact, he is quite proud of the methods he used. His justification appears to be that casinos cheat their customers, so he is merely getting his own back. This is arguably a self-serving view. Anyone entering a casino has at least a rudimentary idea of whose side the laws of chance reside; one either chooses to gamble or not. Philosophical considerations aside, however, AMERICAN ROULETTE remains a fascinating study in the hows and wherefores of casino cheating, as well as casino security. Casinos, understandably, are not in the business of losing money. While the individual scores that cheaters like Marcus might inflict may individually be relatively small, taken in the aggregate they could constitute death by a thousand cuts. Casinos accordingly are quite interested in stanching the flow and are constantly playing Tom to Marcus's larcenous Jerry.

Marcus describes in AMERICAN ROULETTE how he first became involved in casino cheating. He actually started off as a casino dealer. One night he received an interesting proposition from a man named Joe Classon. Classon offered Marcus a spot on his "team." The entire purpose of Classon's team was to cheat casinos out of money. It quickly becomes evident from reading AMERICAN ROULETTE that great casino heists are not carried out individually. A well-disciplined, well-oiled team is an absolute must for any chance of success. Classon, from this account, had one of the best. He became teacher, leader, mentor and father figure to Marcus, instructing him in the methods of casino cheating and encouraging him to devise methods of his own. Marcus for the most part does an incredible job of explaining the methodology of both the games and the methods of cheating that he utilized to beat the casinos. Notwithstanding my unfamiliarity with such games as blackjack and roulette, there was only a time or two during AMERICAN ROULETTE when I felt lost at sea.

After Classon retired, however, Marcus began leading his own team and utilized his potential as a casino thief to the fullest. Marcus is quite straightforward in explaining his techniques. However, though he does so in a step-by-step-manner, this is not a "how-to" book. If anything, one who would seek to follow in Marcus's footsteps would be dissuaded by AMERICAN ROULETTE. It is obvious from reading the book that a casino thief requires a combination of skills --- coordination, nerve, sleight of hand and patience --- that is rarely found in combination in one individual. Additionally, a successful casino thief needs at least one assistant that can be totally trusted. And then, of course, there are the casinos, which understandably frown on cheating. While the days of cheaters being dry-gulched are reportedly over (and I'm not entirely convinced of that) the legal penalties are quite severe. Penalties can only be imposed, however, if one is caught; and even then, as Marcus demonstrates in AMERICAN ROULETTE, they can be avoided.

Marcus waited until retirement to write his "tell-all" book, which serves as an interesting counterpoint to the investigative television shows one stumbles across randomly on cable television that concern casino security. While technological advances have made things more difficult for the Richard Marcuses of the gambling world, they have not made it impossible. And while Marcus is hardly a role model, his account is an interesting and often suspenseful glimpse into a world of which relatively few are aware. Recommended.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

This hugely entertaining book takes the reader through casinos across the world with a group of nervy and sophisticated roulette cheats. The brisk narrative follows the career of Richard Marcus from his adolescent wanderings, through his tutelage by an older casino cheat, and into his formation and leadership of an expert roulette crew. Close calls are many, mistakes are costly and rewards are great.
I have no opinion on the veracity of Mr. Marcus's story, but I know an entertaining book when I read one. This is an exhilarating read!

As a big fan of caper movies and con stories (Ocean's 11, The Thomas Crown Affair, Catch Me if You Can), I can enthusiastically recommend American Roulette.

Richard Marcus (most likely not his real name, in fact, the name is the same as that of the actor in a TV series called The Pretender) tells of his successful career as a casino cheat. He started as a garden-variety gambler, lost all his money, found himself homeless in Las Vegas, and became a blackjack dealer.

Marcus was recruited by a well-to-do casino rip-off gang and rose to the top over the years. He tells great stories about which casinos the gang hit, how they engineered the con, the trouble they ran into, and how they were nearly caught several times. The gang even made their way to casinos in Europe and Australia, although their base was in Las Vegas. The opening of casinos in Atlantic City and across the U.S. made for some easy pickings as well.

American Roulette is not an instructional manual on how to scam the casinos. In fact, as Marcus points out, even if you were to learn the mechanics and technicalities of the scam, there is something more basic to the success of the con game and that is being cool under pressure. These characters are glaciers.

American Roulette is a terrific read, and would make a fantastic movie.

Not all my recreational reading is fiction... :-) I recently finished American Roulette by Richard Marcus. This book tells the story of Marcus and his 25 year career of cheating casinos all over the world. While a little repetitive at times, it's a fascinating look into a world that many of us know nothing about.

Marcus started out as a dealer in Las Vegas after losing a bundle and ending up sleeping under a bridge. His personality attracts the attention of a team of casino cheats who enlist him into their group. He learns the art of "pastposting", which is learning how to switch chips after the outcome of a game is known. This can involve either adding more chips to a winning bid or removing high-value chips after a loss. This pastposting routine is used successfully at roulette, craps and blackjack, and Marcus starts to travel the world. His team quickly becomes known world-wide by casino management, but they are unsuccessful at catching and stopping the team. He "retired" a couple years ago, never having been caught and convicted during his 25 year career.

The story is an interesting look at the mentality of casino and cheats, as well as the psychology involved in pulling off successful scams. It's also interesting to see how the team progresses from $100 moves to $10000 moves over the years. I'm a little surprised that he would be as detailed as he is, as it seems like law enforcement could use this as a "confession" of sorts to prosecute him after the fact. Regardless, it's a good read that will make you view casinos in a new light.

This story is great. It keeps you going with chases and backroom scenes. The only detractor for me was that it falls into one common memoir trap - repetition. I don't really need to know about every single time they cheat in the exact same way. That said, many of the descriptions of people are great. It's not often that you find a book describing people from the point of view of how easily they can be cheated. My favorite was "old grumpy," a casino floorman who always blamed his dealers for the mistakes they made, and never guessed that the players might be "helping" the dealer make the mistakes.

I can see how this book got five stars across the board. I could not put this book down. It was a fast paced read. I never heard of past-posting until this book came out. It is interesting to read the author's progression into the cheating schemes and how the schemes are improved over time. I highly recommend this book, especially for those who don't like to read or don't know how to read.

While I am not sure how much of the book is poetic license, the author does a great job of describing his career as a casino cheat - down to the exact moves. What makes the book great is that you begin to really get a feel for what this life was like. While on the surface his life appeared glamorous, the work seemed to be constant stress. (you'll have to read the book to see why)
This book was almost as good as "Bringing Down the House" - just as well written, but the schemes themselves were slightly less interesting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in gambling and/or casinos. For those that don't, I would not suggest this book.

Reading Marcus's 25-years-exploits in casinos around the world,the history of cheating in a specific form,using no gadgets or instruments,plus a tour du monde of other cheating operations,you will often wonder whether this can be,and is,all true.
There is a lot of Vegas and Caribbean history thrown in,a look back at New York in the fifties,but the flow of the narrative is admirable.
Marcus succeeds in bringing his characters to ring true in the ears
of his readers,you gnaw your knuckles with his motley crew of pro-casino-cheaters as they face predictably negative reactions from the house,you live with them on the road-Marcus knows how to tell a yarn.
As I hope you don't plan to implement those tricks (they're fun,yes,and deserved by the victims,probably,but like tax embezzling highly illegal !! ),the question of fact or fiction fades to the background- this IS extremely well done and entertaining reading stuff !
I can really recommend it with 5 stars,it does not pretend to be a literary classic,and in entertainment,or infotainment,it deserves class A rating.