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Bad Boys -- Whatcha Gonna Do?4 February 1997Sydney - Sydney Harbour Casino is reported in the local Sydney newspapers to be smarting from the sudden departure of $AUD 400,000 (around US $320,000) of their money after a team of card counters worked over the Blackjack tables in recent days. The team of *bad boys* was loose in the Casino for some two weeks before study of the surveillance tapes convinced Casino management that they had enough to throw them out; with the $400,000 cash. Described in the Sydney Press as "card sharks" and "cheats", the card counters had been reported to have done the same number at the Surfers Paradise Jupiters Casino and worked the Melbourne Crown Casino also in recent weeks. I would seem Crown had their suspicions but couldn't pick the system. They warned Sydney and even then it took two weeks to nail the evidence. Card counting is not illegal; it seems that they were just a little too organized at it with a system of signals emanating from a "watching team" (Defence?) who signaled betting instructions to the "playing team" (Offence?). The Casinos rules exclude organized card counting, but it first has to be discovered and proof would be a problem in any legal move to recover the cash. So if you see a bunch of guys crying in their beer in the bar next to the Sydney Casino just yell: Go team! A note from the GameMaster: Congratulations are in order for this team since the game at Sydney casino, from all reports I've received, is below-par except that the penetration is exceptional. It seems they deal out 7 to 7.5 decks of the 8 in the shoe, so a patient team can beat the game. I also hear that supervisory personnel there are VERY inexperienced, so it's no wonder it took weeks for them to discover the team's operation. Sounds to me like they did a "Big Player" routine where counters sit at different tables and when the count is high enough, 'call-in' another player who makes big bets. It's a tough act to catch, especially since I understand the Sydney casino is super-busy practically all the time. |