Insider Casino Scam by Croupiers

It´s not just the players that casinos need to look out for when they are protecting themselves against schemes like this roulette scam in Bristol. There can be a lot of money on the table at a roulette table, and this attracts scammers.

Often the casinos are hit by “Inside Jobs” on the roulette wheel. A famous case was discovered in Coral Island Casino in Blackpool, Lancashire, where a team of casino croupiers rigged a roulette wheel in a scam that could have come straight out of the script for Ocean´s Eleven. They stole thousands of pounds from the casino.

How Did The Scam Work?

Casino employees Craig Walker, 26, and Daniel Johnson, 29, used a secret code (scratching their heads- it´s not exactly the Enigma Code is it, but hey- simple is effective) – to communicate to their mate Kevin Traynor, 32, to get him to raise his bets- they managed to scam £23,000 from the casino in Blackpool.

However managers at the casino began tracking Traynor after their systems flagged that his winnings were out of kilter with his bets (his so called margin was unusually high). They then resorted to CCTV to investigate what was going on at the table.

Walker and Johnson had found out earlier that they were able to carry out a ‘No Spin’ on the wheel – fixing it so the ball stayed in the same slot.

Traynor then headed to the casino to play the tables and when he was instructed, he made £100 bets, splitting the winnings with the two croupiers.

Richard Monroe, the casino manager, became suspicious about Traynor’s gambling pattern.
All three men were arrested and have pleaded guilty to fraud.

Traynor was handed a nine-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

What is a No Spin in Roulette?

A No Spin Scam is generally carried out by the croupier who is working together with an accomplice. In a “No Spin”, the ball remains in the same slot during the spin. It´s an easy one for casinos to identify through their CCTV footage, and it generally comes to light if the scammers become too greedy.

It´s called a No Spin Scam, because this what the Croupier normally announces if he or she makes a mistake and the spin is void. So, for example, is the dealer drops the ball by mistake (and it doesn´t go around the wheel at least 3 times) – that can be called a non-legitimate spin and may be called void.

Generally speaking, the roulette ball should be spun by the dealer in a direction opposite to the rotation of the wheel and should travel at least three (3) or sometimes four (4) times around the track of the wheel for a valid spin.

If the ball is spun in the same direction as the wheel, the croupier should say “no spin” and should take the roulette ball out of the wheel before it comes to rest in one of the pockets.

If the ball does not complete four revolutions around the track, again the dealer should call out “no spin” and should try and remove the ball from the wheel.

If something (like a chip) falls into the wheel before the ball comes to a rest, the dealer should call out “no spin” and should try and take out the ball from the wheel.

If the ball comes out of the wheel before the ball comes to a rest, the dealer should also announce “no spin”. T

Many casinos have a “house rule” that allows the dealer to call no spin for a ‘floater’; meaning the ball is taking too long to drop in a slot.