Sal Piacente has been a world authority on Casino Game Protection since the late 1980's. He was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1964. His father sparked his interest early in life when he taught him "Three Card Monte" so that he would not be swindled by it in the streets. He then began to practice various card-cheating techniques and study every card, dice and gaming book he could get his hands on. His passion for knowledge of the different ways to cheat at all the casino games grew so trmendously that he made a career out of it, but not how you may think.
In 1986, Sal began his career in the casino industry as a Blackjack dealer at the Atlantis in Atlantic City. Two years later, at a local dealing school, he displayed his tremendous talent and knowledge of Game Protection to the owners of International Gaming Consultants in Cherry Hill, NJ. He was immediately brought on as a lead consultant, and thus began his journey of unwaivering determination and unsurpassed skills in the field.

The casino industry has experienced such rapid growth the past few decades, that finding enough knowledgable employees to protect the casinos' assets is nearly impossible. These employees are an easy mark for casino cheats and advantage players who prey on their ignorance to make a living. Sal Piacente has been in the gaming industry for over 16 years, working as a dealer and in management. Yet he has spent most of his career as a casino fraud investigator. In this capacity, he has not only taught others about cheating methods (how to detect and prevent them), but has also offered consultation on suspect play and game efficiency for many clients, providing essential education to casino personnel.

It is no surprise that Sal is well known in the industry. Afterall, it is rare to find someone in his field of interest who is willing to share his knowledge. Sal has worked for various casino-consulting companies including International Gaming Consultants, International Gaming Specialists and his own (now defunct) Gaming and Memory Experts, Inc. This expertise has enabled him to travel extensively to train members of gaming regulatory bodies, including the FBI, Nevada Gaming, Canadian Royal Mountee Police, N.J.G.A., M.I.G.A., Indiana Gaming Commission, and a host of others who attended his workshops at the University of Nevada and the MGM in Las Vegas. He has also trained surveillance teams at several casinos, including Caesars Palace, Desert Inn and the Hard Rock in Las Vegas; Trump Castle, Atlantic City; Sky City Casino, New Mexico; El San Juan, Puerto Rico; Mohegan Sun, Connecticut; and Lake Las Vegas Resort, Henderson (just to name a few).

Sal has even stretched his quest (educating the unwitting) to the public arena by authoring a book called Street Monte in 1998. In this book, he reveals the methods that street hustlers use to cheat the naive out of their money in Three Card Monte and the Shell Game.

The wealth of knowledge and skills Sal has at demonstrating cheating methods, combined with his sense of humor, has also caught media attention. He has been seen on Good Morning America, "On the Inside: Casino Tech" on the Discovery Channel, and is a principle character in "High Stakes: Bet Your Life on Vegas", which was shown on The Learning Channel in January 2001.

Keeping up with the latest casino scams, studying scams used in the past, sharing his knowledge, and displaying his manual dexterity are all passions for Sal Piacente. He continues to make a career of it and is currently a corporate consultant for Hyatt Gaming Services, which manages 11 casinos worldwide.