Counterfeit Coins For Slot Machines Another way to hack slot machine games was to use counterfeit coins. Fake coins were made in bulk from a cheap, hard material. Cheaters could put these coins into slot machines and when they would win, the slots would give out real money. But most online slot machines offer this information somewhere. And you won't have to look more than 5 minutes to find them in many cases. 2 – Look at State Gaming Reports to Find Best Land Based Slots Payback. Finding RTP for land-based slot machines is a more-difficult matter.
The most popular slot machine cheats are nearing extinction, as casinos go to elaborate methods to thwart anyone brazen enough to walk through their doors and attempt to steal. While this article will detail the most well-known methods of getting something for nothing, I'll also pay equal attention to the consequences of getting caught.
Cheating at Slot Machines
This is a list of the most popular ways to cheat at slots, although most—if not all—of these are no longer effective.
Programming the Machine – Of all the current ways to cheat slots, this is the only method that could reasonably prove effective. The cheater needs to gain access to the machine before it leaves the factory, and then program it to pay out when a specific series of buttons are pushed. Ronald Dale Harris, a former member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board was able to get away with this for two years without getting caught, but his greed finally caught up to him while rigging the outcome of keno. He spent two years in prison.
Coin on a String Cheat – Tie a string to the coin, insert it into the machine, and then pull it back out. This worked in the old days, giving cheaters an unlimited supply of credits. It's no longer effective, however, and anyone trying it is going to get laughed at by the cops.
Top Bottom Joint Cheat – Created by Tommy Carmichael and Ray Ming, this famed cheating used a piece of spring steel and a guitar wire. The goal was to enter the payout chute with the device until the switch was tripped. The machine would then deposit all its coins, which allowed Carmichael to make $1,000 per hours while on a cheating binge at various casinos. Unfortunately for Carmichael, his luck eventually ran out.
Coat Hanger Cheat – This simple object was snaked inside the machine to interfere with the coin mechanism. It worked for a while, at least until the casinos got wise and countered it.
Shaved Coins Cheat – By shaving the edges of a coin, it would pass right through the slot and still register as a credit. This was effective in the early 1980s, but it was also countered long ago.
The Monkey Paw Cheat – A piece of metal bent into the shape of a claw, the Monkey Paw would be inserted into the machine until it reached the coin counter mechanism. From there, it was simple to make the machine overpay…at least until it was countered by new anti-cheating measures from the slot manufacturers.
The Light Wand Cheat – By shining a bright light into the machine, the player could trick the sensors into paying out large sums of coins. The casinos caught on, though, and techniques were developed to counter it. You should also consider that many modern slots don't even have hoppers anymore (winnings are printed onto a ticket).
Fake Coins Cheat – By producing fake coins, a cheater can insert them into the machine and play for free. Unfortunately, the most likely outcome is that the cheater will get greedy and eventually wind up in jail. That's what happened to Louis 'The Coin' Colavecchio, a cleaver cheat who minted fake coins and stole over $500,000 from the casinos. He was eventually caught, however, and his tricks cost him seven years in prison.
What Defines Slot Machine Cheating?
The definition of cheating will vary across the globe, but here's the legal definition of cheating in the state of Nevada:
Alter the elements of chance, method of selection, or criteria which determines: (a) the result of a game (b) the amount of frequency of payment in a game (c) the value of a wagering instrument (d) the value of a wagering credit.' 1000 no deposit bonus casino.
Even if a person unsuccessfully tried to cheat or just conspired to cheat, they can be detained and arrested under the same law. In Nevada, cheating is illegal at any establishment that offers legal gambling, so the same law that applies to casinos also covers supermarkets, airports, restaurants, and other locations.
How Casinos Catch Slot Machine Cheaters
If the employees of a gambling establishment have reasonable cause to believe that a person is cheating, they are within their legal right to detain them. According to Nevada law, this can only be done 'in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable length of time.' If you're suspected of cheating in Sin City, expect a lengthy chat with Las Vegas Metro's Financial Crimes Unit, as crimes of this nature fall under their jurisdiction.
