Singapore Casino Dealer Uses Sleight of Hand, Sent to Jail

A dealer at one of the 450 live casino games at Resorts World Sentosa will spend the next year and three weeks in prison in Singapore. He pleaded guilty to theft. He accomplished the theft in a unique way. 

This comes after a drug dealer at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut was sentenced to eight years in prison. 

The Dealer Sent to Jail

The name of the dealer sent to jail is Oumnakil Thanakorn. He’s a 35-year-old migrant from Thailand, per prosecutors. 

He had worked at the casino since Dec. 2022 and had an elaborate scheme to steal tens of thousands of dollars. 

Thanakorn pleaded guilty to three charges. These include criminal breach of trust by dishonest misappropriation and criminal breach of trust as a servant. 

Before pleading guilty, he faced 25 years in prison and significant fines. For pleading guilty, prosecutors sought 12 to 14 months. 

He’s expected to also be deported to Thailand. 

Use of Sleight of Hand

While local law enforcement didn’t detail how the theft occurred, the prosecutor said that Thanakorn used sleight of hand to slide chips the house won into his hand. He held a piece of paper in one hand and put the chips into his pants. 

He got some help from two female gamblers in exchange for a commission, which went unnoticed from May to July 2024. 

Footage came to light, though, that revealed Thanakorn did this at least 29 times. He pocketed approximately S$55,000, which is about USD 42,572. 

Thanakorn was a dealer for baccarat, roulette, and blackjack. 

The women, Buengloy Ananyaporn and Techawattanasakul Warattharin were also charged. Ananyaporn was caught exchanging S$32,500 and Warattharin for S$4,500. 

The remaining chips were found at Thanakorn’s home during a raid. He said he sent money to Thailand to help his family. 

Latest Singapore Casino Dealer Scandal

Thanakorn is the latest dealer at a Singaporean casino to be caught stealing. Last year, a roulette dealer at Marina Bay Sands conspired to help a player’s favor in exchange for sharing winnings. The dealer, Soh Xuan Rong, and gambler, Daniel Koh Tze Zhou, were sentenced to 28 weeks in prison for stealing S$3,545.