Latest Dealer Inside Blackjack Cheating Scandal!

A blackjack dealer at the West Virginia Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly willfully flashed top cards to players before they placed their bets and hole cards while sliding them under his up cards. Derek Maple, 25, was charged with a state gaming violation, which is a felony according to the criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. His alleged cohort playing blackjack, Thuhuong Nguyen, 40, was also arrested and charged with the same felony. (It seems that Vietnamese are getting more and more involved in casino and poker cheat scams these days.)

When State Police Trooper R.L. Walton Jr. went to the casino on Saturday morning, Tri-State employee Timothy Humphrey told him that a dealer was cheating by flashing the cards. Surveillance was alerted and then looked at videotape and determined that the cheating dealer was Maple and that one of the people he was showing cards to was Nguyen. Both were arrested Saturday. Maple allegedly told police that he flashed the cards, but he didn't know people sitting at his table could see them. (Pretty feeble excuse, huh?)

So, how serious is casino cheating in West Virginia? Maple and Nguyen each face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for the cheating charges, so I'd say it's pretty serious.