Wednesday, November 18, 2009

UK Whiz Gambler Cheats Electronic Roulette Tables For $75,000!

Tyrone Pooley, a 56 year-old creative professional gambler cheated a casino out of almost £40,000 during a marathon session at an electronic roulette wheel. He played non-stop for 15 hours after spotting a technical fault which meant he could not lose, a court heard. He opened a panel on the machine and operated switches inside to void games in which he had not placed a winning bet, Southampton Crown Court was told. He was caught after being seen nudging the machine with his knee on CCTV, sparking an investigation by bosses at Maxims Casino in Town Quay, Southampton.

Pooley placed spread bets amounting to £1,800 on every number except zero and the three numbers either side. After the ball was dispatched in each game, his wife, who was standing nearby, signalled to him if it had dropped into one of those seven numbers and he activated the door switches to cause a void. His bets would then be forwarded to the next game. The court heard that the machine had since been modified. Pooley, of Langdale Court, Hove, East Sussex, admitted cheating at gaming and received a 45-week suspended sentence coupled with a 200-hour community work order.

He received a light sentence because of mitigating factors including an ill wife ten years older than he.