Hall of Fame Craps Cheat Brent Eli Morris Sentenced to 8 to 20 Years in Vegas!

Cheat Hall of Famer Morris

Yep, upon his latest casino cheating conviction, Morris got another stiff sentence. He has already spent a significant time in prison for other casino cheating violations. This guy really has it in his blood!

Article:

Already blacklisted from casinos, Brent Eli Morris was sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison on Monday for cheating at craps.

Morris was arrested Sept. 22 after he was spotted playing craps at Caesars Palace.

A District Court jury convicted the 54-year-old in March of two counts of felony commission of a fraudulent act in a gaming establishment or cheating.

In a separate trial immediately before the sentencing, Judge Jerry Tao found Morris guilty of four gross misdemeanors for entry into a gaming establishment by an excluded person. Tao also ruled Morris was a habitual criminal, a sentencing enhancement under the law that allows for a lengthier prison term.

Prosecutor Rob Stephens said Morris' method of cheating is known as "past post betting," meaning that after the dice had rolled, he slipped chips into winning areas on the table.

Morris was placed in the infamous Black Book, also known as the List of Excluded Persons, by the Nevada Gaming Commission in February 1994 after he served several years in the Southern Nevada Correctional Center at Indian Springs for cheating at a Lake Tahoe casino in 1989.

In September, Caesars Palace surveillance personnel alerted the Gaming Control Board's enforcement division that a person who looked like Morris was seen playing craps inside the casino.

Morris had reportedly been seen playing craps on Sept. 17 at the Excalibur.

When Morris was detained by gaming agents, he had numerous $500 gaming chips from The Orleans. Gaming agents said Morris also had been gambling at The Orleans.

Morris, who is also on New Jersey's list of excluded persons, has a history of assault and battery, theft, fraud, and cheating arrests and convictions dating to 1975.

The defense attorney for Morris did not immediately return a call requesting comment.

California Cop Busted For Bet-Capping on Blackjack Tables at Sycuan Casino!

A Chula Vista police officer was in custody Friday for allegedly cheating while gambling at an East County gaming house, officials announced Friday.

Jesus A. Salazar, 30, a cop in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista, was taken into custody last night at the Sycuan Casino and then to the San Diego county jail on what is being called a misdemeanor charge of cheating at gambling. He is being held, however, on the not so misdemeanor bail of $10,000.

According to reports, Salazar, a nine-year veteran on the force, was capping his bets (adding chips) while playing blackjack. It is not clear if he was doing this after he already won hands or when he was in a good position to win hands, such as made-twenty against a dealer upcard of seven. I also do not know what denomination chips the alleged caps involve but Would surely think either $5 reds or $25 greens. $100 black chips don't get that much action at Sycuan and would immediate attract a lot of casino eyes. I imagine that Salazar had gotten away with his cheating move several times before being caught.

In any event, ten grand is a helluva high bail for a bet-capping charge at a Native American casino. I guess they want to make an example out of him.

Phil Ivy's Refusal To Play in 2011 WSOP--Is It in Defense of Poker Cheat Victims or Ruse to Keep His Image Shining?

Actually it's both, but I don't think Phil Cares as much about the poker bot-cheating victims and multi-account cheat victims who got cheated on Full Tilt Poker as much as he says he does. I think that he wants to keep his online poker golden-boy image as sparkling as his World Series of Poker image, and what better way to do that than sacrifice his appearance at this year's WSOP tournaments in the name of standing up for Full Tilt's online poker cheat victims?

If you didn't read Phil's statement on his Facebook page, here it is:

"For many years, I have been proud to call myself a poker player. This great sport has taken me to places I only imagined going and I have been blessed with much success. It is therefore with deep regret that I believe I am compelled to release the following statement.

I am deeply disappointed and embarrassed that Full Tilt players have not been paid money they are owed. I am equally embarrassed that as a result many players cannot compete in tournaments and have suffered economic harm.

I am not playing in the World Series of Poker as I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot. I am doing everything I can to seek a solution to the problem as quickly as possible.

