In 1997, Parasol established her first gambling operation, in the Caribbean. Beginning with five employees, Starluck Casino used software from another company to offer virtual slot machines, blackjack and other Las Vegas-style games. The company grew into a network of sites under the name iGlobalMedia, which ultimately became PartyGaming. By 2001, Parasol's casinos were handling 3 million visitors a day.
But iGlobalMedia also attracted customer complaints on online message boards, especially about its blackjack and roulette promotions, which offered double payouts for anyone betting on a single number. Mysteriously, customers said, they would never win with that number, even if they played hundreds of times.
"My results clearly showed they weren't fair," said Las Vegas actuary and casino consultant Michael Shackleford, who calls himself the Wizard of Odds
Mendelsohn acknowledged that the chances had tipped too much toward the house, but he said that was because of software flaws, not rigging. Shackleford hasn't objected to the card games that now account for most of PartyGaming's revenue, but Schwartz of the Center for Gaming Research said a history of disputes should give players pause.