As regular observers of the casino industry, we here at GamblingSites.com have seen plenty of odd news stories about casinos over the years. Some of these stories were about unusual events that took place inside casinos. Others were just about weird promotions or publicity stunts. And a few involved casinos being used in very unexpected ways indeed.
Here's a dozen of the most bizarre stories we could find - but feel free to share any other crazy casino tales you may have heard of in the comments section.
Free Casino Slots You Can Play Online Right NowCasinos can be eerie places late at night, especially if you're the last person in the building. That was the situation facing one Las Vegas casino worker who decided to stay behind after closing time back in 2015.
The employee in question worked at the Cannery Casino & Hotel, which shut its doors around 4:00 am on the day in question. Feeling hungry, the staffer headed for the restaurant but found the refrigerator had been raided and the food had been eaten.
Las Vegas police later determined that two men had broken into the casino and feasted on buffet items for several hours before leaving. It must have been a costly heist as those same cops also said the pair made off with $30,000 in casino cash while they were at it.
Casino buffets are popular with both gamblers and non-gamblers alike. Indeed, it's not unheard of for people to drive across town or even from nearby states just to eat at their favorite Vegas all-you-can-eat emporium. However, very few of these diners have ever been arrested for stealing from the crustacean stations.
Of course, buffet etiquette does have its own set of rules. One of which is never go back for third helpings. Unless you've got a cast iron stomach like Winnie the Pooh, of course. In fact, even Pooh wouldn't have been able to match Mark Abarca when it came to gluttonous greed.
Rare Pawn Shop Items That Fetched Fortunes When Sold at AuctionThe Arizona man visited the Cache Creek Plaza's all-you-can-eat dinner buffet back in 2018 and piled his plate so high with food that it measured 24 inches when flattened out. Amazingly, Abarca managed to consume the lot before leaving a $26 tip.
We wonder if he needed a wheelbarrow on the way back to the table after his fifth trip to the food station?
Finding yourself short of cash while gambling is never nice. Even more irritating is realizing you've got insufficient funds in your account once the fun is over and you're checking your bank balance the next morning.
However, one anonymous Flowing Water Casino customer took extreme measures to get hold of some ready cash during a gaming session back in 969.
Taking advantage of the fact the casino didn't lock its doors until dawn, the unnamed player asked employees at North Dakota's only Indian gaming facility to retrieve his stash of human remains from his car.
Most Outspoken Political Poker Players - PokerListingsOnce in possession of his ill-gotten gains, the gambler used an axe to chop up the corpses and sell them to another tribe for $1,500. Needless to say, this story doesn't end well for our hapless hero as he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
When your horse is pulled up or falls at the first hurdle, there's always the consolation prize buffet at the local track. Except, of course, if you're Paul Revere II and the Breeders' Cup is your race meeting.
Revere - son of famous Squaw Netty suicide spot namesake Paul Revere - had bet $2 million on his horse, Hard Spun, to win the 2007 juvenile race. Hard Spun didn't win but did give Revere something to celebrate by finishing second.
This would normally mean consoling yourself with some free food at the Breeders' Cup hospitality area. Except, oops, the area hadn't been stocked yet. No matter, no problem. Revere simply offered to pick up the $25,000 bill for all the guests in order to get his hands on $50,000 worth of food vouchers.
Entitlement anyone?
Drug smuggling and money laundering aren't exactly behaviors you'd associate with respectable members of society. Nor, indeed, would most people class these activities as wise things to do when operating in or near a casino.
However, the pairing of drugs, money, and gambling can be a heady mix, especially when large sums of cash are involved. Add a corrupt casino worker into the equation and it becomes easy to see how large quantities of cocaine can make their way onto the gaming floor.
This is pretty much what happened during the summer of 2018 at the Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. Only, instead of receiving a slap on the wrist, one of the dealers involved scooped the biggest prize of all when her involvement in the coke ring resulted in her fiancé proposing at the caged-off drug stash.
"Will you sniff?"...isn't a question you'll see engraved on many wedding bands but, hey, each to their own, right?
Joe Cotugno is a legend in the video poker community thanks to his groundbreaking book, Winning hands of Poker. This 1984 tome became known as the "video poker bible" due to Cotugno's detailed strategy charts and insights into how to maximize profits from this popular slot alternative.
So, when the New Jersey resident passed away in 2017, fellow players and fans wanted to honor his memory in a fitting way. What better method than having Cotugno's ashes turned into jewelry so his remains could live forever inside personalized video poker machines?
Respectful tributes they may have been but Bally's Atlantic City - where the jewelry was unveiled - probably wasn't too upset when the Joe Cotugno cabinet eventually stopped paying homage in 2020.
