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Millions of people go to Las Vegas in the hope of being lucky enough to hit the jackpot. Some people don't need luck -- they just cheat. BREAKING VEGAS on The History Channel(R) looks at some of Las Vegas's most notorious high-stakes cheaters and the various tactics they've used to fleece casinos in the gambling capital of the world. New episodes of BREAKING VEGAS air on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Cheating in Las Vegas casinos has taken a wide variety of forms over the years. There have been inside jobs, the use of digital equipment to spy, the creation of gadgets to predict outcomes in roulette and blackjack as well as various legal -- but shady -- card-counting schemes involving teams of people. BREAKING VEGAS combines recent and historical footage, dramatizations, factual background and interviews with those involved, including some of the schemers themselves. Viewers get a behind-the-scenes look at the methods used and the casinos' constant efforts to counterbalance them.
Episodes Include:
SLOT SCOUNDREL (airing Tuesday, April 19th at 8 p.m. ET/PT): Cheating slot machines became the calling of Tommy Glenn Carmichael, and his methods helped to spearhead the rise and fall of a slot machine cheat gang that turned slots into Carmichael's personal ATMs for 20 years. Worse, he earned an even bigger fortune by selling his cheap-to-make inventions for $35,000 a piece to underworld cheaters. Carmichael explains how he played cat and mouse with slot machine security, countering every technological evolution with a new gadget to beat it -- that is, until two dogged investigators set the ultimate trap. This episode also features interviews with Carmichael's partner-in-crime and stripper girlfriend, Lisa Luxem, and investigators Jerry Hanford and James Pflaumer, who brought the pair of Vegas-busting scoundrels to their knees.
BEAT THE WHEEL (airing Tuesday, April 26th at 9 p.m. ET/PT): Nobody can predict where the ball will fall on the roulette wheel -- or can they? That was the goal of Doyne Farmer and Norman Packard, childhood friends and physics geeks who embarked in 1975 to deconstruct the physics behind the motion of a roulette ball, and build a miniature computer system that could predict the outcome of a roulette game. The project soon became an out-of-control obsession, consuming a whole commune of brilliant hippie-physicists, and ultimately ended in a landmark contribution to modern-day Chaos Theory. Interviews with Doyne Farmer and Norman Packard take viewers deep into the ambitious and adrenaline-filled adventure.
BLACKJACK MAN (airing Tuesday, May 10th at 9 p.m. ET/PT): On weekdays, Ken Uston was a 38-year-old hotshot senior vice president of the Pacific Stock Exchange. On weekends, Las Vegas casinos knew Uston as "The Mad Bomber," "The Roadrunner," "The Phantom" -- a.k.a. Don Sanders/Billy Williams/Bill Thomas/Tommy Rogers/Roger Hughes. In short, he was the fearless, chameleonic ringleader to a team of elusive, handpicked card counters who terrorized the gaming industry at every turn. BLACKJACK MAN reveals the extraordinary story of how this promising executive began living his double life, ultimately emerging as one of the greatest legends and inspirations in gambling history, only to die a mysterious death in 1987. It features interviews with Uston's mentor "Al Francesco" (a.k.a. Frank Salerno), teammates Ron Karr and Darrell Purpose, and family members Lynn Usui and Beth Anne Uston.
VEGAS VIXEN (airing Tuesday, May 17th at 9 p.m. ET/PT): At five-foot-three and about 100 pounds, Ida Summers hardly seems like the typical casino hustler. But in the 1960s and 1970s, this mother of four once raked in tens of thousands of dollars in a single weekend -- and earned the respect of not only the gangs of Vegas cheats she wrangled, but also casino investigators and FBI agents who were determined to bring her down. From her small-town gambling roots in Newport, Kentucky to her meteoric rise to stardom in the male- dominated world of Vegas cheats, Summers discusses how she mastered the art of "hand mucking" and switching in "coolers" -- decks of cards pre-stacked to win -- to make a killing at every blackjack table. At a time when many casinos had mob connections, Summers gained notoriety as the best cardsharp in town. But her bold moves caught the attention of casino security, and she became a major target of the Gaming Control Board and the FBI. Interviews include accounts from Ida Summers herself and her nemesis FBI Special Agent Dave Spencer.
THE ROULETTE ASSAULT (airing Tuesday, May 31st at 9:00p.m. ET/PT): Gonzalo Garcia-Pelayo's obsession with roulette would transform his family into a gambling enterprise that would profit to the tune of $1.5 million. A struggling Spanish record producer, Gonzalo's life took a dramatic turn when he discovered a secret about roulette -- that the tendency of certain numbers to win repeatedly over time is due to a tangible, consistent effect of a bias in the wheel. Working with his five children, he devoted every minute of his life to turning his family into the greatest, most profitable roulette team ever. He set in motion a plan to defeat casinos all over the world, beginning in Madrid and ultimately conquering Las Vegas. But as word of their success spread among the casinos, the Pelayos' attacks on roulette triggered a cat- and-mouse game that pushed Gonzalo and his family to the edge. This episode of BREAKING VEGAS features interviews with patriarch Gonzalo Garcia-Pelayo, his son and most devoted team member Ivan Garcia-Pelayo, and Patrick Santacruz, the "cat" who ultimately befriended the "mice."
