Part III: Slot Machine Cheating · Physical Cheating Methods

SCAM #10: Monkey Paw / Slider

How it works

Tommy Glenn Carmichael’s first major invention after his 1985 arrest and imprisonment. The monkey paw (also called “the slider”) was constructed from spring steel and guitar wire. The device was snaked up into the machine through the coin payout chute. Once inside, the bent metal tip would locate and trip the microswitch that controlled the coin hopper release. This fooled the machine into thinking a jackpot had been triggered, causing the hopper to empty all its coins. The device could be manipulated by pulling the wire taut or slack, allowing precise control over the metal rod’s shape to navigate different machine internals.

Where it appears

Early electronic slot machines with coin hoppers and accessible microswitches through the payout chute (primarily IGT machines from late 1980s to early 1990s).

On the record

According to legend, Carmichael saw the design in a dream in 1990. The name “monkey paw” came from the device’s wedged, beckoning tip. The device rendered obsolete by 1991 when manufacturers added electronic hopper sensors.

Published as a detection reference for surveillance, compliance and gaming-operations professionals. Thresholds and tuning are set by the property. Nothing here is instruction — the method is described so it can be recognised.