About Casino Chip Hustler

“What is a Chip Hustler?”

Casino A chip hustler is a person who attempts to steal, con or ingratiate a customer out of their money or chips. Under the guise of helping a player learn to play a table game, a chip hustler will ‘Palm” (secretly hide chips in his hand) some of the Online Casino player’s chips and then go to his pocket with the chips... (Called “Going South” or “Rat Hole”). Even if the chip hustler doesn’t steal a player’s chips directly he will expect to receive a part of the winnings... (Called “Being Pieced Off” or “Getting His End”). Some chip hustlers will make up an elaborate story for a potential “Mark.” The hustler will brag of his ability to read dealers or tell of watching games to determine “Hot or Cold” dealers. Hustlers have been known to tell players that they have a network of dealers who call in when their tables are going bad. “Of course,” says the chip hustler, “we’ll have to piece off the dealer too.” In reality there are no dealers calling. The chip hustler is just taking a chance of Gambling with the player’s money. The hustler has nothing to lose and shares part of the winnings. The “piece off” for the dealer goes into the hustler’s pocket.

Player’s with Chips

Some hustlers will steal chips from a customer at the crap tables. When a player reaches down to place a bet or collect a winner, the chip hustler will reach right underneath that player’s arm and steal chips out of the rail. (When you reach down onto a crap table you must lean forward and in essence your own shoulder and arm blocks your site of the rail underneath your arm.) This type of chip hustler is known as a “Rail Thief” or “Rail Bird.” Chip hustle also happens in the slot machines. A hustler will tell a mark that a slot floorman or slot mechanic is turning him on to “Hot” machines. The story is that the slot tech or floorman sees a computer list every day of all the machines in the casino and knows which ones are overdue to pay. “The inside guy,” says the hustler, also knows which machines the Casino has set “Loose” and which are “Tight.” If asked why he doesn’t play the slot machines himself (or the table games), the hustler tells the mark that he has been winning too often at this casino and is “Too Hot” to play himself. All of this of course is nonsense, (short for “B...S....‘). Hustling players is not restricted to casinos, but actually is quite common at race tracks. A race horse “Tout” will approach several different bettors and claim to have “Inside Information”. The hustler touts a different horse to each bettor in the same race. After the race the hustler returns to the bettor with the winning horse and expects a piece of the winnings.

Female Hustler

Female chip hustlers will try and get next to a player and become very friendly and flirtatious. Dressed for the part the chip hustler will ask a potential mark how to place bets and pretend not to know the game. “I’m going to make the same bets you do,” says the hustler. However the girl doesn’t have enough money to place all the bets and hints that the “mark” should place bets for her because she is bringing him luck. Some girls will even hint about sexual favors or a date after the game in order to hustle a “mark” for chips or bets.