My name and reputation have been dragged through the mud, through the inactivity and indecision of others and on behalf of all poker players I refuse to remain silent any longer. I have electronically filed a lawsuit against Tiltware related to the unsettled player accounts. As I am sure the public can imagine, this was not an easy decision for me.

I wholeheartedly refuse to accept non-action as to repayment of players funds and I am angered that people who have supported me throughout my career have been treated so poorly.

I sincerely hope this statement will ignite those capable of resolving the problems into immediate action and would like to clarify that until a solution is reached that cements the security of all players, both US and International, I will, as I have for the last six weeks, dedicate the entirety of my time and efforts to finding a solution for those who have been wronged by the painfully slow process of repayment"

Well, I will tell you one thing: We will surely see Phil back in next year's 2012 WSOP...unless some new online poker site he gets involved in gets hit with a cheating scandal and doesn't react quick to reimburse its victims!

Another Blackjack Card-Marking Cheating Scam Hits Delaware Casino!

Source: WGMD.com

After a week-long investigation into a blackjack cheating team at Delaware Park Casino, Delaware State Police Detectives assigned to the Division of Gaming Enforcement made the arrests of Huan Quan Yu, 59; Jiehui Huang, 49; and Raymond Li, 57; all of San Francisco, CA. Casino security, surveillance and table game personnel had observed suspicious activity at a blackjack table. Jiehui Huang had used a gaming chip to make indentation marks on “ten valued” playing cards. Huang was caught in the early stages of the cheating scam being assisted by Huan Quan Yu and Raymond Li, all originally from New York, but carrying driver’s licenses from San Francisco, CA. Yu and Li were players at the same blackjack table and attempted to use the knowledge of the marked cards to their advantage. The suspects were quickly taken into custody before they could commit the theft.

A search of Yu’s rented vehicle at Delaware Park Casino yielded evidence that the group of men were targeting casinos across the country. The cheaters are suspected of being part of a larger organized cheating team working out of New York City and San Francisco and have been observed at casinos on the West Coast, the East Coast and the Mid-West.

Detectives have further linked Yu to a similar theft which occurred at Dover Downs Casino in November 2010. The investigation into the Dover Downs incident remains under investigation with additional suspects being identified but not yet arrested. Detectives have also linked Yu to crimes at several casinos in Pennsylvania. Those criminal charges are pending extradition from Delaware.

All three were arrested at Delaware Park on several misdemeanor gaming crimes including altering a table game component, conspiracy, criminal mischief and attempted theft.

Yu posted a $3,500 cash bond on the misdemeanor charges but was held on a detainer on the Pennsylvania charges and committed to Gander Hill. Yu faces additional felony charges out of Delaware for theft, conspiracy, criminal mischief and altering a table game component.

Li and Huang were arraigned at JP Court 11 and released on unsecured bonds with a no-contact order with all Delaware casinos.

DGE officials have credited criminal intelligence networking between law enforcement and casino security/surveillance departments with solving this case and other cases in Delaware and other jurisdictions.

My take: Card-marking scams with casino chips seems quite amateurish, but I get the feeling these Asians were pretty good at it. Remember, you cannot touch the cards in these East Coast blackjack games, which means that you have to be pretty good to get your hands with the casino chip in them out to the cards on the table to mark them--without the dealer catching on. One method I know of is to tap the cards with the chip while saying to the dealer, "This is a tip for you," then you toss the chip to the dealer. That method can take the dealer's attention away from the fact you're actully marking the cards while giving him a tip.

These Asian teams have hit other casinos in Delaware and Pennsylvania with the same scam. And remember, we saw another Asian team cheat Foxwoods casino in Connecticut for nearly a million bucks with a holdout device.

First "Off-Line" Book About UltimateBet and Absolute Poker Online Poker Cheating Scandals To Be Released

Source: casinoscamreport.com

Investigative Journalist, Haley Hintze, who is known for her intense investigations into some of the deepest and darkest online gambling issues has authored an intriguing book about online poker and the deception that goes on inside. One of the most prominent stories written about in this new poker book is the scandal that hit Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet Poker that took place a couple of years ago and took the poker industry down into the depths of cheating, stealing and lying. Online gamblers will find this book informative and full of information that the normal everyday poker player does not encounter or know about making for some intensive reading.

