Three Italian Poker Players Arrested by Police for Cheating at a Casino

By Tina Paterson | 23rd November 2011 | Casino News

Three poker players from Italy were recently arrested for marking up a deck of cards using invisible ink and then wearing pairs of infrared glasses to see the marked cards at a casino in Cannes. As well, a French player, and two casino employees (one being the dealer), were also arrested for being a part of this scam.

There was suspicion about the Italian players as early as August when they left a casino with over $60,000 in just one night. There was no way the officials at the casino could confirm their suspicions and instead set up an undercover sting operation to catch them if they tried again. And try they did at the Les Princes Casino where they tried to get away cleanly after pocketing over $40,000.

The cheaters are alleged to have connections with organized crime groups. The French gaming officials are currently investigating any possible leads that may show if these con men were running the same scam in other casinos throughout Europe.

For this type of casino scam to be affective, the employee charged with dealing the cards must also be in on the scheme as they have to make sure the marked cards are in the deck.

This scam is very well known throughout the United States but not so much in Europe. If caught in the United States for this kind of ruse, poker dealers and player not only face a long prison sentence, but they will be barred from entering any casinos throughout the country. The punishment in France for this type of scam is not yet known.

Unfortunately, this is not the first casino scandal to come out of Europe in the last year. In 2010, a German poker professional, Ali Tekintamgac, was disqualified from the final table at the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event after the authorities at the tournament accused Tekintamgac of working with others posing as reporters for the tournament to walk around the floor and send signals regarding his opponents’ hole cards.