When I was a kid I grew up watching the Children’s TV show Inspector Gadget. the main character, as you’d imagine as a premise for such a show, would go around righting wrongs in as ingenious ways as possible via his countless gadgets. He was something of a swiss army knife in human form.

This type of behaviour clearly isn’t limited to Children’s TV though, as in France 2011 a gang of four ripped of a French casino to the tune of a cool $88,000 by using special contact lenses. One of the cheaters (a casino employee) marked the card with invisible ink, while the others wore the special lenses, giving them a serious advantage. The sneaky plan worked like a charm but this sneaky crew got greedy and pushed their luck by returning the following week.

After ruling out cameras and infrared glasses the authorities discovered the contact lens scam and that was the end of that!

Many of those looking for an edge at the casino have a flash in the plan aspect to their personality. They burn brightly for a short time before it all comes crashing down. Tommy Hyland has more of a workman-like attitude for proceedings and its served him well.

Hyland managed and continues to manage a card counting team, which is one form or another has been together since 1979. The team is currently believed to have around 15 members and they are known for their loyalty to Hyland.

His team started with just four members putting $4000 each into the scheme and has flourished ever since, having made upwards of $60,000 in its first month. It’s safe to assume that he’s made several million dollars since that time.