re: $9.6M "stolen" by "cheating" at casino

Counting cards is not illegal or cheating. This is fairly similar in many ways. But it does rely on a bad deck of cards and a dealer who does not follow proper procedure. He was not damaging the cards to get an edge, which would be clearly cheating. He was simply observant.

It's his responsibility to let the casino know if there are any flaws in their game? Absolutely bogus. What if the casino had a payout on a machine properly posted, but there was an edge if you knew how to play optimally? Then they refused to pay him when he won? They are offering a game, with a set of rules, which he follows, and then they don't want to pay out.
They aren't marked. The dealer voluntarily turned them upside down at his request.

Again, it's not his responsibility to notify the casino of their mistakes. They fricked up at their job, and they want him responsible.