11. VLADIMIR GRANEC
This guy could just as easily be listed in the “gambling scams” section as the hall of fame section. Vladimir Granec was the man who took an estimated $50 million dollars out of the casinos some years ago by rigging wheels in his favour.
He was chased by European gaming police numerous times and was even arrested on several occasions. What kicked all of this off were large losses that were experienced by a fair number of major European casinos and the losses were inexplicable.
Further light was revealed when in one London casino, motion sensors were triggered while the casino was closed that set CCTV cameras in motion. These recorded a group of men who were seen tampering with one of the wheels. It was only have some arrests were made that the name of Vladimir Granec surfaced.
After several more arrests and interviews, the same name kept cropping up repeatedly and the police were finally starting to get the picture that this guy was the brains behind the whole operation. On entering his home in Germany, police found numerous roulette wheels and roulette wheel parts. Granec tried to explain that he was a small casino owner (which he was) and that these items were part of his business.
In all my years in gaming and the reporting of it, I have never heard of a casino boss who was so into his work that he was dissecting roulette wheels at his home. But for lack of proof then the police had to let him go. I have heard reports that Granec may have been responsible for winnings of $100 million and I suppose that the true figure will never be known. But for sheer ingenuity and guile then Granec deserves a place in the hall of fame even if his practices were shady.
