Strip craps game cheating scheme leads to 4 arrests
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Four men apprehended by Nevada Gaming Control Board agents in a craps game cheating scheme in which they were alleged to have fraudulently obtained $226,948 from The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will have their first court appearance next month.
A hearing scheduled Thursday for Antcharaporn Kamonlert, Hau Ngo, Max Rappoport and Oscar Rodriguez was postponed and rescheduled for July 10. The Control Board did not identify where the suspects are from.
Control Board enforcement agents identified the suspects through video surveillance and slot tracking player accounts. The board did not provide details of when and how the men were apprehended.
According to the Control Board, representatives of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas reported on Dec. 1, 2021, that they suspected the four men of cheating in an electronic craps game by “dice sliding” — placing a winning dice combination on the playing surface and sliding instead of rolling the dice.
The four men, who worked as a team, had one person place a wager, signal to the group and then illegally slide dice across the craps table to control the outcome of the game.
A Control Board spokesman said the casino table game is an electronic version of the game of craps that utilizes a table material that is a video screen showing a regulation craps table. In that particular game, players roll the dice.
There was no indication from the Control Board whether there were Cosmopolitan employees monitoring the game.
The group played at The Cosmopolitan from Nov. 23, 2021, through Dec. 1, 2021, initially obtaining $180,000, but over the course of several days, they took $226,948, authorities said.
According to court and Control Board records, the four men were charged with cheating at a gambling game, committing a fraudulent act in a gaming establishment, unlawful acts regarding computers and conspiracy.
Thursday’s planned appearance had been scheduled in Las Vegas Justice Court before Justice of the Peace Amy Chelini.
The Control Board’s Enforcement Division is the law enforcement arm of Nevada’s top gaming regulatory board, employing 90 sworn peace officers, certified by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, and specifically field trained for the gaming industry.
“The board appreciates licensees reporting suspicious activities and potential gaming crimes,” Kristi Torgerson, chief of the board’s Enforcement Division, said in a release. “The Enforcement Division will continue to be aggressive in its investigations and covert operations to ensure that the gaming industry is free from criminal elements in its unending effort to safeguard the integrity of regulated gaming in Nevada.”
Board Chairman Kirk Hendrick added, “Anyone who cheats Nevada’s gaming industry cheats all of Nevada’s citizens. Consequently, all suspected cheating will be investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.