Is it just us, or isn't there a certain similarity between cremation capsules and coin pushers?
New Horseshoe Casino Sportsbooks to Try Outside of VegasSpeaking of slot machines, who knew they could be so dangerous? We're not talking about the obvious risks associated with gambling here but actual physical harm. You know, cuts, bruises, impalement, and so on.
Believe it or not, casinos have had slot machines declared a health hazard on at least two occasions. The first was in 1986 when a California judge ruled that the coins and coin dust emanating from these games were detrimental to the health of workers and patrons. This led to a ban on new slot installations although existing ones were grandfathered in.
Thirty years later, the Slots-A-Fun Casino in Sioux City, Iowa, had slots thrown out of its establishment after the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation determined that 17 of its 38 machines posed a serious injury risk. Apparently, overly enthusiastic players had impaled themselves on protruding coin wheels and sharp edges.
Ouch. On both counts.
gambling online casinosWe've all had bad beats at the tables or gone on epic slot cold runs but these examples take pixelated avatars of grief to a whole new level.
In May 2012, Golden Nugget Online Gaming launched a promo that gave players the chance to create their own avatar and compete in weekly blackjack tournaments. The idea was that the top three performers each week would see their avatters suffer a painful death courtesy of a falling safe.
Needless to say, this didn’t go down well with the game’s developer, Playtgo, which demanded the promo be taken down on the grounds it contravened its terms and conditions. Whether this was because Playtgo cared about sensitivities or didn’t want people thinking it condoned encouragements to suicide was left unsaid.
We doubt this particular card counter was worrying about avatars the first time he chose Harrah’s Council Bluffs as his gaming destination. Unfortunately for him, this Iowa casino has a habit of closing its doors to prevent card counters getting a game.
Free Slots with Bonus Games - Play Aladdin's Wish at #1 US SiteTo be fair to Harrah’s, every casino in the world does its best to minimize the impact of professional players. However, this Partially Derived Value (PDV) practitioner went to extraordinary lengths to gain the upper hand on the house. Namely, he wore a magnet beneath his clothing to interfere with the microchips in the cards and overcome the casino’s PDV system.
Of course, the casino wasn’t best pleased when it found out and contacted the FBI when it believed the man in question had returned for more criminal antics at the weekend. So, to recap, this guy wore a magnet in his pants to cheat an already strange system. Let’s hope he wasn’t also rock hard during crucial moments. That must have been embarrassing… for his eyes, at least.
If the thought of playing blackjack with a magnet in your trousers gives you pause for thought, you might consider taking part in a game where everyone has a glass of beer in their hand. Yes, this really happened at the 2008 Swiss Poker Open in St. Gallen.
The promotional blackjack tournament encouraged players to wash down correct calls and busts with swigs from their beers. Things got even sillier when one player accidentally spilled his drink into the machine and dealt himself 21. The dealer stood aside as the foaming water did its thing before the croupier resumed dealing when the liquid had gone.
Amazingly, this ridiculous turn of events actually paid off for the lucky punter who went on to win the tournament and a CHF 10,000 (~£7,800) diamond pizza. We’re assuming he shared it with his friends. Otherwise, he’ll be eating pepperoni for the next 12 months or so.
casinos with free bonusesIt takes a special kind of nuts to stage a poker tournament on a plane but airline pilot Turner Vasquez isn’t your average chip stacker. Indeed, this experienced flyer and poker player combined the two pastimes in 2007 to run the first phase of his World Poker Tour qualifier aboard Alaska Airlines.
WPT officials oversaw the event, which saw 87 players vying for four seats at a satellite for the Bay 101 Shark Cage $10,000 WPT National event. Everyone who made it through to the second phase received a flight voucher and prizes included Alaska Airline gift certificates, hotel stays, and poker packages.
Perhaps inspired by this aeronautical exploit, a group of Dutch entrepreneurs decided to take poker into stratospheric realms in 2018. Their plan involves helium balloons, an online poker platform, and a transcontinental journey from Amsterdam to New York.
Aside from trying to break six Guinness World Records and raising money for charity, the VenturePACE project will attempt to highlight the safety and convenience of space tourism. Assuming none of the players suffer from severe flatulence during the 9-day journey, this could become a yearly occurrence once private companies start offering regular trips to the final frontier.
Imagine telling your friends you won an online poker series from 42,000 feet? Well, that could become a reality if the Dutch balloon venture takes off - and yeah, we totally intended that pun.
Best Slot Machine Tips - How to Win at SlotsTalking of puns, we’re going to bring this piece to a close by wishing you luck should you decide to enter a Santa suit and play poker at the annual Chip Reese Christmas Charity tournament in Las Vegas. Because, let’s face it, is it a present or a mess…?