BREAKING VEGAS: THE PRINCE OF POKER (Tuesday, June 7 at 9 pm ET/PT) With a $10,000 buy-in, the stakes at The World Series of Poker are high for any player -- but when you're a down-and-out writer with four kids to support, making it to the final table could mean a fairy tale ending or a life in ruins. Harper's Magazine writer Jim McManus decided to tempt fate in 2000. In one hand after another, McManus, an amateur, outplays his formidable opponents. He makes it into the actual World Series, where he must defeat his idol-turned-enemy, champion poker player T.J. Cloutier. Will McManus snare the $1.5 million pot -- or go home empty-handed and devastatingly in debt? The program features interviews with Jim McManus, poker legend T.J. Cloutier, and surprise challenger Chris "Jesus" Ferguson.
BREAKING VEGAS: DICE DOMINATOR (Tuesday, June 14 at 9 pm ET/PT): For most gamblers, how the dice land is a matter of luck. But for Dominic LoRiggio, the "Dice Dominator," a.k.a. "The Man with the Golden Arm," it's purely a matter of skill. In 1997, LoRiggio mastered the seemingly impossible -- controlling the flight of dice in a craps game. While most casinos laugh off the notion, LoRiggio set out to prove all of them wrong. After LoRiggio placed big bets, and scored big, the casinos vowed to stop his $20,000 turns -- no matter what. LoRiggio explains the physics behind the flight of dice, and the eight critical steps to master the act of tossing two dice.
BREAKING VEGAS is produced by Atlas Media Corp. for The History Channel. Executive Producer for The History Channel is Carl H. Lindahl. Executive Producer for Atlas Media is Bruce David Klein.
Now reaching more than 88 million Nielsen subscribers, The History Channel(R), "Where the Past Comes Alive(R)," brings history to life in a powerful manner and provides an inviting place where people experience history personally and connect their own lives to the great lives and events of the past. In 2004, The History Channel earned five News and Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and previously received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's "Save Our History(R)" campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. The History Channel web site is located at http://www.historychannel.com/ .
Millions of people go to Las Vegas in the hope of being lucky enough to hit the jackpot. Some people don't need luck -- they just cheat. BREAKING VEGAS on The History Channel(R) looks at some of Las Vegas's most notorious high-stakes cheaters and the various tactics they've used to fleece casinos in the gambling capital of the world. New episodes of BREAKING VEGAS air on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Cheating in Las Vegas casinos has taken a wide variety of forms over the years. There have been inside jobs, the use of digital equipment to spy, the creation of gadgets to predict outcomes in roulette and blackjack as well as various legal -- but shady -- card-counting schemes involving teams of people. BREAKING VEGAS combines recent and historical footage, dramatizations, factual background and interviews with those involved, including some of the schemers themselves. Viewers get a behind-the-scenes look at the methods used and the casinos' constant efforts to counterbalance them.
Episodes Include:
SLOT SCOUNDREL (airing Tuesday, April 19th at 8 p.m. ET/PT): Cheating slot machines became the calling of Tommy Glenn Carmichael, and his methods helped to spearhead the rise and fall of a slot machine cheat gang that turned slots into Carmichael's personal ATMs for 20 years. Worse, he earned an even bigger fortune by selling his cheap-to-make inventions for $35,000 a piece to underworld cheaters. Carmichael explains how he played cat and mouse with slot machine security, countering every technological evolution with a new gadget to beat it -- that is, until two dogged investigators set the ultimate trap. This episode also features interviews with Carmichael's partner-in-crime and stripper girlfriend, Lisa Luxem, and investigators Jerry Hanford and James Pflaumer, who brought the pair of Vegas-busting scoundrels to their knees.
BEAT THE WHEEL (airing Tuesday, April 26th at 9 p.m. ET/PT): Nobody can predict where the ball will fall on the roulette wheel -- or can they? That was the goal of Doyne Farmer and Norman Packard, childhood friends and physics geeks who embarked in 1975 to deconstruct the physics behind the motion of a roulette ball, and build a miniature computer system that could predict the outcome of a roulette game. The project soon became an out-of-control obsession, consuming a whole commune of brilliant hippie-physicists, and ultimately ended in a landmark contribution to modern-day Chaos Theory. Interviews with Doyne Farmer and Norman Packard take viewers deep into the ambitious and adrenaline-filled adventure.
