"I once saw Sal demonstrate his memory work in a hotel lobby, and was convinced it was a dream. This is flat out amazing. I've respected Sal as a card man for years. But quite frankly, his Rain Man act is the most incredible thing I've ever seen. It borders on witchcraft."- Erik Tait

"Get Ready people B-because Sal's coming. This guy will take your breath away."- Gazzo

"Consistently hired by top casinos around the world, Sal Piacente's significant understanding of cheating moves, casino scams and his intimate knowledge regarding the underbelly of the gaming industry is
why he's considered the REAL DEAL. Additionally, the memory skills Piacente possesses makes him an unstoppable, one-of-a-kind force." - Lee Asher (CardStar)

What will he teach?

The Rain Man Act:

-False Shuffles
-How to memorize a random list of 25 items
-How to memorize cards
-How to memorize a long binary number
-How to memorize a complete magazine
-How to calculate a day for any date called out
-Rapid Math
-The Magic Square

Who is he?

Brooklyn native, Sal Piacente, is 30-year casino industry veteran and the consummate authority on casino game protection (safeguarding the profitability of table games) and memory enhancement (mnemonic) techniques. Over 100 casinos, law enforcement, and casino regulatory bodies worldwide have sought his training and consulting services, which range from job-specific game protection programs for dealers, supervisors, upper management, surveillance observers, casino regulators, and law enforcement. Piacente’s training programs offer live demonstrations of casino cheating techniques, real surveillance footage of thefts and scams, and the knowledge and enthusiasm that motivate participants to become more diligent on the job.

When he was a teenager, Piacente’s father revealed Three Card Monte scam to him, in hopes that he would not be swindled by it on the streets of New York. Fascinated by the workings of the hustle, Piacente began to read every book he could find on scams and deception, seek out anyone who would share their knowledge with him, and study both the psychological and physical prowess needed to hoodwink unwitting prey. Today, Sal Piacente carries on his father’s tradition of preventing victimization through enlightenment.

It only took one trip to Las Vegas in his youth for Sal Piacente to realize he wanted work in the casino industry. He began his career as a blackjack dealer in Atlantic City, shortly after an honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps. He also taught at a local dealing school, demonstrating game protection techniques. While visiting the school, the owner of an international casino consulting firm took notice of Piacente’s talents and >passion and offered him a free-lance position conducting game protection seminars for their clients across the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean. He eagerly accepted the opportunity to broaden his horizons as well as his knowledge and student base. However, the work was unsteady, so Piacente continued to work for casinos in Atlantic City, Reno, and Las Vegas, in various positions as a dealer in all games, supervisor, pit boss, shift manager, liaison between table games and surveillance, and surveillance.

In 2000, an international casino management company created a position for Piacente, Game Protection Specialist. In this capacity, he was responsible for creating and implementing game protection training programs for all table games and surveillance personnel while reviewing surveillance footage of any suspicious plays at 11 casinos around the world. Sal Piacente parted ways with the casino management company in 2006 and became the president of his own company, UniverSal Game Protection Development, Inc. His previous employer quickly put him on retainer, becoming one of his first clients.

As an homage to his father, Sal Piacente wrote a book titled Street Monte, which is an exposé on the stree scam that sparked his career. He is also featured on several DVDs, demonstrating his manual dexterity: Poker Cheats Exposed, Three Shell Game, Three Card Monte, and Card Shark Secrets: How to Catch a Cheat! The profound nature of Piacente’s work caught the attention of producers and led to many television appearances, including Good Morning America (ABC), Hustling the House (Discovery), Cheating Vegas (Destination America), Casino Wars (Nat Geo), and High Stakes: Bet Your Life on Vegas (TLC). Sal Piacente was also the host of a television series on Travel Channel entitled Game On America.

He has also been a guest speaker for several casino industry trade shows and conferences on multiple occasions. These include: G2E (Las Vegas), G2E Asia (Macau), World Game Protection Conference, N.I.G.A., Canadian Gaming Education Forum, Casino Risk Forum (Melbourne). and Casino Surveillance Network (Auckland)

Lately, Piacente’s passion is sharing memory techniques (mnemonics) that enable the average person to effectively memorize numbers, lists, card sequences, etc. in a short amount of time. He discovered these techniques while learning of a baccarat scam that involved memorized cards. As a result, he is currently writing books on mnemonic techniques and baccarat scams.

He has two children and lives in Florence, Kentucky with his wife, Dee.