---
title: 'He Legally Beat Every Casino Using This Math Loophole'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=UWhHMVBqZ2k'
video_id: 'UWhHMVBqZ2k'
date: 2026-07-18
duration_sec: 1953
channel: 'Lume'
---

# He Legally Beat Every Casino Using This Math Loophole

> Source: [He Legally Beat Every Casino Using This Math Loophole](https://youtube.com/watch?v=UWhHMVBqZ2k)

## Summary

Gonzalo Garcia Pelio, a struggling record producer, believed roulette wheels were not random due to manufacturing flaws. He recruited his family to record thousands of spins, identified biased wheels, and legally won over €1 million from casinos across Europe and Las Vegas before being banned industry-wide.

### Key Points

- **Gonzalo's Theory** [00:03] — Gonzalo, a broke record producer, theorizes that roulette wheels are not random because they are man-made and develop flaws over time, causing certain numbers to appear more frequently.
- **Pattern Discovery** [01:48] — After recording thousands of spins, Gonzalo finds that number 17 on wheel three at Casino Grand Madrid hits every 28 spins instead of every 36, giving a 28% advantage.
- **Family Recruitment** [02:31] — Gonzalo recruits his family to help record spins across multiple wheels, building a database to find biased wheels.
- **Data Analysis** [06:46] — After 2 months and 30,000 spins, Gonzalo uses a QBasic program to analyze the data, identifying biased wheels with numbers appearing 15% more often than expected.
- **First Betting Session** [08:32] — Gonzalo starts betting real money on biased numbers. After initial losses, he hits number 22, winning $7,000, and ends the night with $4,500.
- **Systematic Winning** [10:48] — Over 3 months, the family wins consistently by betting on hot numbers, never tipping dealers, which creates resentment.
- **Health Scare** [14:29] — Gonzalo collapses from stress after losing three consecutive spins on 19 red, but it's a false alarm.
- **Banned from Madrid** [15:52] — Casino Grand Madrid bans Gonzalo and his family after they win over €1 million, despite no cheating.
- **European Tour** [18:02] — Gonzalo expands to casinos across Europe, repeating the process: clock wheels, find bias, win, get banned.
- **Las Vegas** [25:47] — In Las Vegas, the family wins $500,000 in 6 weeks before being banned from all major casinos, which had been warned by Madrid.
- **Legal Victory** [31:05] — Casino Grand Madrid sues Gonzalo for fraud, but after 10 years, the Supreme Court of Spain rules his method legal, calling it intelligence.

### Conclusion

Gonzalo Garcia Pelio's story demonstrates that systematic observation and mathematics can overcome casino odds, but casinos will ban winners regardless of legality. His legal victory affirmed that using intelligence to exploit flaws is not fraud.

## Transcript

43-year-old man walk into Casino Grand Madrid. His name is Gonzalo Garcia Pelio. He's wearing a cheap suit, carrying a notebook, looking nervous. Gonzalo isn't a gambler. He's a record producer, not even a successful one. He
makes music nobody buys, films nobody watches, radio shows, nobody listens to. He's broke, middle-aged, running out of options. But Gonzalo has a theory, a
crazy theory that's about to make him richer than any musician in Spain. He believes roulette wheels aren't random. Can't be random because they're man-made objects. And man-made objects have flaws. Think about it. A roulette wheel
spins thousands of times per day, every day. For years, metal wears down, gears [music] get loose, floors settle unevenly. Maybe, just maybe, some numbers come up more often than others. Everyone says he's wrong. His wife
thinks he's crazy. His friends tell him to get a real job, but Gonzalo doesn't listen. He walks up to a roulette table, opens his notebook, and starts writing down numbers. Every single spin, every single result, hour after hour, day
after day, casino staff think he's some weird guy with a notebook. They laugh at him. Let him sit there. Harmless. What they don't know is this. Gonzalo just declared war on the entire casino industry and he's going to win.
