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Casino Player Cheats Gets Caught and Sentenced
The city of Elko is set in Nevada, a state famous for Las Vegas and its Strip. Recently an Idaho man decided to visit some of the casinos which is a pretty normal phenomenon. But he decided to cheat his way to some prizes. It took a while, but he was caught.
Patrick Howard seemed like a regular casino visitor that enjoyed some blackjack. He had been visiting the casino for some time and seemed to be winning purely on skill. It is when the casino staff went over the footage that he was found to be cheating by manipulating the chips. He had done so on several occasions which is why that footage was brought to the authorities.
Howard turned himself in and he didn’t have the possibility of bail. But let’s delve deeper into the story.
Chip Manipulation
There are lots of visitors to Nevada casinos and they play all sorts of table games. They also enjoy some slot machines too. That’s why each venue has dedicated security staff to keep the cheaters away. In addition to security personnel, each venue comes with cameras for people like Patrick Howard.
This man didn’t look like much and didn’t attract any attention. He had probably been coming to the same casino for years, but it was in June 2021 that he decided to scam the casino out of some wins. Patrick was a man that enjoyed blackjack and the camera footage sees him frequently around blackjack tables.
He enjoyed a particular blackjack game called Royal Match 21. The game is a typical blackjack game that comes with a side bet that shakes things up a bit. A player can have 2 cards with a matching suit and when this is the case he’ll get 2.5x the wager’s stake. The wager is called the Royal Match wager. In addition to this, if the player has a king or queen of the same suit then that player will walk away with 25x the stake.
Howard was looking for the big score just like any other player on the table and in the room. That’s why he decided to manipulate the chips. The footage shows him removing or adding chips right after looking at his cards. This kind of scam managed to help him out a couple of times as it was reported that he had won $1,637.50. But this scam didn’t just bring him wins, it also resulted in some losses.
It is clear that he hadn’t planned it out all to the end as the camera footage proved his guilt. He admitted to being guilty and turned himself in. The Elko County Jail is his new home.
Conclusion
Cheaters never prosper is the moral of this story. They are eventually caught which means that the skilled and lucky players are the ones that win prizes in casino games. Don’t take a page out of Patrick’s book and instead play fairly. That way you’ll win with a clear conscience.