Cheating in countries other than the United States may lead to much more severe consequences. I've never cheated at a casino in Russia, but something tells me that their security guards might not be as concerned about a lawsuit as their American counterparts.
Back in Nevada, a lawyer will traditionally use one of the following defenses to help their client: (a) police misconduct (b) insufficient evidence (c) the accused didn't cheat. While mistakes can be made, casinos aren't in the habit of randomly accusing their patrons of cheating at slot or any other game. If they detain an individual and call the cops, it usually means that they have the security footage to back it up.
Penalty for Cheating at Slots
The law differs from state to state and country to country, but cheating at gambling in Nevada is considered a category B felony. The first offense carries a possible fine of $10,000, and/or between one and six years in the Nevada State Prison. The guilty party will also be expected to pay restitution to the establishment. Probation or a suspension of sentence is a possibility during the first offense.
The same penalties apply during the second or subsequent convictions for cheating. However, this time probation or a suspension of sentence is not an option.
The most popular slot machine cheats are a losing proposition, no matter how skilled the cheater's technique. Modern casinos are filled with trained individuals who watch for any sign of cheating, and cameras are placed strategically to monitor patrons from every conceivable angle. When you factor in the state-of-the-art slot machines and the potential punishment for getting caught, the conclusion should be clear: cheating just isn't worth it. Blackjack double down.
Most slots players have dreamed about using slot machine hacks and cheats to bring down the house. I'll walk you through some of the most successful slot machine cheats, as well as some outdated techniques that will fail every time.
Some of these video slot machine hacks and cheats used to work, but they don't any longer. Before I begin, let me start with a disclaimer. Hacking slot machines is against the law in most countries. I do not advise it, and LegitGamblingSites.com does not endorse it.
Let's see how slot machines work and whether you can cheat slots today.
Casino Slot Machine Hacks
There are some slot machine hacks that worked on old-school slots. I don't recommend trying these today. The slot guru fake. They won't work on modern slot machines which have evolved to deal with them. If you try these and get caught, you'll likely get banned from the casino for life. Nonetheless, they did work once upon a time, and if you happen to find a classic slot machine in a bar, you might be able to try some of these.
The Yo-Yo Slot Hack
I have a confession to make before I tell you about this slot hack. I have used this successfully, but not on slot machines. I pulled it off once or twice on the vending machines in my high school and scored a free bottle of Coca Cola or two.
The idea is to tie a thin string around a coin and deposit it. When a deposit is registered, you yank the string and pull it out. If you know anything about modern slot machines, you probably just laughed out loud. Out of all the slot machine hacks and cheats, this most definitely would not work today.
The Counterfeit Coin Trick
Before scanning technology became widespread, slot machines used to accept bets based on the weight of the coin. The question of how to hack slot machines had a real answer: Use fake coins which were the same weight as real ones. They used similar metals or hard material, and they got away with it for a long time.
Again, technology has caught up and rendered this slot machine cheat impotent. Ask any experienced player, and they'll tell you that it's difficult enough to get a slot to accept some real coins, never mind counterfeit ones!
Tampering With Payout Switches
Throughout gaming history, slot machine hacks and cheats have brought on some hilarious inventions. A number of them involve guitar strings and metal wires. At one point, players would attach hooks and metal claws to the end of metal wire or strings and feed it through the cooling system of the slot machine. They'd rattle around for a while, and eventually, they'd hit the payout switch.
This hack would never work on an electronic slot machine. To understand why, you should read our report on Random Number Generators (RNG). There are no physical switches which activate payouts in modern slot machines. The only thing tampering with slot machines will get you these days is a place on the sidewalk when the casino security team catches you.
Slot Machine Cheat Codes
As slot machines evolved past basic mechanical parts and made use of technology like RNGs and electronic sensors, computer programmers became a key part of keeping them honest.
