Understanding the Infamous Savannah Scam

This scam is called the Savannah, and it was created by Richard Marcus, which he describes in detail in his book, “American Roulette”. The Savannah is a form of pinching. Pinching is when the cheater takes a chip or two off of a losing bet. The difference is, when executing the Savannah, the mechanic pinches the bet, swaps chips, and then places the bet back on the table. The more you know, the better a dealer you can be. Here is how the Savannah works.

Step 1: Place a Bet

A team of cheaters would go up to the roulette table, and at the beginning of the round, when everyone is placing their bets, one of the cheaters will make a legit bet. The cheater will place three cheques on the Columns or the Dozens. Two of the cheques will be red chips worth $5 while the bottom cheque is worth $500 or $1,000. They would angle the chips in such a way that, from the dealer’s perspective, the high value chip underneath cannot be seen. By slanting the first two cheques towards the dealer, it hides the larger value bottom cheque from view. The dealer can only see the red cheques, and that is all the cheater wants them to see.

Step 2: Legit Win

If the bet wins, the winner will point out the large cheque, after the dealer tries to pay them with all red $5 cheques. The dealer will call over their floor supervisor, who will call the cameras. The eye-in-the-sky will verify that it was a legit bet, that was there from the beginning. The cheater has found a way to make the cameras work for them instead of against them. Because it is a legit win, the dealer will pay the bet 2 to 1, and the cheater will leave the table.

The highest value cheque the cheater will use is $1,000. They won’t use a $5,000 or $10,000 chip because the casino tracks those chips at all times. The cheater would attract a lot of heat if they tried to use a high value cheque, and the number one rule of team play is to execute their scams without attracting a lot of attention to yourself. They don’t want people to know what they are doing. Cheaters want to be able to get away with their scam and move on without the casino knowing they were just hit.

Step 3: The Distraction

What if the cheaters lose? Typically, scammers work as a team. As soon as the ball drops and they see it is a losing number, but before the dealer has placed their dolly on the winning number, one of the teammates will cause a distraction. They may ask the dealer an offensive question, spill a drink, get into a fight, or a hot woman may walk by topless. There are so many things that these cheaters can do to divert the dealer’s attention. If something seems like a distraction, right after the ball has dropped, see this for the red flag that it is and immediately focus your attention on the table and your bank.

Step 4: The Switch

Once the dealer’s attention is away from the table, the mechanic will make their move. The mechanic will pinch the lost wager and swap the large cheque with a much smaller, red, $5 cheque, putting it back on the table. If the cheater loses, they’ve only lost $15, but if they win, they can walk away with a few thousand dollars.

Step 5: Avoiding Accusations

If the dealer notices the pinch, the mechanic will act like they made an honest mistake and just put it back. No harm, no foul. “Oh! Sorry about that. Here you go.” It is important that the player is kind and friendly. They don’t cause a problem and happily comply. The cheater may even act like they’re drunk, or they didn’t realize the ball just dropped. Either way, the cheater will gladly give the dealer their lost wager of $15. Since the player gave the money back, there is no need to notify the floor supervisor or call the cameras.

How to Protect Your Roulette Game

When this team of cheaters is going through the casino, shopping for weak dealers, they are specifically looking for dealers who are not protecting their game. That is why it is always important to protect your table, by always casing your layout or walking your game. You don’t want to be one of the dealers that they pick. Be aware of what’s going on. Who is playing what bet, and focus on the most vulnerable area, the Columns and the Dozens.

When you “Case Your Layout”, take note of all bets, making sure they are over the table minimum and under the table maximum. You want to be sure that you can see all the bets being played. If you can’t see all the chips because of how they were placed, take a second to readjust the bet, by first clearing your hands and rearranging the stack of chips so they can all be seen clearly. Be sure to know what you have on your table. Take note of any high value cheques being played and notify your floor supervisor if you see any green $25 or higher being played on the inside bets or any black $100 chips or higher being played on the outside bets. Call out “Cheques Play” and be sure your floor supervisor heard and acknowledged that call. It is good to know what cheques are being played on your table, because if those bets change, you know a cheater pinched or past posted their bet. Always case your layout before you spin the ball.

Another casino procedure that will help you protect your table is to “Wave Off Bets”. Once you’ve cased your layout, and all of your bets look good, go ahead and spin the ball. As soon as you hear the ball start to slow down, wave off the table. No more bets are allowed to be played. Typically, the players will stay back, allowing you to see if anyone tries to change or alter their wager. The dealer will take two steps back so that way they can see both the table and the wheel at the exact same time. Listen for the ball to drop, and when you hear it, quickly glance over and look and see what number was hit. Then quickly glance back. Like the snap of a finger, it’s that fast. That way you don’t have tunnel vision and you are always looking at the table and the wheel at the same time. Make sure nobody is hovering over the wheel, and that there is no movement near the Columns or Dozens. Quickly, place the dolly on the number and then start sweeping all of the lost bets.

One of the mistakes dealers tend to make is they have tunnel vision right after the ball has dropped. They are so focused on figuring out the math and paying out the bets that they don’t realize their backs are turned on the table, allowing players to pinch or past post their bet. The dealer must be able to see their table at all times, even when paying out a bet. If you have your back turned to the table or the bank at any time, you are leaving your table vulnerable to cheaters.

In this video, we broke down the infamous Savannah scam, showing you how cheaters use deception and distraction to manipulate roulette bets. By understanding this tactic, you can better protect your game and stay vigilant against potential scams. For more information, read American Roulette by Richard Marcus.