Rare Reversal of Casino Cheat Conviction in US!

In a first that I know of, a casino-cheating case conviction has been reversed on appeal in the United States. The Iowa Court of Appeals has reversed the conviction of a man accused of cheating at blackjack at a southeast Iowa casino. Mitchell Smith was convicted of prohibited gaming activities for increasing his bet after seeing his cards at the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort in 2006. In Wednesday's ruling, the court says the issue is whether a gambler who engages in this practice "claims, collects or takes an amount of money or thing of greater value than the amount won."

Smith claims his chips reflected his actual winnings.

The court says the state is seeking to rewrite the law as if to read, "of greater value than the amount legitimately won." The court says that's a broader concept, and the court is not at liberty to expand the definition of the law.