Hintze has also included some amazing documents which include taped conversations, emails and rat accounts all which reveal classified information about unproven cover-ups that have been swirling around some online casino companies for sometime. Illustrations to the fraudulent transactions by Ultimate Bet and Absolute and how these two companies did everything they could to hide the cheating scandal from the general public and their online players. If you’re an avid online gambler and would like to read about an industry that has had its fair share of unscrupulous characters, scandalous events and criminal crimes, this is a book you should invest in once released. A title to this book has not been announced yet, and we will update once a title has been chosen.

My take: well, we've all read about this a zillion times online. Are we gonna learn anything knew reading about it off-line? Highly doubt it.

I Am Skeptical of Lake Charles Casino Claims That Cheats Made Half a Million Bucks Pastposting Roulette Tables

The latest on the L’Auberge Du Lac Casino Resort cheat scam in Lake Charles, Louisiana says two cheats, Derrick Weldon (the roulette dealer), 42, of Lake Charles and Charbel Tanous (the player/cohort), 33, of Houston, Texas cheated the casino by pastposting roulette bets. In other words, Weldon just stood idly by while his cohort pastposted (made late bets) on straight-up numbers on his roulette tables.

Well, how could this be possible? If the maximum payout on the table is $3,500, are they claiming that the pair pulled off the roulette pastpost cheat scam over a hundred times before surveillance got wind of it?

Come on, give us a break! There is something wrong here. If this casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana got beat for nearly half a mil, it wasn't some crooked dealer and his buddy making bets at roulette?

Why the bullshit?

Gambler Who Beat Atlantic City Tropicana For $6 Million Playing Blackjack Claims He Beat Several Atlantic City Casinos For $15 Million Overall--Without Cheating!

Source: thestar.com

A high-rolling blackjack player from Pennsylvania says he’s the gambler who has won about $15 million overall at three Atlantic City casinos over the past six months.

Don Johnson of Bensalem tells The Press of Atlantic City that he’s quite thankful for his run of good luck, though he’s also lost an unspecified amount during his hot streak and has paid “millions in taxes.”

And while Johnson’s unwilling to disclose his betting strategy, he told the newspaper there’s nothing underhanded about his success. He doesn’t consider himself a professional gambler and emphatically denied cheating or being part of an organized gambling ring.

“I’ll take luck over any other skill,” Johnson said with a laugh. “There’s no magic to this. Eventually, someone would whack them. I’m just glad it was me. I’m not breaking any laws,” he said. “I’m beating them with my own skills.”

Johnson says he won $4.23 million at Caesars Atlantic City in December alone and took in about $5 million at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa over a five-month stretch. But his biggest success came when he won $5.8 million during a 12-hour spree at Tropicana Casino and Resort in April, a record loss for the casino.

Casino officials have previously confirmed that one player had recently won millions of dollars playing high-stakes blackjack but declined to identify the person, citing privacy concerns.

The newspaper reported Sunday that it had confirmed Johnson’s accounts with multiple sources within the casino industry.

And one expert told the newspaper it was entirely plausible for one player to win so big at blackjack, if they had sound knowledge of the game, deep pockets and exercised self-discipline.

The 49-year-old Johnson is chief executive officer of Heritage Development LLC, which uses computer-assisted wagering programs for horse racing. He started gambling at casinos about 15 years ago, placing $25 bets at blackjack tables. As he became more proficient, he transitioned into high-stakes wagering – for example, the Tropicana last month allowed him to bet up to $100,000 a hand.

But his run of good luck has caused some setbacks.

Johnson says he’s been banned at the Caesars and Harrah’s casinos in Nevada and was turned down by Resorts and Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City. And he says casinos no longer offer him a 20 per cent discount on his losses or shower him with other high-roller perks.

“I don’t think they will let me play anymore,” he said of the Atlantic City casinos. “But it’s not going to change my life. If I don’t play blackjack, I’ll just go to the horse races.”

