Group accused in $225K 'dice sliding' cheating scheme at Las Vegas casino
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A group is accused of cheating over several days at a Las Vegas Strip casino, netting more than $200,000 in a dice sliding scheme, documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Thursday said.
The alleged cheating incidents happened at The Cosmopolitan in November and December 2021, involving an estimated loss of more than $225,000, investigators with the Nevada Gaming Control Board said.
Investigators learned “the cheating involved multiple suspects and occurred on the Azure Roll to Win Electronic Craps table,” documents said. The game “is an electronic version of the game of craps,” according to investigators.
“The cheating method involved dice sliding and sliding occurs when the shooter slides one or both dice across the table in order to prevent the cubes from rolling,” the documents said. “The dice will be in the same position as they started, allowing the shooter to control the outcome of the game.”
Investigators with the gaming board also determined the alleged dice-cheating incidents may have also occurred at Resorts World during the same time frame, documents said.
The gaming board’s investigation determined a group of people – Antcharaporn Kamonlert, Hau Ngo, Max Rappoport and Oscar Rodriguez — “was observed both together on the table and away from it, during and after fraudulent dice sliding activities occurred.” All four face several cheating-related charges and are connected to one criminal case, records showed.
“Before illegally sliding the dice [one person whose name is redacted in court documents] would signal the other by placing single wagers in a circle motion around the main screen [wagers],” documents said.
Gaming board investigators identified the suspects through surveillance video and their players’ club cards, documents said.
Over the course of six days in 2021, the group allegedly obtained more than $226,000 through the illegal dice method, documents said.
Judges released all four defendants on their own recognizance. A preliminary hearing was scheduled in Las Vegas Justice Court for June 1.