Louis Colavecchio

Louis B. Colavecchio (January 1, 1942–present) was an American casino counterfeiter known as "The Coin". While residing in Rhode Island, Colavecchio defrauded several Atlantic City and Connecticut casinos until his arrest and initial conviction in 1998. He had led a gang which fabricated numerous slot machine coins using hardened steel dies of the originals, and was revealed when casinos began to notice a surplus of coins on their gaming floors. Sentenced to seven years, Colavecchio was released in 2006. He was arrested by the FBI only a few months later after having resumed his activities, and released on a $25,000 surety bond. His counterfeiting equipment was auctioned off on eBay following his arrest, and crimes were the subject of a documentary series Breaking Vegas from The History Channel, where he was portrayed by Angelo Fierro. Due to the initial success of his crime, casinos have slowly phased out tokens, replacing them with paper vouchers. Today slot machines will dispense a paper voucher when a play cashes out. The voucher are then redeemed for cash at kiosks located next to the cashier.