His apartment is covered in papers, numbers everywhere, scribbled notes, numbers everywhere, scribbled notes, calculations. His wife is asleep. His kids are asleep. But Gonzalo is staring at thousands of roulette results. And he
sees something. A pattern. Not obvious, not clear, but there wheel number three at Casino Grand Madrid. The number 17 comes up more often than it should. Not
every time, not even close, but over thousands of spins, it's hitting every thousands of spins, it's hitting every 28 spins instead of every 36. That's a 28% advantage. Gonzalo does the math. If he's right, he can turn a 2.6% casino
edge into a 15% [music] player edge. But there's a problem. one huge problem. To prove his theory, he needs data. Lots of data. 30,000 spins, maybe more. That's [music] hundreds of hours sitting in casinos, writing down
every number, never betting, just [music] watching. One person can't do that. It's too much, too slow. So, Gonzalo makes a decision that will change everything. He recruits his family, his son, Ivonne, 20 years old,
[music] good with numbers. his daughter Vanessa, 18, patient, observant, his Vanessa, 18, patient, observant, his nephews, his wife, everyone. He tells them the plan. We're going to sit in casinos, record every spin, build a
database, find the biased wheels, then we're going to bet, and we're going to win. His family thinks he's insane. His wife asks how they'll pay rent. His son asks what happens if he's wrong. Gonzalo says, "I'm not wrong." He has no proof,
no evidence, just conviction and a notebook full of numbers. But here's what makes Gonzalo special. He's not a gambler chasing luck. He's an engineer hunting flaws. And he just found a crack in the armor of the most profitable
industry on Earth. Summer 1991, Casino, Grand Madrid. Imagine walking into a casino and seeing a family. Not gambling, just sitting,
watching roulette wheels, writing in notebooks for hours every day, 6 days a week. That's the Garcia Palio family. They look like tourists, like people watching for fun. But they're working building the most comprehensive database
of roulette results ever created. Ivan sits at wheel one, writes down every sits at wheel one, writes down every number, every spin, no breaks. 4-hour number, every spin, no breaks. 4-hour shifts. He has a system. Column for spin
number, column for result, column for time, column for crier name. Every detail matters because maybe the bias changes based on who's spinning. Maybe it's worse in the morning, better at night. They need to know everything.
Vanessa takes wheel three. Same process. Recording, timing, noting which Cupier is spinning. She's faster than Ivan, more accurate, can record 200 spins in 4
hours without missing one. The nephews cover wheels five and seven. They're younger, get bored easily, but they show up. They do the work. They rotate. Fresh
eyes, fresh notebooks, never stopping. At first, casino staff ignore them. Then they get curious. A security guard approaches Ivan one day, wants to know what he's writing. Ivan shows him the notebook, explains he's keeping track,
that he likes statistics. The guard laughs, reminds him the casino always wins. Ivan just smiles and says they'll see. The guard walks away, thinks Ivan is just another gambling addict with a superstition. But Ivan isn't tracking
luck. He's tracking physics. [music] Every roulette wheel is supposed to be perfectly balanced, perfectly random. But perfect doesn't exist in the real world. The wheel is made of wood and metal. It spins on bearings. Those
bearings wear down microscopic amounts over thousands of spins. The pockets are carved by hand, measured by machines. But machines have tolerances plus or
minus a fraction of a millimeter. The floor beneath the wheel, it shifts. Buildings settle. Temperature changes. Humidity. A millimeter difference in pocket depth means the ball stays in that pocket more often. A slightly
tilted wheel means gravity pulls the ball towards certain numbers. An old ball towards certain numbers. An old bearing means the wheel spins unevenly, creating patterns. These aren't dramatic differences. You can't see them, can't
feel them, can't predict them on any single spin. But over 30,000 spins, the pattern emerges. Casino staff notice, but don't care. These people aren't betting. They're not winning or losing money. They're just there. What casino
management doesn't understand is this. Information is power. And the Garcia Palios are gathering more information than any gambler in history. After 2 months, they have [music] it. Over 30,000 recorded spins from eight
