The Greek philosopher Sophocles is quoted as saying, “I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating.” That doesn’t appear to be the mantra of one dealer at the Melco Resorts temporary casino in Cyprus, following reports that he allegedly assisted a player to win at roulette on 18 different occasions over a one-month period.
According to reports, the 44-year-old dealer, whose name was not released, had been assisting a 53-year-old man win on the roulette table. Staff at the Cyprus casino found that he was acting suspiciously around the security cameras on the property.
The man was arrested immediately and has been in jail for the last four days, and the casino issued a statement, saying that they “won’t tolerate such behavior.” Currently, the dealer is facing fraud charges, which could be expanded as the investigation continues.
This revelation is a black mark on Melco Resorts. They had opened their casino in Cyprus in June as part of the development of four separate casinos across the Mediterranean. €550 million ($621.25 million) had been spent on the City of Dreams Mediterranean resort and casino facility, which is expected to be complete in 2021. A temporary structure is in place until the City of Dreams project can be completed.
Meanwhile, over in the United States, a Mohegan Sun blackjack dealer is also being accused of cheating to help a gambler win more than $60,000. According to the Norwich Bulletin report, Mohegan Tribal police charged 49-year-old David Peters with conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny, first-degree larceny, third-degree larceny, and cheating. In Australia, a card dealer at The Star Casino was seen on security video stealing $5,000 chip—35 times—from a table.
No previous reports of fraud or attempts to rigging games have been reported in the other Melco casinos. However, this cannot be a good sign for Melco.
The Larnaca project, also known as C2, was the third of the four casino projects to be spread across the Mediterranean area by Melco. The company was given a 30-year license to create the four resorts and casinos, and there is no discussion of any action being taken to remove the license as a result of the fraudulent behavior of one employee.
It would not be surprising to see governmental authorities keep a closer eye on the operations of Melco. This kind of scrutiny is never a welcome sight for any business, and Melco will likely have to undergo tighter scrutiny for some time until they are able to prove that this is an isolated incident. This is why it would be quite likely that the company will look to prosecute the offender to the fullest degree that the law will allow.
