Professional cheaters have stuck to gambling venues in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., but not anymore.
Investigators said cheaters are now hitting Midwestern casinos.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said that specifically Iowa is attracting sophisticated out-of-state cheaters because of all the new growth in the state's casino industry.
Over the last decade, casinos have been springing up across the state.
With that building boom, casinos are attracting another type of guest.
"It could be anything from card counters to card muckers," said Prairie Meadows' Security Director Clint Pursley.
The DCI's Joe Diaz said there are some professional cheaters from outside of Iowa.
"We have had a few people try and take advantage of our games here at Prairie Meadows," Pursley said.
Those who make their living off cheating casinos are making their way to Iowa from Las Vegas.
"They think that maybe their face is not as well known and just new territory -- they see this as new territory that they could possibly take advantage of," Diaz said.
The DCI said that cheaters are banking on inexperienced staff and new casinos not having their act together, but places such as Prairie Meadows are fighting back.
"As soon as a known card cheat is in a specific area, hot sheets are sent out all over the country and those people can be identified based on those sheets," Pursley said.
Cheaters who continue to try to beat the gaming system eventually get caught, investigators said.
"We had a case down in Osceola here about a year ago where we had some professional slot cheats take advantage of a software glitch in a IGT machine," Diaz said.
"Some individuals from out of state came out tried to take advantage of a game with a manufacturer's defect were subsequently caught, prosecuted and have been barred from all gaming in the state of Iowa," Pursley said.
The DCI said it does not see these professional cheaters coming into Iowa on a daily basis, but every few months, they catch them trying to rip off local casinos.
Investigators said cheaters are now hitting Midwestern casinos.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said that specifically Iowa is attracting sophisticated out-of-state cheaters because of all the new growth in the state's casino industry.
Over the last decade, casinos have been springing up across the state.
With that building boom, casinos are attracting another type of guest.
"It could be anything from card counters to card muckers," said Prairie Meadows' Security Director Clint Pursley.
The DCI's Joe Diaz said there are some professional cheaters from outside of Iowa.
"We have had a few people try and take advantage of our games here at Prairie Meadows," Pursley said.
Those who make their living off cheating casinos are making their way to Iowa from Las Vegas.
"They think that maybe their face is not as well known and just new territory -- they see this as new territory that they could possibly take advantage of," Diaz said.
The DCI said that cheaters are banking on inexperienced staff and new casinos not having their act together, but places such as Prairie Meadows are fighting back.
"As soon as a known card cheat is in a specific area, hot sheets are sent out all over the country and those people can be identified based on those sheets," Pursley said.
Cheaters who continue to try to beat the gaming system eventually get caught, investigators said.
"We had a case down in Osceola here about a year ago where we had some professional slot cheats take advantage of a software glitch in a IGT machine," Diaz said.
"Some individuals from out of state came out tried to take advantage of a game with a manufacturer's defect were subsequently caught, prosecuted and have been barred from all gaming in the state of Iowa," Pursley said.
The DCI said it does not see these professional cheaters coming into Iowa on a daily basis, but every few months, they catch them trying to rip off local casinos.