different wheels. [music] Gonzalo takes all the notebooks home, sits at his computer. He's not some tech genius. He barely knows how to code, but he teaches himself QBasic, a simple programming language, creates a program that
language, creates a program that analyzes every spin. The program assigns a value to each number. The more often a number appears, the higher its value. 3 weeks of programming, testing, debugging. Then Gonzalo runs the
analysis and the screen lights up with proof. Wheel three, numbers 2, 17, [music] 22, 28, 31. They're hot. Coming up 15% more often than they should. Wheel 7, numbers 1, 8, [music] 14, 23, 35. Same
thing. Biased. Wheel five. Almost perfectly random, useless. Gonzalo calls his family together, shows them the data. The wheels are biased. They can beat them. His son wants to know how much they can win. Gonzalo pulls out a
calculator, does the math. If they bet right, they can make $10,000 a week, maybe more. His wife asks the important question. What if they lose? Gonzalo
looks at his bank statement. They have $2,200 left. That's it. That's their entire stake. If this doesn't work, they're finished. Bankrupt. Done. But Gonzalo believes the math doesn't lie. He has no safety net, no backup plan,
just numbers on a screen and faith in his theory. Tomorrow, they start betting real money. October 15th, 1991, October 15th, 1991, 900 p.m. The Garcia Pelio family walks
into Casino Grand Madrid. But this time, they're not just watching, they're playing. Gonzalo goes to wheel three, the one with the strongest bias. He sits the one with the strongest bias. He sits down, places chips on numbers 2, 17, 22,
28, 31. [music] Straight up bets. High risk, high reward. If he hits, he gets paid 35 to 1. The Crooier spins, the ball bounces, 1. The Crooier spins, the ball bounces, lands on 14. Loss. Gonzalo bets again.
Same numbers, same pattern. Spin, ball bounces, lands on nine. loss again [music] and again and again for 3 hours. [music] and again and again for 3 hours. Gonzalo loses. His $2,200 bankroll
shrinks. $1,800 [music] then $1,400. Then $1,000. His family is watching, nervous, scared. What if the math is wrong? What if this whole thing was a mistake? Gonzalo keeps
whole thing was a mistake? Gonzalo keeps betting, calm, focused. The system says these numbers will hit. Not every time, but over hundreds of spins, they'll hit more often. He just needs to survive long enough to see it happen. $800 left.
long enough to see it happen. $800 left. $600 left. His wife walks over, suggests maybe [music] they should stop. Gonzalo shakes his head, tells her to trust the shakes his head, tells her to trust the math. He places another bet. $200.
Everything on the five biased numbers. The Crooier spins. The ball circles. The Crooier spins. The ball circles. slows, bounces, lands on 22 win. $7,000 payout. The family exhales. First big hit. They're back in the game. Gonzalo
keeps betting. Now he has breathing room. He can afford to lose a few rounds. Over the next 4 hours, the numbers start hitting. Not every spin, but enough. By 3:00 a.m., Gonzalo has $4,500,
[music] He cashes out, walks to his family, tells them it works, they're going to be rich, but this is just the beginning because now the casino is [music] about to notice.
Over the next 3 months, the Garcia Palio family becomes a machine. They visit Casino Grand Madrid six nights a week. Each family member plays a different wheel, the one their data says is most biased. [music] Ivan at wheel seven,
Vanessa at wheel three, nephews at wheel nine. They bet the same way every time, straight up on the hot numbers. Small bets when cold, bigger bets when winning, and they never tip the dealers, not once. This is a mistake, a big
mistake, because dealers notice who tips and who doesn't. Most players tip when they win. A chip here, a chip there. It's custom. It's courtesy. It builds
goodwill. But the Garcia Palios calculate everything. Every euro spent on tips is a euro that doesn't compound, doesn't grow the bankroll, doesn't maximize profit, [music] so they tip nothing. Zero. They win thousands and
walk away without leaving a single chip. The dealers hate them. They smile. They're professional, but they hate them. and dealers talk in the breakroom, in the parking lot, at the bar after their shift. Table three is killing
their shift. Table three is killing them. Same family, winning every night, never tipping. Table 7, too. They think the players are related. They sit at different tables, but they all arrive together. Someone suggests telling
management, but others say, "Let security figure it out, not their problem." But it becomes management's problem when the monthly reports come problem when the monthly reports come in. November, table 3 down $15,000.
