Feds charge 2 for exploiting IGT video poker bug

[LauraAZ]

Found this on Ars Technia
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/01/fed-charge-two-for-allegedly-exploiting-video-poker-bug.ars

[jay]

Hes dilusionol if he thinks he can get away with this.

[LauraAZ]

The next question has to be how he "found" this set of
key presses, and if he knows any of the programmers
at IGT.

[uniman]

I'm sure the IGT programmers are red in the face by now! 
I would guess this guy had a machine at home and stumbled on the gaff. It seems during the double-up feature there was a way to change denominations. So say you hit four of a kind while playing a $25 machine. Then select the double up and change denom's to $100. That would be a four times increase in your win.
This is cheating, not card counting.

[jay]

Some of the liability needs to rest with the Casino for actually enabling the feature on request but exploiting a bug through a series of hidden keystrokes is not card counting.

I would be most interested in finding out how he found out what those keystrokes are, if it was disassembly of the code or what.

I am sure IGT does peer code review and copies I bet are given to the regulators. It had to be hidden pretty deep.

Love to know what chipset they impacted and what the keystrokes were.

[gordy]

Consider This:

An 85 yr. old grandmother learns of a new technique for winning at video poker.  Since she has always lost, she takes her grandson's advice because he spent 400 hours studying this strategy.  She was excited that the machine was made so she could increase the amount of a win after she won - like joining a health plan when she had a pre-existing condition.

She went with 2 members of the Lady's Aid.  They won 2 nights in a row!  The second night a guy was watching from an antiquated catwalk in the ceiling above.  She had won $481.  He pounded the ceiling and crashed upon her like a big duck squawking, "Gotcha!"  Handcuffed, she asked if she could remove pieces of plaster hardly distinguishable from her gray hair.  She was refused.  The Ladies Aid had a big bake sale and sent a lawyer to her cell.  He said, "The law states that if a manufacturer makes a defective machine that passes quality control, and then it is examined by the Gaming Board, and the casino checks it out, the patrons can not be held in jeopardy should they win.  The slot attendant should not have allowed Double-Up on that machine - especially after his boss said NO.  Since you didn't alter the machine, the law is on your side.  The last 10 cases favor the player.  Just be patient.  Are those  pieces of plaster in your hair?

YOU DECIDE!  Charges  Dropped, Two Years In Jail, or LIFE !

[reho33]

Most older player's edge machines had the double up feature but were not mulit-denom, just 25 cents. I never liked the double up feature because you were betting double or nothing against a hi or low card. The exploit that happened at The Meadows in PA was to pick double or nothing and just keep going and going without losing to a high card. This was a different hack here where double on nothing was offered and then the person changed the denom from 25 cents to a dollar and then played. The machine should have locked them out of that, hence the hack. So I guess i am a suspect if I play 2x or nothing and I turn 25 cents into 100 dollars. It is possible to always pick the high card although you will be a suspect if you keep doubling and winning (WTF)????? Which makes a theory that casinos could be sore losers if average "Joes" win too often. (Remember the story of the sisters that switched seats at a slot and got banned for life and accused of tax cheating).

[poppo]

One has to wonder if this code was intentionally put in there and if someone had already been using it, but just not getting greedy. These guys would probably have gotten away with it if they had just gone for smaller amounts that did not draw attention to themselves.

[gordy]

Assuming no connection between the factory and the accused, does anyone know the law on this ? Over the last few years, many times players have taken advantage of casinos because of glitches and errors made in machines and promotions. Noticing this, smart players took advantage either by pounding the advantage or nibbling at it. They probably called a friend in another state to join in the fun. One must wonder if they were aware they were put at risk. Sometimes a casino would create a player advantage knowing most players could not play properly. Sure, they resented the advantage player taking all that money but player traffic was achieved. Sometimes a promotion error would be cancelled within days when substantial wins were discovered.

[staz]

i wish there was a code to make the spin symbol drop on the wof's at the casinos id be dancing  in  hahahaha.......

[stayouttadabunker]

i wish there was a code to make the spin symbol drop
on the wof's at the casino id be dancing...  

yeah...in front of a judge....

[channelmaniac]

i wish there was a code to make the spin symbol drop
on the wof's at the casino id be dancing...  

yeah...for your cell mate bubba....

Fixed.

[staz]

you no whats really ironic is if there was a way to get the edge over the casino we would go to jail but meanwhile the casino has full controll of slot machines if they want to hit or not hit..... by controlling the percentages.....

[stayouttadabunker]

Casinos have control over machine percentages - to a certain point...
but has zero control of when they will hit.

Look at your machine...you can control what percentage chip you put in it right?
But can you control when it's going to hit?
If you can do that - you're my hero...!