Since gambling’s introduction, people have looked for ways to cheat the system and win big. While most attempts fail, some individuals go the extra mile. Here we explore some of the most notorious slot machine hacks ever used by desperate gamblers – we advise against attempting any of them as all are illegal and could result in serious consequences should you get caught.
The Top Bottom Joint Cheat
One of the oldest and most famous slot machine cheats involves string and coin. Made famous by cheater Louis Colavecchio who used fake coins to scam casinos for years until being finally arrested in 1998. While once widespread practice, due to improvements in casino security this strategy no longer proves as successful as before.
Dennis Nikrasch was another notable slots cheat who devised an ingenious scheme for replacing computer chips in slot machines. After purchasing one and playing around with it in his garage, he hired scammers to swap out independent chips with ones under his control, thus manipulating jackpots and draining casinos dry for years on end.
The Monkey Paw Device Another common slot cheat is the monkey paw device. This small box wraps around bills to fool slot machines into thinking they are receiving $100 bills instead of just $1 bills. This device is both simple to build and use; all it requires is pressing your phone button at exactly the right moment so the game spins in your favor! Due to its widespread success, an investigation by the FBI was eventually initiated regarding it.
Tommy Glenn Carmichael, one of the most notorious cheaters in slot machine history, invented a device known as a Light Wand which could be placed into any slot machine to mislead its sensor into releasing coins or registering payouts. Carmichael quickly earned himself the moniker “Master Magician of Gambling”, as he could conjure jackpot wins out of thin air!
Today, these types of cheat devices are difficult to create but there are still a few nefarious scammers who find ways to create them. They generally rely on another person signalling when to press their start button on their phone at just the right moment – whether this means using live video streaming from their device or sending text messages that vibrate or beep at precisely the right moment.