Table 7 down $12,000. December, table three down $22,000. December, table three down $22,000. Table 7 down $18,000. Table 7 down $18,000. January, table 3 down $30,000.
Table 7 down $25,000. The casino manager reviews the surveillance footage, sees the family, sees them betting the same numbers, sees them winning consistently, but he can't find proof of cheating. No devices, no
signals between players. No suspicious behavior. They're just winning legally, repeatedly. The manager orders the kiier to spin faster, change the rhythm, disrupt whatever system they're using. It doesn't work. The family keeps
winning because they're not timing the spin. They're exploiting the wheel itself. The casino tries switching wheels between tables. Moving wheel three to table 7, wheel seven to table three. The family notices immediately.
They track which wheel is which by tiny cosmetic differences. A scratch here, a mark there. They simply switch tables, follow their wheels, keep betting the
same numbers. Their bankroll grows to over $100,000. They can bet bigger now, make more per night. Gonzalo increases the bet sizes.
night. Gonzalo increases the bet sizes. $500 per spin, $1,000, $2,000. The bigger they bet, the faster they win, but also the more attention they attract. Casino surveillance is watching every move. now reviewing every session,
looking for anything that could justify a ban or an arrest. But the Garcia Palios are squeaky clean. They're not breaking rules. They're just better at math than the casino expected. One night in February 1992, Gonzalo sits at wheel
three. He's been winning all night, up $40,000. [music] He bets big on eight black and 31 black, his two hottest numbers. The ball spins, bounces around,
lands on 19 red. The exact opposite side of the wheel. Loss. Gonzalo bets again. Bigger. Thinking it can't happen twice in a row. Spin. 19 red again. He stares.
Impossible. [music] The odds of that are tiny. He bets everything. All in. Spin. tiny. He bets everything. All in. Spin. 19 red. Third time. Gonzalo stands up. Staggers. His vision blurs. His [music] chest tightens. He collapses. People
rush over. Someone calls an ambulance. His family is screaming. Gonzalo wakes up in a hospital. Heart monitor beeping. Doctors running tests. False alarm. Not
Doctors running tests. False alarm. Not a heart attack. Just stress. Exhaustion. Panic. The doctor tells him he needs to slow down. Whatever he's doing, he needs to stop. Gonzalo laughs slowly, painfully, tells the doctor he's just
getting started because in 6 months, the family has won over $600,000, and Casino Grand Madrid finally figures out what's happening.
Casino Grand Madrid. Gonzalo walks to the entrance. Security stops him. The guard tells him he's not allowed inside. Gonzalo asks why. He hasn't cheated, hasn't broken any rules. The security guard doesn't explain, just repeats the
message. Gonzalo and his family are banned. They need to leave and not come back. Gonzalo stands there trying to understand. They won fair and square, used observation, mathematics, public information, but the guard doesn't care.
He has his orders. Casino Grand Madrid finally caught on. They watched the footage, saw the family betting the same numbers, winning consistently, not lucky, systematic. [music] The casino manager reviewed their
records. Over€1 million won in less than a year from a family that arrived with pocket change. They can't prove cheating. Can't prove anything illegal,
but they don't have to. Casinos are private property. They can refuse service to anyone for any reason [music] or no reason at all. Winning too much? or no reason at all. Winning too much? Banned. Counting cards? Banned. Too good
at poker? Banned. It's not about fairness. It's about profit. And the Garcia Palios are cutting into profit, so they ban them. All of them. Parents, so they ban them. All of them. Parents, kids, nephews, even the wife who barely
played. [music] Gonzalo walks back to his car. His family is waiting. They see his face. They know. He tells them they're banned. His wife smiles. Says, they're banned. His wife smiles. Says, "It's good. They won. Time to go home.
