A former computer techncian for the Nevada Gaming Control Board – on whose Excluded Person List his name has appeared since February 20, 1997 – Ronald Dale ‘Ron’ Harris was responsible for series of lucrative and, for the most part, undetected casino scams in the nineties.
Initially, he secretly, and illegally, devised a slot machine rigging program, which was installed by unsuspecting representatives during the checking of the machines in question for correct operation. Once installed, the program allowed the jackpot to be triggered by a predetermined sequence of coins. Between 1993 and 1995, Dale and his partner in crime, Reid Errol McNeal, successfully swindled Las Vegas casinos out of hundreds thousands of dollars.
By late 1994, though, Dale has switched his attention to slot poker and keno machines and devised a program that allowed him to predict winning plays without meddling. That, too, proved successful, reportedly yielding $10,000 from a Las Vegas keno machine in the space of five minutes in December 1994.
However, the subterfugue was ultimately discovered when Harris and McNeal hit a $100,000 keno jackpot at Bally’s Park Place, now Bally’s Atlantic City, in Atlantic City, New Jersey in January 1995. Sloppily, McNeal, who was not carrying identification, requested payment in cash and, when state gaming officials arrived to verify the jackpot – as was legally required – he was arrested.
Harris fled the scene, but left behind damning evidence of the scheme and he, too, was arrested on his return to Las Vegas. Both men were charged with attempted theft by deception, conspiracy and computer theft. Harris was convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail, of which he served two. At the time of sentencing, District Judge Peter Breen told Harris, “There is no question the depth of your betrayal was complete.”