What is this (casino scam)????

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=481126&section=news

Police probe three over alleged casino scam
Tue 23 March, 2004 05:27

LONDON (Reuters) - Three East Europeans are being investigated in connection with an alleged gambling scam in London, police say.

Newspapers reported a suspected laser hidden in a mobile phone had been used to win 1.3 million pounds on roulette at the private Ritz Club casino, based at the Ritz Hotel.

A police spokeswoman said the three -- two men aged 38 and 33, and a 32-year-old woman -- had been arrested but were later released on bail until the end of the month.

Police were investigating allegations of "obtaining money by deception through gambling", she said.

The spokeswoman said police seized a "significant amount" of money at a hotel after the arrests and had obtained a court order freezing the money for three months.

The arrests were made after casino staff called in the police, she said.

No immediate comment was available from the Ritz Hotel.

Newspapers identified the three as two Serbian men and a Hungarian woman

***************************************


What a hell this means?

"...a suspected laser hidden in a mobile phone..."

Does this mean, that those roulette tables can be controlled by some electronic device? If so, roulette is rigged.

 

[wilheim]

The laser cannot speed up or slow down the wheel, it can only tell how fast it is spinning, somehow (not sure how) this tells the device what portion of the wheel the ball is likely to land in for that spin. Is the game rigged? No, the cheaters just have unfairly obtained knowledge about the portion of the wheel where the ball is most likley to land.


wil.

 

Thanks wlheim. I found more news about this issue and it's explains this thing too.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=335182004

Arrests over claims of £1m Ritz casino scam

NICK ALLEN


DETECTIVES have arrested three people on suspicion of swindling more than £1 million from a casino at the Ritz in London in a sophisticated hi-tech scam.

The two men and one woman, from eastern Europe, were held after scooping the haul on roulette.

Police are investigating the possibility that they used a James Bond-style gadget consisting of a hi-tech laser scanner inside a mobile phone.

The device could have been used to calculate the speed of the ball when released and its probable finishing point on the wheel. By the time the calculation was made, the gambler would still have several seconds before the croupier called "no more bets".

Management at the exclusive casino, a favourite of Arab princes and international playboys, became suspicious of the amazing run of luck on 16 March.

All tables are monitored using video cameras and experts looked at the tapes before calling in Scotland Yard.

Two Serbian men, aged 38 and 33, and a 32-year-old Hungarian woman were arrested and police also seized their winnings and mobile phones.

The suspects were taken to a police station and then bailed until 30 March.

Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies at Nottingham Trent University, said: "I haven’t heard of a laser scanner being used before but on roulette, mathematical systems have been used for years based on the speed of the ball and where the croupier puts it."

The alleged scam happened at one of the world’s most high-profile gaming houses.

The secret rooms of the Ritz Club casino are tucked away off London’s Piccadilly in the former ballroom of the hotel.

It opened as a casino in 1978 and is now one of the world’s most exclusive, privately owned members-only clubs featuring chandeliers, ornate ceilings and plush red carpets.

A spokeswoman for the casino said: "We have no comment to make."

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: "Three people have been arrested on suspicion of obtaining money by deception through gambling."

 

[Sodium Pentethol V]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> No, the cheaters just have unfairly obtained knowledge <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Why is it unfair? Because they invested resources to beat the game and you didn't?

 

[Brazil4Worldcup2002]

English law states that one cannot deceive a machine because in order for something to be deceived it has to be a mind and machines have no mind. Maybe they will say that the players deceived the owners of the casino into them thinking that they were legitimate players.

Interesting how this one will turn out.

 

[Phaedrus]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
Why is it unfair? Because they invested resources to beat the game and you didn't?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Are you saying that it is hunky-dory for a casino player to use a machine or other cheat at a table game?


Phaedrus

 

[daringly]

In Indiana, it is illegal to use computers or mechanical devices to assist in playing a gambling game. Using a laser in this manner is probably illegal in most jurisdictions.

 

[Phaedrus]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
posted by Sodium Pentethol V:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
Why is it unfair? Because they invested resources to beat the game and you didn't?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

posted by Phaedrus"
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
Are you saying that it is hunky-dory for a casino player to use a machine or other cheat at a table game?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bump for SPV. In case you missed it.


Phaedrus