Enjoy the money." She's thinking about their apartment, the bills they can finally pay. The retirement they can finally afford. But Gonzalo isn't smiling. He tells them they're not done. His son looks confused, asks what he
means. They're banned. They can't play here anymore. Gonzalo pulls out a map of [music] Europe, unfolds it across the hood of his car. He explains, "They can't play here, but there are hundreds of casinos in Europe, thousands [music]
worldwide." He points to cities on the map. Amsterdam, Vienna, [music] Paris, Copenhagen, Berlin, London. Every casino has roulette wheels. Every wheel has
flaws. They just proved their system works. His wife [music] shakes her head, reminds him they have a million euros, more money than they've ever had. She begs him to stop. Gonzalo looks at his family. His wife who wants security. His
son who wants adventure. His daughter who wants normaly. His nephews who want to party with their winnings. And he knows what he's asking. [music] more knows what he's asking. [music] more travel, more stress, more risk, more
living out of hotels, more looking over their shoulders. But he also knows something else. He just beat the most profitable industry on earth. Proved that intelligence beats luck, that math [music] beats chance. And Casino Grand
Madrid responded by kicking him out. Not because he cheated, because he won. That makes him angry. [music] Not frustrated, angry. Gonzalo announces he's going.
[music] His son Ivan speaks first. He's in. Wants to see how much they can win. [music] His daughter Vanessa hesitates, then nods. Agrees, but only for a year. The nephews look at each other. Free
The nephews look at each other. Free money, travel, adventure. Therein, too. money, travel, adventure. Therein, too. His wife size. She knows her husband. Once he sets his mind to something, [music] nothing stops him. She agrees,
but insists they bring comfortable shoes this time. [music] Most people would this time. [music] Most people would quit, take their million, retire, be happy. [music] But Gonzalo Garcia Pilio isn't most
people. He's a man who spent 20 years making music nobody bought and films nobody watched. This is the first time in his life he's [music] been world class at something. the best, unbeatable, and he's not stopping until
every casino on Earth knows his name. If Madrid won't let them play, they'll play everywhere else. Amsterdam, Vienna, [music] Paris, Copenhagen, Las Vegas, every major casino in the world. [music] They'll clock the wheels, find the bias,
win, move to the next city before getting caught. A European casino tour. Family business [music] target $10 million. In April 1992, the Garcia Pallayio family packs their bags. First stop, Amsterdam.
Amsterdam, Netherlands. May 1992. The family checks into a cheap hotel near Liz Zipline, tourist area. Crowded, anonymous. Next morning, they visit Holland Casino, the largest casino in Amsterdam. Art deco building, fancy
chandeliers, European elegance. Same process. Ivonne and Vanessa spend two weeks recording spins, building data, but it's harder here. The casino is busier, more crowded, harder to find empty seats at tables. They work in
shifts. Ivonne from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Vanessa from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Nephews from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. recording. Always recording. Filling notebooks with numbers that mean nothing to anyone else. After 2 weeks,
nothing to anyone else. After 2 weeks, they have enough data. 15,000 spins, six different wheels. [music] Gonzalo analyzes, finds three biased wheels, not as strong as Madrid. The bias is weaker, but still exploitable. They start
betting smaller at first, building the bankroll, drawing no attention. The wins come slower than Madrid, but they come. Over 4 months, they win $400,000 in Amsterdam. But then in September,
something goes wrong. A dealer recognizes Ivonne. Says he used to work in Madrid Casino Grand Madrid. Remember seeing Ivan there with his family. Ivan stands up, cashes out, walks away quickly. Too late. The dealer calls his
manager. The manager calls Casino Grand Madrid, confirms the story. Holland Casino reviews their records, sees the family, sees the pattern, sees the $400,000 loss. The next night, security
stops them at the door, tells them they're not welcome. Gonzalo doesn't argue, just nods and leaves. Word is spreading. Casino Grand Madrid is warning other casinos, sending photos, descriptions. The family needs to move
faster now. Get in, get out before they're identified. [music] Next stop, they're identified. [music] Next stop, Vienna, Austria. Vienna is different. The wheels here are newer, better maintained, harder to find bias. They
spend 3 weeks collecting data, 20,000 spins. The bias is minimal, barely 2% spins. The bias is minimal, barely 2% player edge instead of 15%. But 2% is still an edge. And with enough bets, 2% compounds. For 2 months, they grind.