What happens when the computer programmer who's supposed to do his job lets temptation get the better of him? Just ask Ronald Dale Harris. He was in charge of finding and fixing software flaws. He was a high-level programmer and worked for the Nevada Gaming Control Board in the 1990s. One day, for whatever reason, he decided to modify some slots so it would pay out when he entered a certain sequence of coins.
Harris got away with this for a long time, but his accomplice got busted when they tried the same thing on keno. Harris was locked up for seven years, but he got out in two for good behavior. I doubt he has ever tried to hack casino slot machines again, especially since all Vegas casinos have banned him.
A Mobile Slot Machine Hack Which Really Worked
What happens when you take cash-rich American casinos, Russian mobsters, high-tech equipment, and a team of jet-setting slot players and put them together? No, this isn't the plot of a bad B movie, this slot machine hack really happened. In fact, it may still be happening today.
In the summer of 2014, a casino in St. Louis noticed some of its machines had paid out much more than they should have according to their payback averages. After watching the security footage of the casino, they found the same man winning again and again, and they knew he was a slot machine hacker right away. They just had to figure out how he was doing it. They noticed three things:
- He was holding his iPhone close to the screen when playing
- He was winning on Aristocrat slots
- And he was 'jabbing' the spin button suddenly after long pauses
It soon became apparent that lots of other casinos had been the victims of slot machine hacking, and the same man was involved in most of the slot machine hacks and cheats. Authorities tracked down Murat Bilev and discovered he was part of a Russian team which had successfully hacked slots from the United States to Macau, bilking the casinos for millions.
The most popular slot machine cheats are a losing proposition, no matter how skilled the cheater's technique. Modern casinos are filled with trained individuals who watch for any sign of cheating, and cameras are placed strategically to monitor patrons from every conceivable angle. When you factor in the state-of-the-art slot machines and the potential punishment for getting caught, the conclusion should be clear: cheating just isn't worth it. Blackjack double down.
Most slots players have dreamed about using slot machine hacks and cheats to bring down the house. I'll walk you through some of the most successful slot machine cheats, as well as some outdated techniques that will fail every time.
Some of these video slot machine hacks and cheats used to work, but they don't any longer. Before I begin, let me start with a disclaimer. Hacking slot machines is against the law in most countries. I do not advise it, and LegitGamblingSites.com does not endorse it.
Let's see how slot machines work and whether you can cheat slots today.
Casino Slot Machine Hacks
There are some slot machine hacks that worked on old-school slots. I don't recommend trying these today. The slot guru fake. They won't work on modern slot machines which have evolved to deal with them. If you try these and get caught, you'll likely get banned from the casino for life. Nonetheless, they did work once upon a time, and if you happen to find a classic slot machine in a bar, you might be able to try some of these.
The Yo-Yo Slot Hack
I have a confession to make before I tell you about this slot hack. I have used this successfully, but not on slot machines. I pulled it off once or twice on the vending machines in my high school and scored a free bottle of Coca Cola or two.
The idea is to tie a thin string around a coin and deposit it. When a deposit is registered, you yank the string and pull it out. If you know anything about modern slot machines, you probably just laughed out loud. Out of all the slot machine hacks and cheats, this most definitely would not work today.
The Counterfeit Coin Trick
Before scanning technology became widespread, slot machines used to accept bets based on the weight of the coin. The question of how to hack slot machines had a real answer: Use fake coins which were the same weight as real ones. They used similar metals or hard material, and they got away with it for a long time.
Again, technology has caught up and rendered this slot machine cheat impotent. Ask any experienced player, and they'll tell you that it's difficult enough to get a slot to accept some real coins, never mind counterfeit ones!
Tampering With Payout Switches
Throughout gaming history, slot machine hacks and cheats have brought on some hilarious inventions. A number of them involve guitar strings and metal wires. At one point, players would attach hooks and metal claws to the end of metal wire or strings and feed it through the cooling system of the slot machine. They'd rattle around for a while, and eventually, they'd hit the payout switch.
