Richard Marcus: The most successful cheat in gambling history

When you think of people cheating in casinos, the image that probably comes to mind is of somebody being dragged by their collar out of a casino, and barred for life. But what if the pit bosses don’t find out? What if you are able to cheat casinos out of big money and get away with? One man did and made quite a successful career out of it. His name is Richard Marcus, and he could be credited as being the most successful cheat in gambling history.

Richard the Dealer

Richard wasn’t born a cheat. He was born in New York and is considered by many to be a classy con artist, rather than your run-of-the-mill crook. So stylish is his con work, that he considers it to be art. Richard left New York and arrived in Las Vegas a dreamer, wholly content to support himself through gambling. Many have tried, most of failed. As you may have guessed, Richard found himself down and out, penniless and homeless, living under a highway overpass.

But all was not lost. Instead, Richard used his love of gambling to become a dealer in blackjack and baccarat in the casinos. With experience from the perspectives of both player and dealer, he had a unique tool which blossomed when he met Joe Classon – his future mentor. In his early 20s, Richard began his career as a first-class professional casino cheat.

Richard cheated, and he did it well. Whilst it is fair to say that Richard Marcus made a bomb from his casino cheating days, he only really gained notoriety and fame when he started to publish books relating to cheating in casinos. This as you can imagine, was an instant hit with the gambling masses and infuriated the casinos.

American Roulette and Great Casino Heist

Richard Marcus’ first book was called American Roulette: How I Turned the Odds Upside Down – My Wild Twenty-Five Year Ride Ripping off the World’s Casinos. As you can imagine with a title like that, it caused quite a fuss. Quite simply, and proudly he went on to explain how for twenty-five years, he and his team of assistants cheated casino after casino, and very successfully. The book itself was later renamed The Great Casino Heist, perhaps in a bid to tone down the criminal aspect of his successful reign.

Dirty Poker: The Poker Underworld Exposed

One of his more recent booksis called Dirty Poker. In Dirty Poker: The Poker Underworld Exposed, Richard Marcus goes on to explain the many different methods of cheating that can be used. It also discusses cheating in all the major forms of poker.

Uncovering Gambling Scams

Today, Richard Marcus is a household name in the gambling world, and he could never hope to get away with the kind of cheats and tricks that previously brought him wealth. So, what’s a man to do? Richard Marcus moved into several other projects. One of the first things that he did was uncovering gambling scams. Once again, he even wrote a book about it, with the rather unimaginative title, The World’s Greatest Gambling Scams. The 360-page book not only covers modern gambling scams, but also those committed many years ago, in the earliest years of gambling. He also discusses how each scam is created and how it works.

Richard Marcus Today

Many people credit Richard Marcus as being “the ultimate poker cheat”, when it actual fact, he is far more deserving of the title “the ultimate casino cheat.” Marcus cheated on far more games than just simply poker.

Today he mostly spends his time in training sessions and seminars. He speaks about cheating in the gambling world, and offers his services to the casino’s themselves, training their staff to spot cheats, and lending his advice about all of the many ways that people can cheat casinos out of their money. As you can imagine,when it comes to a man with his qualities, his services are always in high demand.

As well as teaching casino staff how to spot cheats, Richard Marcus also advises casinos about their security protocols, such as where is best for surveillance, weaknesses in the floor, and he points out all of the flaws in a casino, so that they can protect themselves. When it comes to finding ways to cheat casinos out of their cash, it seems that Richard Marcus is still number one.

All Famous Gambler Stories on OCB

Archie Karas	Edward O Thorp	Nick The Greek
Richard Marcus	Terry Watanabe	John Kane
Phil Ivey	John Montagu	Kerry Packer
MIT BlackJack Team