Winning slowly. Nothing dramatic. Casino staff see them as regular gamblers. Not winning big, not losing big. Just there. Then one night in November, everything aligns. The numbers hit. One after
aligns. The numbers hit. One after another. 17 22 31 8 17 again. 22 again. Gonzalo is betting bigger now. €1,000 per spin. €2,000. €3,000.
per spin. €2,000. €3,000. In 4 hours, the table loses €110,000, most of it to Gonzalo. It's their biggest single night score ever. The pit boss approaches, very polite, congratulates him on his luck, but asks
him to cash out now. Gonzalo knows what that means. Cash out now and never come that means. Cash out now and never come back. He takes his chips, leaves. The family meets outside, even asks how much. $110,000.
One night, but they can't celebrate because by the next morning, they're banned from every casino in Austria. Next, Paris, then Copenhagen, then Frankfurt, then Berlin. The pattern repeats. Clock the wheels, find the
bias, bet, win, get identified, get banned. Sometimes they get three months in a city, sometimes 3 weeks, sometimes 3 days. In Copenhagen, they don't even make it through the door. Security
recognizes Gonzalo from a photo. The guard tells him he knows who they are, the Spanish family from Madrid. He reaches for his belt. For a moment, Gonzalo thinks it's handcuffs. Instead, the guard pulls a gun, points it at
Gonzalo's chest, orders them to leave. Now, don't come back to Denmark. The family backs away slowly, [music] carefully. The guard keeps the gun aimed until they're outside. They sit in their rental car, shaking, silent. [music]
One nephew says, "This is insane." They pulled a gun, an actual gun. The other nephew agrees, says he's done, wants to go home. Both nephews quit that night, book flights to Madrid, take their share of the winnings, and leave. Now it's
just Gonzalo, his wife, and his son Ivan. Three people against an industry that's hunting them. Most people would stop, but the Garcia Pilios aren't most people. They book flights to America to the biggest gambling city on Earth.
the biggest gambling city on Earth. Las Vegas, Nevada. July 1994. Gonzalo walks into the MGM Grand, the biggest casino in the world at the time. It's overwhelming. 5,000 slot machines, ceiling painted like the sky, lights
ceiling painted like the sky, lights everywhere, noise, crowds. This isn't Europe. This is industrial scale gambling where casinos make billions. Where surveillance is an art form. American roulette is different from
American roulette is different from European. It has an extra zero 0. That changes the odds, [music] makes it harder. The house edge goes from 2.7% to 5.26%. almost double. But Gonzalo doesn't care.
