Tran Organization's Pai Gow John To Be Sentenced Today For International Baccarat Cheat Scam

Here's a very good article on the baccarat cheating scam that beat casinos out of millions across the US and Canada. I participated in the article and I think it is worth a read.

Busted Card-Cheating Ring Found Success In Simplicity

Expensive cars, flashy jewelry, three houses — Pai Gow John had it made, all thanks to a magic touch at casinos from California to Connecticut.

Too magic, as it turned out.

Tomorrow, the 44-year-old man whose real name is Phuong Quoc Truong is to be sentenced in San Diego federal court for helping run one of the biggest, most audacious card-cheating rings in modern history. Before authorities finally broke it up in May 2007, the Tran Organization had targeted 25 casinos and taken away up to $7million over five years. “In the 20 years I've been in the business, I haven't seen anything this big, this well-orchestrated, this successful,” said one Las Vegas casino security. “And it was simple. That may have been the beauty of it.”

Simple because it relied not on the high-tech gadgets of Hollywood heists such as “Ocean's Eleven,” but on a sleight of hand almost as old as cards themselves — the false shuffle. The ring, based in San Diego, went so far as to bribe dealers in other states and fly them here for training in the shuffle. They sent scouts to Mississippi to assess a casino's vulnerabilities to the trick. When everything was set, they would move in and occupy several seats at a table run by a bribed dealer. They would bet like they knew what cards were coming — which, thanks to the false shuffle, they did. At one casino in Indiana, at mini-baccarat, they won $868,000 in 90 minutes. More than 30 participants have pleaded guilty in San Diego and Washington state. Those already sentenced have received terms ranging from probation to 3½ years in prison.

Truong, well-known in local gambling circles as Pai Gow John — he once drove a $100,000 Mercedes with the vanity plate “PGJOHN” — is looking at a maximum of 20 years after pleading guilty in April 2008 to charges of conspiracy and racketeering. He has agreed to forfeit almost $2.8 million in property: a house in Otay Mesa, another in Escondido and one in Vietnam; a 2001 Porsche Carrera and two other vehicles; a Rolex Presidential watch; and a white-gold pendant featuring a Mercedes-Benz logo encrusted with 105 diamonds.

Authorities say the cheating ring started when Truong and his wife, Van Thu Tran, were dealers at Sycuan Casino east of El Cajon. In July 2002, according to court papers, they executed six false shuffles between them, enabling others to win about $3,000. Both lost their jobs but apparently not their nerve. Authorities said the couple, along with a third defendant, Tai Khiem Tran, organized the ring and sent it to casinos in California, Canada, Washington, Indiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Connecticut and Louisiana. Among the victims: Sycuan and the Barona casino in Lakeside. They would set up shop for days, weeks, months at a time — at one point even renting a house in Tacoma, Wash., to be near the Emerald Queen casino. Tai Khiem Tran pleaded guilty to conspiracy and racketeering this year and is awaiting sentencing in San Diego. Van Thu Tran has pleaded not guilty to those charges. Her next court date here is in late November. Seven of the people charged in the case share the last name Tran, which is how the organization got its name. Most reportedly belong to the same family, though their relationships aren't spelled out in court papers. Attorneys for the three alleged ringleaders did not return phone calls, and prosecutors declined interview requests.

What is detailed in court files is how the organization operated and how easily it found dealers who were willing to go along — five alone at Cache Creek, a casino west of Sacramento.

Richard Marcus, a former casino cheat now working as a gaming consultant in Las Vegas, said it probably helped that many of the participants are Vietnamese and have language and cultural connections. “It sounds risky, but they were comfortable approaching these dealers, getting to know them, having a drink after work,” Marcus said. “And the main thing you have to remember is that everyone who works at a casino knows it's not their money. So they aren't all that invested in protecting it.” Marcus, who has written extensively about the Tran Organization on his Web site, said working in a casino gets boring, “and this scam probably sounded exciting to the dealers. Throw them some money (up to $5,000 per false shuffle) and away you go.” With the bribed dealer in place, here's how mini-baccarat — the ring's preferred game — was typically rigged, according to authorities:

At least one ring member, the recorder, secretly wrote down the order of the cards as they were dealt from the shoe, a rack that holds multiple decks. When the shoe was played out, the dealer gathered the cards to shuffle. During the shuffle, through sleight of hand, the dealer kept a group of cards — called a slug — intact, in the order that was just played. A typical slug was about 40 cards. After the false shuffle, the dealer put the cards in the shoe and started dealing again. When the slug appeared, the recorder, because he knew what cards were coming, could determine which hand would win. He signaled the other ring members, and they would string together winning bets until the slug ran out.

“If it's done right, the false shuffle is pretty close to the perfect scam,” Marcus said. “But you have so many people involved, it's bound to fall apart. People talk, they get greedy.” Authorities haven't said how they discovered the Tran Organization and its scheme. Marcus, the casino security expert, said he first heard about it in early 2003. He said dealers at casinos in Palm Springs were approached by the ring, and they told their bosses, who spread the word. At some point, the FBI and other law agencies got involved, and they began tracking ring members. They eavesdropped with wiretaps, examined bank records and videotaped the organization inside casinos and out. Some casinos apparently agreed to lose money to the ring so that authorities could conduct their investigation. Some dealers, identified in court papers only by their initials, cooperated.

When you have something of this size, you want to be sure you cut off the head of the snake. You don't want any loopholes. Authorities eventually cheated the cheaters. They put undercover agents in place at the Imperial Palace Casino in Biloxi, Miss. According to court papers, Truong tried to bribe one who was posing as a floor supervisor and another who was posing as a dealer. It was only a matter of time before the ring was broken up. But even though casinos are doing things differently now — some are using machines to shuffle cards instead of dealers — I wouldn't be surprised to see more scams come along. Card cheating has been around since the beginning of cards. So can it happen again and be successful? Yes. Will they get caught? Only if they get too greedy!