580 Casino: An Inside Job
A couple defrauded the 580 Casino in Livermore, California, of more than $500,000, but their victory was short-lived because the casino and investigators discovered the plot and pursued them. After being captured for their role in the conspiracy, Eric Nguyen and his wife Khan “Tina” Tran pled guilty to different crimes last week.
Tran’s job as a casino dealer was used by the couple, who would inspect the impending cards on baccarat tables before switching tables and informing her spouse in the meanwhile. Nguyen would then come in and make large bets without hesitation, resulting in a win.
The pair operated between 2015 and 2017 before being apprehended and sentenced to 240 days in prison and two years of probation. As part of their sentence, they’d have to pay the casino $507,600 in losses.
Authorities spent three years to figure out what the two had done with Tran, and on May 6, 2020, Nguyen was finally apprehended. The couple was originally accused of stealing nearly $4 million, but the accusations were later reduced. Their sentencing, according to Attorney General Rob Bonta, will serve as a message to anyone who believes they can cheat at California casinos or anywhere else and get away with it.
Over the last few months, Bonta’s staff has been working hard to crack down on such casino cheating incidents. Bonta issued his decision in September in the instance of Pong Game Studios Corp., which had been accused and found guilty of operating illegal gambling operations in the state. The company agreed with Bonta’s decision and agreed to pay the attorney general’s office $3.5 million in penalties to cover costs, attorney fees, and civil penalties.
Cheating isn’t tolerated in California.
The long-running litigation between Bonta and the Canadian casino games producer was finally settled, and the company has been following Bonta’s ruling. If the corporation fails to comply, the attorney general may take a more severe course of action against it, including penalties of up to $15 million.
Another high-profile cheating scandal engulfed California recently, this time involving the Stone Gambling Hall poker operation in Citrus Heights, near Sacramento. Mike Postle was accused of cheating in live-streamed poker games, and the card room became a focal point of the so-called Postlegate.
Veronica Brill accused Postle of cheating on Twitter, claiming that the only plausible explanation for his performance in the games would be if he had been cheating. The ensuing dispute and controversy lasted several years, culminating on January 7, 2022, when Pestle’s bankruptcy filings revealed a confidential deal.
Postle adamantly rejected the allegations and even filed a $330 million defamation lawsuit against Brill, who held firm and battled back. Postle has never been found guilty of cheating by a court.
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