Couple pleads guilty to stealing $500G from casino by cheating at baccarat

SACRAMENTO (KRON) – A couple in California has pleaded guilty to grand theft in connection with a gambling scheme that bilked over half a million dollars from a casino.

Prosecutors said the husband-wife duo of Eric Nguyen and Khan “Tina” Tran conspired to cheat at baccarat while Tran was working as a dealer at the 580 Casino in Livermore. Tran would peek at the upcoming sequence of the cards right before she was rotated off the table, and then inform Nguyen so he could step in and place “significant wagers,” according to the office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

The thefts occurred between 2015 and 2017.

Nguyen and Tran pleaded guilty to felony grand theft and were sentenced to 240 days in jail and two years of supervised probation. They were also ordered to pay restitution of $507,600.

The couple was first arrested May 6, 2020, in Texas, pursuant to California felony arrest warrants. They were originally charged in stealing approximately $4 million, according to a 2020 press release that accompanied the initial charges.

“Breaking the law is never the right way to get ahead,” Attorney General Bonta stated in a news release. “We will not tolerate criminal activity in our state. Today’s announcement holds accountable Nguyen and Tran and sends a message that cheating in California will not lead to success.”

The case is one of several gambling-related cases Bonta’s office is prosecuting. Last September, Bonta announced a $3.5 million-dollar judgment against the Pong Game Studios Corp. for illegal gambling.