Wild Card

“It certainly is cheating,” Higgins said. “Casinos rotate dealers every fifteen minutes. She can scam four dealers, wait until a shift change, and scam four more.”

Mickey ran his fingers through his oily pompadour. “Oh.”

Higgins pointed at the chalkboard. “Player #2 is a hustler from Las Vegas called The Wheel. Supposedly, he’s missing a couple of spokes. That’s a little Western humor. The Wheel is adding chips to his bet after he’s seen his cards. Hustlers call this capping. Any time the Wheel gets good cards, he adds a chip. I’ll give you a hint. It’s palmed in his right hand.”

They watched The Wheel do his thing. Each time he brought his right hand over his bet, his bet magically grew in size.

“Players 3, 4 and 5 are a team of card counters,” Higgins went on. “Card counting isn’t illegal, except if you’re getting help, which these players are. They’re using a Hewlett Packard 59 computer. Tell me if you can guess which one’s operating it.”

An excruciatingly long minute passed as the three men stared at the mute images on the screen. Players 3, 4 and 5 were smoking cigars and drinking beer and having a swell time. They were not paying attention to the cards, yet winning every hand.

“None of them,” Valentine said.

“Good call. Any idea who is?”

“The chubby guy standing behind them,” Valentine said. “It’s in the bag he’s holding. He’s punching in the values of the cards as they’re dealt.”

“How did you know it was him?”

“His eyes. He keeps staring at the cards on the table.”

“Right again.” Higgins pointed at the blackboard. “Player #6 poses the biggest threat to the game. The scam he’s doing is called Playing the Anchor, and it involves the dealer.”

“The dealer’s cheating too?” Mickey said in astonishment.

“That’s right. You know him?”

“Shit, I hired him,” Mickey said.

“Dealer/player scams are the worst; they can bleed casinos for huge sums before they’re discovered,” Higgins said. “Playing the Anchor is pretty straightforward. The dealer flashes his hole card to Player #6 each time he slips it under his face card. It’s impossible to see from a surveillance camera. However, the scam does have a tell. Player #6 will sometimes do strange things, like stand on a weak hand, or split a strong pair when the dealer is showing an Ace.”

“You have any idea what he’s talking about,” Doyle whispered.

Valentine had stopped listening to Higgins, and was staring at the screen. Behind the blackjack table, he’d spotted a hooker he’d once arrested, an Hispanic girl with a body that could stop traffic. She was talking to a john, and Valentine watched her take the john’s arm, and walk away. Jack and Jill going up the hill to have a little intercourse, he thought. Then, something strange happened. Out of the john’s back pocket popped a silver flask. The john anxiously shoved the flask back into his pocket. He seemed desperate to hide it, and looked panicked. The hooker didn’t see the flask, and a look of normalcy returned to the john’s face. They disappeared from the picture.

Valentine lifted his eyes from the TV. Higgins had returned to the chalkboard, and was explaining how to detect each of the scams. He put the incident on the tape out of his mind, and focused his attention on their guest.

They wrapped up an hour later. Higgins was leaving for Las Vegas that night, and Valentine walked him downstairs to Resorts valet area to pick up his rental. The line of cars stretched around the block, and Higgins handed the uniformed attendant his stub.

“So, how do we learn this stuff?” Valentine asked.

“You mean the scams and hustles?” Higgins said.

“Yeah. Before Resorts gets robbed blind.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. You’ve got a unique situation here. Ever hear the expression ‘Why slaughter the cow, when you can milk it?’ That’s true with your casino. Resorts is making so much money that smart cheaters will milk it for as long as they can.”

“That’s encouraging.”

He laughed. “Okay, here’s what I’d suggest. Start with the basics. Learn how the games are played, and the odds. I’ve been in Atlantic City two days, and seen two people win hundred thousand dollar jackpots at slot machines. Know what happens in Las Vegas if two people win back-to-back jackpots?”

“What — you throw a party?”

“Far from it. There would be an investigation, and the jackpots would be withheld from the winners until the investigation was completed.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because of the odds,” Higgins said. “Any idea what they are?”

“Of a person winning a jackpot? I don’t know, a million to one?”

“Try seventeen million to one. The same as a person getting struck by lightning twice in the same day. Odds of that happening two days in a row? Not very likely.”

Valentine found himself nodding. If he was going to police the games, he needed to understand how they worked, no different than working vice or narcotics.

“Got it.”