Both men Engaged in a cheating scheme that involved Putting high-risk phantom bets at Bellagio’s Rigged tables
Two men are added to Nevada’s “black publication ” of banned casino players after scamming Bellagio of nearly $1.2 million by setting the so-called jump bet in a series of poker matches, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Anthony Grant Granito and James Russell Cooper will no more be able to play at any of the state’s casinos after their names are placed on the list of banned gamblers claimed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Granito and Cooper were part of a group of four men who collectively carried out a complex scheme to deceive the glitzy Strip casino. The scam happened between August 2012 and July 2014 and involved Jeffrey Martin and Mark Branco. Branco and Cooper were craps traders at the Bellagio at the time. According to court documents, it had been Branco who led the group of four and concocted the strategy. The scam was discovered and reported by another craps seller who noticed suspicious behavior and reported it to match officials.
The strategy involved Branco and Cooper working at exactly the exact same table. After a shooter tossed the dice, Martin or Granito needed to mumble something that very much seemed like a jump bet (a insecure oral proposal where players wagered a particular amount would fall next). Among the traders participating in the scam could pay out as if Martin or even Granito had wagered properly on whatever came up next.
It’s crucial to note that at the moment, the felt about the craps tables at the targeted casino had no designated spot for jump bets. To prevent attention and prevent their wrongdoing from being uncovered, the two players could lose tens of thousands of dollars on real bets they placed. But they would always walk away with a profit as a result of the phantom bets.
All four participants from the fraudulent scheme were charged with theft and cheating at gambling and sentenced to prison from the Clark County District Court in 2016. As mentioned above, Granito and Cooper have been placed on the list of people banned from gaming at Nevada’s casinos.
How Was the Scam Discovered?
As mentioned before, it had been believed that Branco was the reason behind the fraudulent plan. The group of four accomplices carried out with the scam for two years between August 2012 and July 2014.
Casino police themselves noticed that a winning streak of wagers they stated defied 452-billion-to-1 odds.
Granito’s typical bet was $4,400. He played 1,624 rounds and wagered $7.1 million. He’d have been expected to lose $459,539. Instead, he won $498,500. Martin wagered $5.1 million over 2,295 rounds. Bellagio should have expected to come off with $252,490 of the cash. Instead, he won $587,900. In general, they would have been expected to lose $712,029…nevertheless they won a total of 1,086,400.
Casino officials analyzed every roll of the dice visible on surveillance while Branco and Cooper were at the tables to discover enough evidence about their wrongdoing. Cooper eventually cooperated with authorities, showing the scam’s particulars.
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