Book Review: Casino Game Protection from Both Sides of the Table

uthor Richard Marcus, considered by A many to be the greatest casino cheat of all-time, has been a game protection consultant and trainer to casinos for fifteen years now. As such, he brings a great “deal-tothe-table” for the casino industry in his book Casino Game Protection From Both Sides of the Table. It is a must read for casino table games and surveillance staffs interested in keeping professional cheats and advantage players out of their casinos, as well as dishonest employees going into business for themselves. Marcus stresses how “game protection must work from the floor to the sky,” not the opposite, which he points out is the case in almost all casinos.

In the book, he shares the basics and the advanced cheat scams used by sophisticated professionals. But he doesn’t just write them. He shows them, and not in a way you would think is done in a book. He actually takes us to his game protection training class, and not only that—you actually participate in the class while reading! This technique of his is what really keeps you interested in the book.

Marcus shows us how cheating in a casino game is not just about using a device or a trick. There is a human equation to it. There is psychology, which highlevel cheats use to control both floor and surveillance staffs. Marcus goes into depth explaining the strategic importance of the cheater’s image, posing as a lowprofile customer some of the time and a loud even pompous high roller at the right times. He takes us up to the tables where we see the cheats engage the dealers and supervisors in conversation, getting them on their side, and, believe it or not, how they actually get casino surveillance to help them cheat their own casinos! Unwittingly of course!

Learning from the people who lived-the-life is the best educational source. It’s kind of like learning to fly. With Marcus at the helm you’re sitting next to the captain of a jumbo jet, not in an automated simulator. He really shows you how it’s done in his class. Marcus

likes to say that the best thing he can do for table games and surveillance people is put them in his shoes for a day. Knowing the intricacies of how top cheats function gives you the key knowledge you need to catch them.

Marcus stresses that although casinos’ surveillance departments have the state-of-the-art technology, at times it works against them. Why? “Because,” he says, “the staffs, especially on the floor, depend on that and feel secure knowing it’s there.” But then when Marcus asks the class, pointing upward at an imaginary camera, “How many times has a camera unscrewed itself out of its casing, spiraled downward to the floor and tapped you on the shoulder to tell you Richard Marcus just pastposted a $5,000 bet?”, you start to understand what he means.

I will simply say, “read this book!” That is if you want to be better at your job spotting cheats, and at the same time save your casino employer some big losses at the gaming tables.