This guy Richard Taylor is really something else! The alleged master craps cheat took the dice in front of the judge, jury and spectators, and proceeded to roll them on the craps table that has been sitting in the courtroom the past few days. He claims that he has a winning system and therefore does not need to cheat at craps. And from reading the news article on this, apparently he held his own against the odds in front of the judge. I doubt, however, that his run of luck in the courtroom is going to spill over into a not-guilty verdict!
Richard S. Taylor took the witness stand at his craps cheating conspiracy trial in New London this morning but spent most of his time standing around a makeshift craps table to explain his “system” for winning the dice game.
Taylor, 43, of Memphis, Tenn., is accused of masterminding a conspiracy in which dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino paid players he sent into the casino for late bets. The players then split the profits of the cheating with Taylor and the dealers, according to previous testimony at the trial.
Taylor denies taking part in the conspiracy and maintains that he is a professional gambler who has shared his system for winning craps with anyone who is interested, including a TV news crew.
“On Fox 13 News in Memphis, Tennessee, they did a special on me,” he testified.
Taylor said that he was approached by Foxwoods dealers and asked to take part in the cheating conspiracy but that he declined.
With jurors standing up for a better view of the green felt craps layout on the floor in front of them, Taylor took a pair of dice that had been provided by Foxwoods and rolled them, using the judge's bench as a back wall and referring to a written explanation of his system that was shown on a projector. Attorney Ralph Bergman asked Taylor to explain what numbers “go with” other numbers and how his system works.
“Nobody knows the exact number that will come up,” he said. “But if you know the parameters of the numbers that will come up you can win.”
Taylor wanted to have somebody else roll the dice for his demonstration, but Judge Stuart M. Schimelman told him he had to do it himself. He explained how if he was playing at the casino, he would be placing $3,000 or $5,000 bets. Because he was a high roller, Taylor said, there would be pretty women around him and hustlers looking for money.
With Taylor as the shooter, the makeshift craps table was “hot” for a while. The number nine came up frequently as did numbers in Taylor's system. And when the number was not in his favor, Taylor pointed out that even if he didn't win, he didn't lose, either.
Taylor will face cross-examination this afternoon from prosecutor Stephen M. Carney.
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