When the rumors first drifted in from Australia in December, Las Vegas casino operators laughed and laughed. An Aussie syndicate had learned how to beat the one-armed bandits? Impossible. Even when confronted with Australian press reports that the group had coined $225,000 in slot-machine jack pots before they were banned for life from most of New South Wales's gam bling clubs, Nevada's big wheels insisted "it could never happen here."
It could and did, and the laughter last week was coming from two of the original Down Under bandit-beaters. Soon after arriving in Las Vegas, George Clampett and Keith Jennings, both 28, made their first tour of the casinos. They put $3.80 into nine slot machines, won eight jackpots for a 31-hour total of $277.50. In all but one of the seven casinos they visited, the Aussies were firmly shown the door after ringing up a jackpot or two. "We're just here to prove our point," shrugged Clampett. "Not to get rich."
They already are. But the Sydney System, as they call it, only sounds simple. The gambler plays a machine until he gets a high-scoring symbol on the reel farthest to his left. Then, after inserting another coin, he gingerly eases the handle forward until he feels tension, pauses, eases the handle even more gingerly farther down until he hears two clicks, returns handle to its normal position and gives it a sharp, final yank. If expertly performed, this maneuver freezes the lefthand symbol, usually brings up a corresponding symbol on the second reel as well. If not, repetition of the process—and more change—will. A few more coins, a few more pulls to bring the third reel round, and hi-ho, Silver!
First discovered by Clampett, who shared his secret with ten close friends back home, the formula has been carefully explained in a soon-to-be-published book. Its title, naturally, is How to Beat the Bandits. Clampett & Co. expect to get richer still on royalties, and are coppering their bet by making a round-the-world tour, beating bandits and fattening the market for their book.
Last week the play suffered a slight setback when Monte Carlo unceremoniously closed the casino doors to the delegation from Down Under. Still, the same Las Vegas operators who would not believe that the two-armed Aussies could outsmart one-armed bandits stood by expectantly for the hordes of tyros sure to buy the book and flock to Las Vegas to get rich quick. A few may, but as Clampett warns, bandit-beating takes skill as well as quarters.