Three New York men have been charged with cheating at a new casino that just opened in Washington. The Snoqualmie Casino recently opened on November 6th and four days later the three men were cheating while playing roulette at the casino.

Marcos Peynado, Jose Peralta-Yapor and Jorge A. Acosta were arrested and have now been charged with first degree cheating which is a felony charge. The three men face a maximum prison sentence of five years.

On the night in question, security at the casino saw a group of six men trying a well known cheating scam at one of the casino’s roulette tables. One person in the group would buy roulette chips for $1 each then pocket some chips from the table while playing.

That player then left the table with the chips in his pocket. He then met a second player somewhere else on the casino floor and handed that person the chips. That second person would then return to the table, buy chips of the same color but at $25 each and cash out the stolen chips at a higher value after he was done playing.

Roulette chips are different than blackjack or poker chips as they have not set dollar value. The dealer sets the chip value when the player joins the game. Police believe that the men
stole at least $1,500 from the casino if less than one hour.

The three men arrested are believed by the police to be helping the other three men in the scam. Two of the men were able to post bond and the third man is still in jail at this time.



- 2008-11-26