Elaborate Scam to Cheat US Casino Unveiled

It was the fictional 007 agent known as James Bond who introduced the world to Baccarat, and not in recent movies either. Casino Royale may have been a smash hit movie in 2006 when the dreamy Daniel Craig took up the role of the undercover agent, but it was the 1953 book by Ian Fleming that first took adventurers to the casino floors where gambling and deals came hand in hand.

Baccarat was 007’s game of choice and until its introduction by Fleming, very little was known about the game, but in modern times it has become one of the most popular casino games to play, thanks top tier software developers. What is it? Baccarat is a card game between the player and the banker with three possible outcomes: player win, banker win or a tie. To play, you place bets on which hand you think will score the highest (player or banker) or if it will be a tie between the two.

And what’s this got to do with anything? Well, two casino players in the US thought they could walk up to a casino, take a seat at a Baccarat table for a couple of hands and walk out a lot wealthier than they went in. Only unlike most people, these two had a deal with the casino dealer to cheat their way to huge sums of money.

Pairing Up to Lose

Authorities allege that Jianming Li, 53, an Encore Boston Harbor casino dealer had devised a plan with Jun Zhang, 41, of New York, a former Maryland casino dealer, and De Lin 46, of Philadelphia, to effectively rob the casino of more than $23,500. It may not seem like a huge sum, but it was theft nonetheless.

How did they do it? Li, the casino dealer had cleverly exposed a series of cards before memorising them and marking them with a ‘bookmark’ card, then using his mobile phone, he communicated with his two accomplices, while making sure to repeat the sequence in which the cards were placed back into the pack. So it didn’t look suspicious, Zhang and De Lin both went to separate bathrooms just prior to the text messages from the scam dealer.

How did they get caught? Details on this haven’t been released but what we do know I the Middlesex Grand Jury indicted Li and Zhang on two counts of cheating the gaming act, two counts of conspiracy, one count of larceny by a single scheme and Li was charged with one count of making a false statement to the Gaming Commission.

Not the First, Not the Last?

Scammers try to benefit from anything, from phishing emails to cloning bank cards. Facebook is awash with fake profiles claiming to be reputable companies who then go on to message users for money! Not encountered this one yet? Competitions are like a magnet to these people and when you enter, you almost instantly get a reply from the scammer claiming you’ve won and to send money to claim your prize. Stop and do some research and if anyone ever asks you to part with money for something they claim you’ve won for free – don’t!

The casino and bingo industry is a huge one and not just online. Brick-and-mortar venues are hot-spots for criminals looking to either launder money or win huge sums from playing a variety of casino games. I was first introduced to the casino world of scams while watching the US blockbuster movie Casino, starring Robert DeNiro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci. One man had taped a shock device to his leg and the leg of his accomplice, and they would communicate almost by Morse code from separate tables. Naturally, they were caught and never did it again.

Just like many movies, there have been some downright brazen attempts to cash in on casinos from those thinking they can get away with it, the most notorious being the infamous Roselli brothers. The Italian siblings used methods of identity fraud to deceive millions in credit from multiple casinos and by the year 2000, they had scammed almost $40million from US establishments. After cashing in, they scarpered and were never seen again, leaving the debt falling on the shoulders of those victims they stole the identity of.

In 2011, invisible ink was used to mark the card decks at a casino in Cannes. Three Frenchmen played stud poker while their fourth accomplice – an Italian, was the ‘eyes’ of the operation. After making cards with invisible ink, the Italian would return with sophisticated contact lenses that could detect the pen to help him win. All-in-all, they got away with $84K before being caught.

Contact lenses were pretty impressive but wait until you hear this one! In the 70’s when technology was very limited, a rogue roulette dealer devised a plan with family to rob his casino employer. A weightless radio receiver and a magnet-style device was used to attract the ball into specific pockets of the roulette wheel, and it worked! The group managed to win over $1,000,000 before the casino owner got suspicious.

In 2004, mobile technology was used to defraud a casino out of more than $2,000,000, and the group didn’t even have to pay it back! While playing roulette, a group of Europeans used sophisticated software to scan the wheel to monitor the speed of the wheel and the ball. This would then lead to almost pin-point accuracy. Once caught, they were released as there were no laws or legislation in place that could result in prosecution.

Source: “Casino Dealer Charged in Cheating Scheme”. InterGame. March 8, 2021.