The Genuinely Interested Podcast Ep 111 Sal "The Hitman" Piacente - Casino Cheating Mastermind
Sal Piacente is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and the ultimate student of the game. He has been a world authority on Casino Game Protection since the late 1980s, although, his interest in con-games and scams began on the streets at a young age - when his father taught him to protect himself from 3 Card Monte hustlers. He started his casino career as a blackjack dealer in Atlantic City after an honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps. Sal then worked his way up from dealer to shift manager to game protection specialist, a position created for him by an international casino corporation. Sal Piacente is also an instructor for the University of Nevada Reno's Gaming Management Certification Program. Piacente has parlayed his experience, skills, passion, and knowledge of the various ways to cheat all casino games into a successful casino consulting business.
Recently Sal appeared on a Vanity Fair video where he broke down cheating scenes from films including 'Rain Man', 'Rounders', 'Casino', 'Ocean's Thirteen', and more. His unique ability to explain (and show) sleight of hand tricks, that the human eye can't pick up, is both illuminating & fascinating
During this podcast, Sal showed me many of the tricks and I did my best to explain them to you.
Sal & I discussed -
- What an expert on casino cheating does
- His relationship with the original "Rain Man"
- His legendary memory skills
- The creative ways people find to cheat in casinos
- How he got his start in the business
- Asymmetries of power
- His pick for most realistic casino movie
- Card tricks
And much more...
My Take: Sal possesses what some might call superhero powers. His knowledge of human psychology, his ability to misdirect your attention, his phenomenal memory, and his sleight of hand makes Sal an incredibly unique person to listen to & learn from. Illusionists, magicians, and other performers who throughout history allowed us to suspend our beliefs and go on a journey to the unknown have always held a special place in society for good reason, they make us doubt what we see and question what we don't.