My Take: Do I believe this is on the square and that it is plausible that someone beat Atlantic City blackjack tables out of fifteen million without cheating? Well, at first glance...no...but then again, if they let him bet several hundred thousand bucks per hand it would be possible. I wonder why there was no mention of how much he may have been betting per hand in the other casinos besides the Tropican in these news reports.

Pennsylvania Sandpaper Card-Marking Cheat Ready to Face Trial

Source: The Morning Call

A New Jersey man who was busted allegedly cheating at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem by using sandpaper to mark cards will face the charges in Northampton County court.

Sefula Seji, 43, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday on 39 counts of committing a prohibited act related to gambling. He remains in Northampton County Prison under $75,000 bail.

State police said Seji, of Oak Ridge, allegedly used sandpaper to mark 39 cards on April 9 while playing poker at the casino.
AdvertisementWhile handling the cards, Seji would mark the back of them to identify their value, thus giving him an advantage when others were dealt the marked cards, according to court records.

Dealer and Partner/Agent Busted For Cheating Louisiana Casino Out of $400,000 Between Them! Major Scam For Small Casino

And one of the casino cheats was pulled off an airplane about to take off! Talk about high drama! In any case, it's another incident of inside dealer cheating which seems to be plaguing casinos more and more throughout the world. It's actually rivalling Wall Street Fraud. The next big casino movie might be called something like "Blackjack Street" or "Roulette Street" in order to sound like Michael Douglas's "Wall Street" financial rip-off caper sequel.

Article:

A Lake Charles man and a Houston man have been arrested and are accused of cheating a Lake Charles casino out of hundreds of thousands.

The Louisiana State Police says last week troopers with Gaming Enforcement began investigating reports of cheating at the L'Auberge du Lac Casino Resort.

Casino surveillance personnel discovered the crime being perpetrated and alerted state police.

42-year-old Derrick Weldon, a dealer working in the casino from Lake Charles, was arrested for cheating and swindling over $1,500 ($257,200) as well as conspiracy to commit cheating and swindling. Authortities believe Weldon cheated the casino out of more than $250 thousand.

Louisiana State Police say a frequent casino patron from Houston assisted Weldon in the criminal activity.

33-year-old Charbel Tannous managed to leave the casino before being apprehended.

A warrant for Tannous was obtained and on May 17 he was pulled from an outgoing international flight in Houston, just prior to take off.

Tannous will be extradited back to Louisiana to be charged with cheating and swindling over $1,500 ($143,800) as well as conspiracy to commit cheating and swindling. Authortities believe Tannous cheated the casino out of more than $143 thousand.

The bond for Tannous has been set at $1,000,000 and the bond for Weldon was set at $25,000

If convicted, each faces up to 15 years in prison and/or a $4,500 fine.

My take: This is a huge scam for such a small-time casino. Again, more evidence of how casino surveillance departments are so slow to catch on...and even slower to call me for training assistance!

Does the US Justice Department Care if You (Americans) Get Cheated Playing Online Poker?

You always read and hear that one of the US Justice Department's biggest reasons for its seemingly endless legal pursuit of online poker sites such as Full Tilt and PokerStars is that it just cannot stomach the fact that US players fall prey to online poker cheats using bots, collusion and other forms of cheating to wipe out their accounts, including plain and simple "wiping out accounts" without the victim even getting to an online poker table.

Is this true?

Absolutely not! The US justice department couldn't give two aces about whether or not you get cheated playing poker online. Many US attorneys probably think you deserve to get cheated if you're breaking the law to play poker online. The truth is that the Justice Department prosecutors chasing online poker moguls are motivated by nothing more than politics. What better way to shine up their resumes than by busting online poker bigwigs raking in billions through their "illegal" activity. Indictments and subsequent convictions bringing either jail time, fines or both can further a prosecutor's career, especially one with higher aspirations in government.

That said, We still must heed the one and only real and legitimate claim that the US Justice Department has in its campaign against online poker being played from the United States. That is the fact that minors and even young children can get access to online poker sites and gamble at a very tender--and DANGEROUS--age.