Originally Posted by unowme View Post
When the original Card Counters realized they could put the odds in their favor, were they stealing? Although there's a difference between 'putting the odds in your favor' and 'can't lose'....it's only a matter of degree. Here's some other examples.

A Canadian Statistician realized the numbering of one of the Ontario Lottery Scratch Off games gave an indication if it would be a winner. He could have plundered the Lottery, but he reported his findings to the Lottery Commission.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/01/ff_lottery/all/


Then there was this other Canadian fellow Daniel Corriveau, who in 1994 won 600K playing electronic keno when he realized that the machine was seeded with the same random number every time it was powered off. It so happened Casino Montreal powered off that machine every night when they vacuumed. He picked 19 of 20 numbers three times in a row AND he was cleared of any wrongdoing AND collected his money.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino_de_Montr%C3%A9al

And let's not forget Ronald Dale Harris. Harris was able to figure out the random number generator of certain Keno games. Unfortunately for him he figured it out using the game's computer source code that he was privy to as a programmer for the Nevada Gaming Commission. He was sentenced to 7 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Dale_Harris

So, three different examples. Three different outcomes. I'd say this VP Player is closest to Mr. Corriveau. He figured out a flaw in the game and took advantage of it. Unless he had insider information on it, I don't think that what he did was illegal. Maybe it could be considered a malfunction of the machine and the Casino could withhold payment. Then again, maybe it's the responsibility of the machine manufacturer to do design reviews and appropriate QA to prevent the release of a flawed gaming device.

As to the morality of exploiting a software flaw in a gaming machine, I see it as all part of the game. Just like I don't speak up when a dealer overpays me or someone at my table. It's not my job to report their mistakes. It's my job to keep winning until they stop me. Somehow that doesn't seem like 'cheating'. And besides, what's moral about gambling in the first place? Reminds me of the last time I played blackjack at the IP. We played a $10 IP matchplay.. The dealer had never seen one. He let us play it until it lost....paying double for several hands. Who am I to correct him? He's the dealer. Dang. Does that make me immoral...or just questionable?

A Video Poker machine isn't an ATM. It is a machine that plays a game. If a bug modifies the rules of that game then why isn't exploiting it is a fair strategy in playing the game? There is a difference between gaming machines and cash dispensing machines in a financial institution.
The last para. is of the utmost importance. You don't play an ATM to get money out of it, and you can only get out of your account to the limit of that which you have put into it or have authorized credit towards. Anything over those limits is stealing and the money must be returned.

A vp machine in a casino is a completely different animal. You gamble to make it pay. If you're pushing buttons and inserting bills, you're simply playing the machine. It isn't your concern whether it was meant to be operated in that manner of not. That's why they have something called software code. However, I do not believe that utilizing a winner you've already been paid on, a second or third time....or using a winning hand that's been left on the machine in order to then claim it was YOU who hit that winner using your money, is moral or even legal.