- Two men face felony criminal charges after winning over $30,000 by cheating in poker.
- The pair were caught bending corners of high-value cards in order to gain an advantage at Pala Casino near San Diego, California.
- They face up to three years and eight months in prison if convicted on their charges.
SAN DIEGO – Two poker cheaters face multiple felony charges and 3+ years in prison after marking cards in a San Diego casino. The tactic resulted in over $30,000 in winnings across two California casinos with poker, but the pair have since been apprehended.
The two defendants and a third unidentified person entered the Pala Casino separately but played poker together at a Mississippi Stud Poker table. Surveillance caught the men bending corners on high-value cards like Kings, Queens, Jacks, and Tens to gain an advantage, which resulted in a total casino loss of $19,250.
The same people went to Harrah’s Casino the next week and won $13,410 using the same method, but were later caught. Any physical alteration to the playing cards is a breach of casino fair play policies and in most states with poker, a criminal offense. They now face two felony counts of conspiracy to commit a crime.
Poker Cheaters Easily Caught Thanks To Modern Surveillance
Many California poker rooms have implemented table inspections, deck changes, surveillance, and even plastic-coated cards to make sure card-marking more difficult. According to a Facebook post from the San Diego County District Attorney, newer technology makes it easy to find these criminals now.
“This method of cheating at cards goes back hundreds of years but with modern technology, the practice can be detected and those who would scam local casinos can be brought to justice,” said District Attorney Summer Stephan. “I’m proud of my office’s relationships with tribal governments and the cooperation we continue to have with them to successfully prosecute a variety of crimes that occur on tribal lands.”
The preliminary hearing is set for January 15.