Three-Strike Casino Past-Posting Cheat Bites the Dust in Atlantic City

A Hudson County, N.J. man has been convicted for the third time of cheating at casino table games in Atlantic City.

 A jury on Tuesday found 57-year-old Derek Bethea, of Bayonne, guilty of two counts of third-degree swindling and cheating at casino gaming, along with one count of fourth-degree swindling and cheating at casino gaming.

 Bethea on Aug. 15, 2013 placed a $1,000 bet at a craps table at the Borgata Hotel & Casino after the dice had already come out. Though Bethea collected the winnings and left, he was detained the next day at Tropicana Casino and charged with the offense via summons.

 Bethea attempted similar schemes on Aug. 30 at Resorts Casino Hotel and on Aug. 31 at Revel, though both casinos refused to pay the bets. He was arrested Aug. 31, 2013 and has since remained imprisoned at the Atlantic County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail, according to officials. Prosecutors said Bethea’s cheating spree came less than a month after he was released from state prison, where he served nearly eight years for similar swindling offenses. Bethea was also convicted of cheating charges in 2001 and sentenced to three years in prison.

 In the most recent case, Bethea faces a maximum possible penalty of five years in jail and a $15,000 fine for the third-degree offenses and 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine for the fourth-degree offense. He’s scheduled to be sentenced June 6. My take: I imagine that this guy´s pastposting moves were not that great, or at least done too often. He should have taken his casino-cheating show on the road...maybe Vegas and Mississippi, but not Connecticut as the twin casinos there are too tied-in with those in Atlantic City.