Gambling YouTuber and casino influencer Matt “Vegas Matt” Morrow claimed this week that the Venetian booted him last year after he won a $400,000 slot jackpot.
Morrow gambles large sums of money and shares his casino adventures with his 1.7 million subscribers on YouTube. The 62-year-old gambler said security escorted him off the property after he scored the six-figure sum.
Morrow’s removal from the casino may have been the result of using “advantage play,” according to Vital Vegas. This strategy involves utilizing advanced systems, such as counting cards in blackjack, to gain an advantage over the house. Morrow denied that he’d used any advantage play, which isn’t illegal, to secure the win.
“We played a Phoenix link but left the counter higher than we started it, which is hardly advantage play,” he posted on X/Twitter.
“Maybe they just didn’t like me winning. Their loss. I prefer giving my business to properties that are happy when I win! Just won $260K at Fontainebleau and I’m here playing again today!”
Gaining An Edge On The House
While playing slot machines may come with a hefty house edge, some advantage players can find returns in certain situations by exploiting the positive expected value once a progressive hits a certain number.
A well-capitalized gambler can ensure a positive result when playing over the long term and hitting a jackpot. Slot advantage play rarely hurts a casino’s bottom line, but it can reduce the money available to other players.
Advantage players are winning money directly from the house on table games, not funds redistributed to customers. A casino’s return to player (RTP) determines how much of the wagered money the slots return as winnings.
For example, a 91% RTP means the casino is paying out 91 cents out of every dollar back to players. An advantage player does not upend this structure. They simply take a chunk of the money available.
Other Forms Of Advantage Play
The most common form of advantage play in blackjack is card counting. There are also advantages in other games, such as edge sorting in baccarat.
Poker pro Phil Ivey was famously involved in a long legal battle to secure millions of dollars in winnings after edge sorting at casinos in Atlantic City and the UK.
Some players claimed to have winning systems for roulette as well, based on the croupier’s spin of the wheel or a “biased wheel.”
“Dice manipulation” is another strategy some employ in craps, although critics debate if this is actually possible.
This style of play isn’t against the law and it isn’t cheating, but casinos look down on advantage play. Properties often kick out and ban card counters when they are discovered.
A player in Colorado found that out in 2023. Joseph Shiraef sued Ameristar Casino in Black Hawk, claiming the property illegally detained him after they learned he was counting cards at the blackjack tables.
Investor and poker player Bob Bright spoke with Card Player’s Poker Stories podcast in 2018 about his ability to count cards.