BLACKJACK MAN (airing Tuesday, May 10th at 9 p.m. ET/PT): On weekdays, Ken Uston was a 38-year-old hotshot senior vice president of the Pacific Stock Exchange. On weekends, Las Vegas casinos knew Uston as "The Mad Bomber," "The Roadrunner," "The Phantom" -- a.k.a. Don Sanders/Billy Williams/Bill Thomas/Tommy Rogers/Roger Hughes. In short, he was the fearless, chameleonic ringleader to a team of elusive, handpicked card counters who terrorized the gaming industry at every turn. BLACKJACK MAN reveals the extraordinary story of how this promising executive began living his double life, ultimately emerging as one of the greatest legends and inspirations in gambling history, only to die a mysterious death in 1987. It features interviews with Uston's mentor "Al Francesco" (a.k.a. Frank Salerno), teammates Ron Karr and Darrell Purpose, and family members Lynn Usui and Beth Anne Uston.
VEGAS VIXEN (airing Tuesday, May 17th at 9 p.m. ET/PT): At five-foot-three and about 100 pounds, Ida Summers hardly seems like the typical casino hustler. But in the 1960s and 1970s, this mother of four once raked in tens of thousands of dollars in a single weekend -- and earned the respect of not only the gangs of Vegas cheats she wrangled, but also casino investigators and FBI agents who were determined to bring her down. From her small-town gambling roots in Newport, Kentucky to her meteoric rise to stardom in the male- dominated world of Vegas cheats, Summers discusses how she mastered the art of "hand mucking" and switching in "coolers" -- decks of cards pre-stacked to win -- to make a killing at every blackjack table. At a time when many casinos had mob connections, Summers gained notoriety as the best cardsharp in town. But her bold moves caught the attention of casino security, and she became a major target of the Gaming Control Board and the FBI. Interviews include accounts from Ida Summers herself and her nemesis FBI Special Agent Dave Spencer.
THE ROULETTE ASSAULT (airing Tuesday, May 31st at 9:00p.m. ET/PT): Gonzalo Garcia-Pelayo's obsession with roulette would transform his family into a gambling enterprise that would profit to the tune of $1.5 million. A struggling Spanish record producer, Gonzalo's life took a dramatic turn when he discovered a secret about roulette -- that the tendency of certain numbers to win repeatedly over time is due to a tangible, consistent effect of a bias in the wheel. Working with his five children, he devoted every minute of his life to turning his family into the greatest, most profitable roulette team ever. He set in motion a plan to defeat casinos all over the world, beginning in Madrid and ultimately conquering Las Vegas. But as word of their success spread among the casinos, the Pelayos' attacks on roulette triggered a cat- and-mouse game that pushed Gonzalo and his family to the edge. This episode of BREAKING VEGAS features interviews with patriarch Gonzalo Garcia-Pelayo, his son and most devoted team member Ivan Garcia-Pelayo, and Patrick Santacruz, the "cat" who ultimately befriended the "mice."
BREAKING VEGAS: THE PRINCE OF POKER (Tuesday, June 7 at 9 pm ET/PT) With a $10,000 buy-in, the stakes at The World Series of Poker are high for any player -- but when you're a down-and-out writer with four kids to support, making it to the final table could mean a fairy tale ending or a life in ruins. Harper's Magazine writer Jim McManus decided to tempt fate in 2000. In one hand after another, McManus, an amateur, outplays his formidable opponents. He makes it into the actual World Series, where he must defeat his idol-turned-enemy, champion poker player T.J. Cloutier. Will McManus snare the $1.5 million pot -- or go home empty-handed and devastatingly in debt? The program features interviews with Jim McManus, poker legend T.J. Cloutier, and surprise challenger Chris "Jesus" Ferguson.
BREAKING VEGAS: DICE DOMINATOR (Tuesday, June 14 at 9 pm ET/PT): For most gamblers, how the dice land is a matter of luck. But for Dominic LoRiggio, the "Dice Dominator," a.k.a. "The Man with the Golden Arm," it's purely a matter of skill. In 1997, LoRiggio mastered the seemingly impossible -- controlling the flight of dice in a craps game. While most casinos laugh off the notion, LoRiggio set out to prove all of them wrong. After LoRiggio placed big bets, and scored big, the casinos vowed to stop his $20,000 turns -- no matter what. LoRiggio explains the physics behind the flight of dice, and the eight critical steps to master the act of tossing two dice.
BREAKING VEGAS is produced by Atlas Media Corp. for The History Channel. Executive Producer for The History Channel is Carl H. Lindahl. Executive Producer for Atlas Media is Bruce David Klein.
Now reaching more than 88 million Nielsen subscribers, The History Channel(R), "Where the Past Comes Alive(R)," brings history to life in a powerful manner and provides an inviting place where people experience history personally and connect their own lives to the great lives and events of the past. In 2004, The History Channel earned five News and Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and previously received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's "Save Our History(R)" campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. The History Channel web site is located at http://www.historychannel.com/ .
