Please note that while these individuals are noteworthy for their cheating schemes, their actions were illegal and they were eventually caught and punished. Cheating in a casino is a serious crime and is not recommended or endorsed in any way.

As the adage goes, 'The house always wins.' Yet, throughout the history of gambling, there have been those audacious few who dared to challenge this axiom, employing cunning, technology, and sheer audacity in their attempts to outwit the seemingly impenetrable fortress that is the casino.

Their arena of choice? The vibrant, cacophonous world of slot machines.

From the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas to the high-stakes dens of Macau, these individuals saw an opportunity in the rolling reels and spinning symbols, exploiting weaknesses and loopholes in the system to amass fortunes. Yet, their tales are not of lasting success, but rather fleeting triumphs followed by inevitable downfall. For while their deception may have initially won the day, their ultimate fate is a testament to the unwavering truth - cheating is not only illegal, it's also a losing game.

In this article, we delve into the intriguing but cautionary tales of the most infamous slot machine cheaters in casino history. From the ingenious inventions of Tommy Glenn Carmichael to the brazen schemes of Dennis Nikrasch, these individuals pushed the boundaries of what was thought possible in the world of slot machine cheating.

The Stories of Most Famous Slots Cheaters

Let's take a look at stories of history's most famous slots cheaters. Remember kids, do not try this at your casino, or anywhere else.

Tommy Glenn Carmichael

Tommy Glenn Carmichael was indeed a notorious slot machine cheater. He's known for creating a series of cheating devices that he used to manipulate slot machines and steal significant amounts of money over several decades.

Carmichael's first venture into cheating slot machines started in the 1980s with the "top-bottom joint". This simple device was made from a metal rod, which was split into two parts. The bottom half was inserted into the payout chute until it reached the coin hopper, and the top half was used to jam the coin slot. This caused the machine to release all of the coins in the hopper.

However, Carmichael's techniques had to evolve when slot machines developers started to change their technology. In response to these changes, Carmichael developed a device known as the "monkey paw", named for its resemblance to a curled primate hand. Once inserted into the payout chute, it could trip the payout switch and cause the machine to empty its coin reserve.

In the 1990s, as machines moved from mechanical to electronic devices, Carmichael invented the "light wand". This device was essentially a tiny light attached to a wire. When shone into the slot machine's payout chute, it blinded the optical sensor used to count coins during payout, causing the machine to overpay.

Despite his ingenuity, Carmichael was eventually caught and served time in prison. His cheating devices are now housed in the Nevada State Museum as a part of the history of gambling. After serving his time, Carmichael started working with gaming machine manufacturers to help them design machines that were more resistant to cheating techniques.

Ronald Dale Harris

Ronald Dale Harris was a computer programmer who worked for the Nevada Gaming Control Board in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His job was to write the computer code for slot machines, which made him incredibly familiar with how these machines worked.

Harris exploited his inside knowledge by programming certain slot machines to pay out large sums of money when a specific sequence and many coins were inserted. Because he was the one who wrote the code, he knew exactly what sequence would trigger the jackpot.

In addition, Harris also created a program that would predict the outcome of the Keno game in certain casinos. Keno is a game where players choose numbers from 1 to 80 and then 20 numbers are drawn at random. The more numbers a player matches, the higher their winnings. Harris' program was able to narrow down the likely pool of winning numbers, dramatically increasing his odds of winning.

Despite his intricate knowledge of the machines and careful planning, Harris was eventually caught. His downfall came when he tried to take advantage of his programming to win a large Keno game in Atlantic City. He and an accomplice were arrested and Harris was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Dennis Nikrasch

Dennis Nikrasch, also known as Dennis McAndrew, was one of the most successful slot machine cheats in casino history. His operations were sophisticated and he managed to steal millions of dollars from casinos in Las Vegas during the 1970s and 1980s.

Nikrasch's method was complex and involved a deep understanding of how slots work. He would buy a slot machine and take it apart to learn its mechanics and the specifics of its random number generator (RNG), which is the component that determines the outcome of each play.

Once he understood the RNG, Nikrasch would reprogram the EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory) chips inside the slot machines to manipulate the odds in his favor. To do this, he would first need to gain access to the machine without arousing suspicion.

His method typically involved a team of accomplices. One would distract the casino staff and surveillance while another accomplice would open the machine and switch the original chip with the reprogrammed one. Once the switch was made, they would close the machine and Nikrasch would come to play the "fixed" slot machine, winning large sums of money.

However, despite the ingenuity and complexity of his operation, Nikrasch was eventually caught. He was arrested and served prison time for his activities. After his release, he tried to return to his cheating ways but was caught again and received a longer prison sentence.

Louis “The Coin” Colavecchio

Louis "The Coin" Colavecchio was a notorious counterfeiter who cheated casinos by producing high-quality counterfeit slot machine coins.

Colavecchio was a talented metalsmith and used his skills to manufacture coins that were virtually identical to those used in casinos. His operation was incredibly detailed; he would acquire the same types of metal used by the mints that produced legitimate casino coins and used similar techniques to duplicate the coins as closely as possible. His counterfeit coins were so well-made that they would pass through the slot machines without detection.

Once he had a sufficient amount of counterfeit coins, Colavecchio would simply use them in casinos just like real coins. This allowed him to play slot machines virtually for free, winning real money in the process.

However, like many casino cheats, Colavecchio was eventually caught. His operation was discovered when he tried to convert a large number of his ill-gotten gains into smaller denominations. The casino became suspicious and reported him to the authorities.

Colavecchio was arrested and charged with counterfeiting. His story is a prime example of how illicit activities in casinos are eventually discovered and dealt with by law enforcement. As always, it's important to remember that cheating at casinos is not only unethical, but it's also illegal and can lead to significant legal penalties.

Ivan Gudalov, Igor Larenov, and Yevgeniy Nazarov

Ivan Gudalov, Igor Larenov, and Yevgeniy Nazarov were part of a group that used an intricate method to cheat slot machines. The scam, known as the Lumiere Place scam, was orchestrated by Murat Bliev and involved operatives working in casinos from California to Romania to Macau.

They used their phones to record about two dozen spins on a game they aimed to cheat. This footage was then uploaded to a technical staff in St. Petersburg, who analyzed the video and calculated the machine's pattern based on what they knew about the model's pseudorandom number generator (PRNG).

The St. Petersburg team would then transmit a list of timing markers to a custom app on the operative's phone. These markers would cause the handset to vibrate roughly 0.25 seconds before the operative should press the spin button. This method wasn't always successful, but it resulted in far more payouts than a machine normally awards, with individual scammers typically winning more than $10,000 per day.

Bliev, Gudalov, Larenov, and Nazarov planned to spend several days hitting various casinos in Missouri and western Illinois. However, not long after security personnel spotted them inside the Hollywood Casino in St.

Louis, the four scammers were arrested. Because their scam was conducted across state lines, federal authorities charged them with conspiracy to commit fraud. Bliev, Gudalov, and Larenov, who are all Russian citizens, accepted plea bargains and were each sentenced to two years in federal prison, to be followed by deportation. Nazarov, a Kazakh who was granted religious asylum in the U.S. in 2013, is still awaiting sentencing, which indicates that he is cooperating with the authorities.

Since the arrests, the St. Petersburg organization's field operatives have become much more cautious, with new tricks including hiding the cell phone in their shirt's chest pocket to record spins, and potentially streaming video back to Russia via Skype, eliminating the need to step away from a slot machine to upload their footage.