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Gangs Cheating Slot Machines Across Country

MISSISSIPPI – As reported by the Associated Press: "Mississippi state gaming authorities have reported a rash of cheating at Tunica's slot machines, with at least six arrests this year of increasingly sophisticated criminals.

"We've really been hit hard by it since the first of the year," said Pat Hawkins, an enforcement agent with the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

"…Many thieves are armed with custom-made devices used to disrupt the inner workings of the slot machines and trick them into paying out when there is no winner.

"Called 'kickstands,' 'magic wands' and 'monkey paws,' the devices are sold on the black market for $20,000 to $25,000 to aspiring criminals who also receive a tutorial on how to cheat the machines, said Jay Ledbetter, director of criminal investigations of the gaming commission.

"…The slot cheats will typically work in pairs or small groups and move from machine to machine, unloading a few hundred dollars from each one.

"They don't want to get too greedy, so they'll take a casino for $4,000, $5,000, $6,000 a night," Ledbetter said.

Slot thieves are usually caught when a machine is completely emptied or locks up and a slot attendant, suspecting something is amiss, alerts surveillance, said Tripp Murray, director of surveillance at the Horseshoe in Tunica.

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