The one time I went seriously gambling was this past December in Atlantic City. For those of you who haven’t had the #blessed opportunity to visit AC, let me describe it to you in the most eloquent terms I can muster:
The place is a shithole.
Atlantic City is the epitome of gentrification; the casinos and their surrounding areas are glitzy and glamorous with flashing lights everywhere and mostly-adequate restaurants within walking distance, but venture just a few miles away? Holy hell you better have a bulletproof vest on, because it looks like you just walked into an episode of The Wire. It’s actually a little sickening how fancy the casinos are versus how disgusting the surrounding area is, and while Craig Walker, Daniel Johnson and Kevin Traynor weren’t exactly Robin Hoods with their casino winnings, I don’t feel bad when any casino loses money. They’re black holes specific to only sucking $5’s, $10’s, $20’s and above out of your wallet and into their wallets rather than, say, a charity or at least some other cause that doesn’t involve robbing idiots of their cash.
So to hear that the Coral Island casino in Blackpool, Lancashire lost over $26,000 due to the trio’s scam…hey, more power to you guys. Fuck the casinos.
Managers at the casino became suspicious that Traynor’s winnings were disproportionate to his bets and, checking CCTV, uncovered the ruse.
Preston Crown Court heard Walker and Johnson were working together on a quiet shift at the casino when they discovered it was possible to perform a ‘ho spin’ on the wheel – fixing it so the ball stayed in the same slot.
They enlisted Traynor, a family friend of Johnson’s, to visit the casino and place a number of bets.”
“…You [Walker, Traynor and Johnson] gave a signal, a no spin was arranged which prompted an increased bet and so secured a larger win than you would by playing by chance or without the knowledge of the wheel.”(via)
When Traynor was given the signal, he increased his bet and typically ended up winning the round and would then split the cash with Walker and Johnson. This went on for two months until the casino manager became suspicious and consulted the casino’s CCTV footage. Seeing that Walker would always scratch his head prior to any large bet being placed by Traynor, the three were brought in and the scam was uncovered.
According to Mirror, Walker was jailed for 14 months, Johnson for a year and Traynor was required to carry out 200 hours of community service as well a “nine-month sentences suspended for two years.”
You know the phrase “quit while you’re ahead”? Yeah. That.
[H/T Mirror]