The house always wins, but apparently that’s not always the case at Crown Casino in Melbourne.
One of the casino’s croupiers, Tony Che, pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of five counts of obtaining property by deception, The Age reported. Authorities said the 21-year-old was the mastermind of a scheme that netted him and his friends more than $85,000 from the Crown Casino’s Sic Bo tables.
According to the report, Che, who had worked at the casino since he was 18, orchestrated a series of wins, in which he concealed the actual result of dice in his hand and then manually entered his preferred number—17—on a board. Che’s friends allegedly pocketed more than $6,000 each time they bet $100 of 17 coming up, since the house pays out a rate of 60:1 for that number.
Che took 65 percent of the winnings, or about $55,000, until he was busted by the casino’s security, who “found irregularities in the Sic Bo results.” A review of the casino’s CCTV cameras revealed Che’s scheme, the news outlet reported.
Malaysian connected in 2011 counterfeit chips case arrested in Singapore
In Singapore, authorities arrested a 40-year-old Malaysian who they believe was involved in a case of counterfeit casino chips almost five years ago.
In August 2011, police discovered a case of counterfeit casino chips used at the Marina Bay Sands. The investigation resulted in the arrest of four people and authorities were able to seize a total of 287 fake chips, each valued at $1,000, at the casino’s baccarat tables.
Several years later, the Royal Malaysia Force finally arrested the fifth man involved in the case. According to The Star, the man will be charged in Singapore for using counterfeit casino chips, and if convicted, he will face a prison term of up to seven years, or pay a maximum fine of $150,000, or both.
