About the Author
Steve Forte started dealing craps in Las Vegas, NV, two hours after his 21st birthday, the legally required age. He dealt all games and worked in virtually all executive capacities including casino manager.
He would eventually venture into the world of professional gambling, learning both sides of the table from real-life experiences. This led to the formation of his own consulting firm, International Gaming Specialists, where he traveled the world lecturing on game protection to casinos, cardrooms, law enforcement agencies, and gaming programs/conventions. Mr. Forte holds several patents for gaming-related innovations including shuffling machines, new games, playing card designs, and security systems.
He has contributed numerous articles to many publications and is best known for his four-part video series, Steve Forte s Gambling Protection Video Series, designed to help protect all those who play in private games from card and dice cheaters. He has appeared on several television shows and was a technical consultant to the motion picture Rounders (starring Matt Damon and Ed Norton) and CASINO (starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci).
In 2010, he was awarded the prestigious Special Fellowship by the famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, California in recognition of his remarkable talent and expertise at gaming artifice and for generously sharing his research (previously held by Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan, and Orson Welles to name a few).
Other books by Mr. Forte include the following:
Read the Dealer, 1986
Casino Game Protection - A Comprehensive Guide, 2004
Poker Protection - Cheating and the World of Poker, 2006
Gambling Sleight of Hand - Forte Years of Research, 2020
Casino Game Protection - A Comprehensive Guide garnered rave reviews. This 620-page tome featured 500 color photographs and quickly sold out now a highly sought-after collectible. In 2006, he authored Poker Protection - Cheating and the World of Poker, considered the finest book ever written on the subject. The first printing of Gambling Sleight of Hand sold out in one week and now in its fourth printing, has readers in over 100 different countries (1,200-page two-volume set).
Although currently retired for many years from the travel-intensive consulting business, Mr. Forte continues to provide consultation to companies, researchers, and players, and especially enjoys the one-on-one consultation to both amateur and professional gamblers. He s currently in a development deal to pursue his life story as a television series or motion picture.
Mr. Forte lives in Las Vegas, NV, with his wife Cheryl; they have two sons: Christopher and Nicholas.