The deceptively simple device pictured here costs more than $10,000, and it sits at the center of a worldwide fraud scheme worth millions of dollars.
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The machine is called the DeckMate 2, and it is used to shuffle cards in poker games.
The original machine was manufactured in 2002, and the current follow-up model dates from 2012, produced by a company called Light and Wonder.
The company sells it exclusively to licensed, regulated casinos, where the units undergo rigorous inspection to ensure they are not exploited for cheating at card games.
It is considered an exceptionally reliable and efficient machine — shuffling a deck takes just about 22 seconds — and it is regarded as secure against fraud.
The machine is used at the World Series of Poker, which has made it a symbol of integrity.
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Recently, an indictment was filed against 31 suspects across 11 countries, among them NBA stars and members of organized crime families.
According to the indictment, members of the group obtained these machines through unofficial channels — at least one at gunpoint — and installed a system inside them that allowed them to know which hand would win each round.
The information was transmitted from the machine to a person located elsewhere, who then relayed instructions by phone to a confederate seated at the game table.
The confederate signaled the best moves to make in order to win using pre-arranged signs.
The machine was accompanied by other cheating methods, including hidden cameras, X-ray tables that read face-down cards, and pre-marked cards that could only be identified through special lenses.
According to the indictment, unsuspecting players who were lured into joining these games lost a combined total of millions of dollars, with one victim alone losing $1.8 million.
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The case also prompted a detailed analysis and investigation of the machine itself.
The examination concluded that the manufacturer was in fact clean and was not involved in the fraud in any way.
Nevertheless, the machine does contain USB and internet connections through which its software can be accessed — a security vulnerability that could be exploited by bad actors, as in this case.
Human ingenuity knows no bounds, and cases like this remind us of what happens when it is turned to the wrong ends.
Pictured: One of the machines used in the fraud, from the federal case file, US DOJ
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👋 Hi, I'm Shlomo Strauss — follow me for more fascinating content on science and technology.