This hack would never work on an electronic slot machine. To understand why, you should read our report on Random Number Generators (RNG). There are no physical switches which activate payouts in modern slot machines. The only thing tampering with slot machines will get you these days is a place on the sidewalk when the casino security team catches you.
Slot Machine Cheat Codes
As slot machines evolved past basic mechanical parts and made use of technology like RNGs and electronic sensors, computer programmers became a key part of keeping them honest.
What happens when the computer programmer who's supposed to do his job lets temptation get the better of him? Just ask Ronald Dale Harris. He was in charge of finding and fixing software flaws. He was a high-level programmer and worked for the Nevada Gaming Control Board in the 1990s. One day, for whatever reason, he decided to modify some slots so it would pay out when he entered a certain sequence of coins.
Harris got away with this for a long time, but his accomplice got busted when they tried the same thing on keno. Harris was locked up for seven years, but he got out in two for good behavior. I doubt he has ever tried to hack casino slot machines again, especially since all Vegas casinos have banned him.
A Mobile Slot Machine Hack Which Really Worked
What happens when you take cash-rich American casinos, Russian mobsters, high-tech equipment, and a team of jet-setting slot players and put them together? No, this isn't the plot of a bad B movie, this slot machine hack really happened. In fact, it may still be happening today.
In the summer of 2014, a casino in St. Louis noticed some of its machines had paid out much more than they should have according to their payback averages. After watching the security footage of the casino, they found the same man winning again and again, and they knew he was a slot machine hacker right away. They just had to figure out how he was doing it. They noticed three things:
- He was holding his iPhone close to the screen when playing
- He was winning on Aristocrat slots
- And he was 'jabbing' the spin button suddenly after long pauses
It soon became apparent that lots of other casinos had been the victims of slot machine hacking, and the same man was involved in most of the slot machine hacks and cheats. Authorities tracked down Murat Bilev and discovered he was part of a Russian team which had successfully hacked slots from the United States to Macau, bilking the casinos for millions.
After arresting him on a return trip to the US, Bilev spilled the beans. He was part of a Russian slot machine hacking team which figured out the exact timing of how the PRNGs work in Aristocrat slots. His phone was equipped was a slot machine hacking app which told him exactly when to press the spin button, hence the sudden hand movements after long pauses.
Bilev was sentenced to two years in prison and deported from the USA. However, authorities worry that the scam has evolved and there are still teams out there using slot machine hacks and cheats today.
Are slot machine hacking apps available online? Yes, but if you get caught using them, you'll end up in the slammer like Murat Bilev. I'd strongly advise against it.
What If You Do Discover a Slot Machine Hack?
If you do figure out how to hack casino slot machines, you'll face a moral and legal choice: to steal or not to steal.
I'd advise you not to. You see, there's an alternative option, and it could be just as lucrative. Contact the casino slot machine company, tell them you've found a bug, and make a contract for a reward if you show them and are proven correct.
Some slots companies will dismiss you as a quack, but believe it or not, lots of them will give you an audience, especially if they suspect there's a bug in their slot machine software.
Heck, you could even get a job as a consultant. After all, you've figured out a slot machine flaw that their coders didn't recognize.
Can You Really Hack Slot Machines?
If you read the full article on slot machine hacks and cheats above, then you'll know the answer is yes. But it takes some serious skills and connections. Both of the successful slot machine hackers mentioned here ended up in prison. And you have to ask yourself, is it really worth it?
Best Slot Machines To Win On
I personally don't think so. For me, slot machines are about the thrill of potentially winning a life-changing jackpot. I don't even particularly want to win by cheating. I'd worry about being found out and having to look over my shoulder for the rest of my days.
Slot Machine Cheat Codes
Instead, I advise you to relax, have fun, learn all you can about how slots work, and forget slot machine hacks and cheats. If there's such a thing as karma, you might even get rewarded for deciding not to try slot machine hacks!
