Russians Engineer a Slot Machine Cheat that Casinos Can't Fix

I see a lot of complains why this is illegal. It is illegal, as anything that it is illegal, because the law says so. As, for example, in Nevada: "NRS 465.075 Use of device for calculating probabilities. It is unlawful for any person at a licensed gaming establishment to use, or possess with the intent to use, any device to assist: 1. In projecting the outcome of the game; 2. In keeping track of the cards played; 3. In analyzing…

I have a hard time deciding whether I really think this scheme qualifies as fraud or not; after all, the machines are initially rigged to give the owner an edge (obviously, otherwise slot machines would be few and far between!) As long as the player is not manipulating the machine, only observing it and exploiting a known weakness negating and then some the edge the owner had, I'd say if slot machine operators cannot live with that, they need to…

In the late 90s I was part of a group that built a online casino for folks who ran a sports book in the Carribean. Due to legal woes which meant they could not land a license in their Island domicile, they ended up not launching it. I do remember we hired a post-doc from the Stats department at the nearby University. He insisted that we spend an inordinate amount of time ensuring that the seed to the PRNG was…