almost double. But Gonzalo doesn't care. His system adapts. His program analyzes American wheels just as well. The real challenge is surveillance. The MGM Grand has over 2,000 cameras, eye in the sky monitoring every table, facial
recognition software, database of known advantage players. For 3 weeks, Ivan clocks wheels, but he has to be careful. Security watches anyone who sits without betting for too long. So, he bets small, €10 per spin, enough to look legitimate
while recording every result in a notepad disguised as a racing form. 3 weeks, 12,000 spins, eight different wheels. Gonzalo runs the analysis in their hotel room, finds four biased wheels, not as strong as Madrid, but
wheels, not as strong as Madrid, but enough. wheels 12, 18, 23, and 31. Each with a 3 to 4% bias towards certain numbers. They start betting, but
numbers. They start betting, but carefully, quietly, never more than $500 per spin, never staying at one table for more than 2 hours. >> [music] >> They rotate tables, rotate casinos, MGM
>> They rotate tables, rotate casinos, MGM one night, Caesars the next, Bellagio after that. Spreading the action, avoiding patterns, trying to stay invisible. But Las Vegas is different. The surveillance here is better. More
cameras, more security, more data analysis. Every bet is logged, every win recorded. Computer systems track player behavior. Flag unusual patterns. The MGM
figures it out faster than any European casino. After 6 weeks, they've won $500,000. But the casino knows something is wrong. One night, a pit boss approaches Gonzalo. Very polite, very professional,
not hostile, just direct, asks if Gonzalo can speak with them in the office. Gonzalo knows what this means. He's been caught, not for cheating, for winning. In the office, the casino manager is direct. No accusations, no
manager is direct. No accusations, no threats, just facts. Explains they know what he's doing. Tracking wheels, finding bias. It's not illegal, but they don't want his action. He slides a piece of paper across the desk. It's a list.
Every major Las Vegas casino, MGM, Caesars, Bellagio, Mirage, Luxor, New York, New York, 12 casinos, all the big names. They're all banning him.
Effective immediately, Gonzalo looks at the list, asks how long they've known. The manager smiles. Professional, almost friendly, explains, "Casino ground Madrid warned them 3 years ago. sent photos, descriptions,
his method. He pulls out a file, opens it. Inside are photos of Gonzalo, his family, surveillance shots from Madrid, Amsterdam, Vienna. They've been watching him since he arrived. Let him play for 6 weeks to confirm the pattern, then
shared his information with every casino in town. Gonzalo understands now. The casino industry talks. They share data, warn each other about advantage players. It's not just about one casino. It's a [music] network, an industry-wide
defense system. Gonzalo asks the question, "If what he's doing is legal, why ban him?" The manager smile doesn't change, explains that casinos are money to people smarter than their
systems. They're here to make money from people who gamble on luck. He stands, extends his hand, tells Gonzalo he's very good at what he does. Probably the best he's seen, but he's done in Vegas. Gonzalo shakes his hand, walks out. His
family is waiting outside. Ivonne asks what happened. Gonzalo tells them they're banned from everywhere. The casinos knew the whole time. The family is silent. Then his wife starts [music] laughing. Not bitterly, just laughing.
Gonzalo asks what's funny. She points out they won. The casinos knew what they were doing. Let them play. And they still won $500,000. She's right. [music] Even with surveillance, even with warnings from
other casinos, even with the entire industry watching [music] them, they still won. The tour is over. The family flies back to Madrid. They've won approximately $1.5 [music] million total over 3 years across 12
million total over 3 years across 12 casinos in six countries. But Gonzalo isn't celebrating because Casino Grand Madrid did something unforgivable. They Madrid did something unforgivable. They sued him.
a letter. Casino Grand Madrid is suing him for fraud. They want all the money back. He never touched a wheel, never bribed anyone, never used any device, bribed anyone, never used any device, just watched, recorded, analyzed, bet.
But the casino has expensive lawyers, political connections. The trial begins in 1995. Gonzalo spends 2 days on the stand explaining bias, statistics, his Qbasic program, shows the judge his notebooks,
program, shows the judge his notebooks, 30,000 spins, handwritten. The judge 30,000 spins, handwritten. The judge rules in his favor. No fraud. Casino Grand Madrid appeals. The case drags on for years. 2004,
the Supreme Court of Spain issues its final ruling. Gonzalo did not cheat. His method was legal. His winnings are his. The court writes, "He used ingenuity and computer [music] techniques. That is not fraud. That is intelligence. He's 57
fraud. That is intelligence. He's 57 years old. It took 10 years, but he won.