Six people were prosecuted for cheating at gambling and felony theft after allegedly taking more than $1.5 million from casinos across the US in a baccarat cheating scheme, according to an NWI Times report. Six individuals were charged with cheating at gambling and felony theft after allegedly stealing more than $1.5 million from casinos across the U.S. in a baccarat cheating scheme, according to a
NWI Times report. Key takeaways
The total was taken from over 10 casinos, including $700,000 from the Hard Rock Casino in Northern Indiana in 2023. The men obtained the sum within one week, while most of the remaining total came from five other casinos between July 2023 and March 2024.
Baccarat cheating scheme relied on revealing cards during dealing
The six individuals were charged on June 2, with each facing the same two counts of felony, theft and cheating at gambling. The men are Jianchu Liu, Fuxian Liu, Qingyong Zhang, Honghui Wu, Yuhan Hu and Daiqi Wang. Baccarat is a popular casino game, with casinos regularly
updating tables for these games. Baccarat uses eight card decks and can be played by multiple people simultaneously. With a two-card hand, players aim to get as close as possible to the number nine. They can bet on their hand, the banker’s hand, or a tie. At the start of each hand, the dealer usually lets a player at the table cut the card deck, and the six charged individuals allegedly targeted this process. One man is supposed to have fanned the cards or seen the card faces, and another recorded the cards while trying to obscure the view of security cameras and casino staff. According to details the court lodged, two players would make large bets, based on their knowledge of the upcoming cards, and move from table to table looking for dealers who unintentionally allowed them to position the cards to facilitate the cheating scheme.
Baccarat dealer declared innocent
It's been reported that investigators initially wrongly suspected one of the casino dealers of conspiring with the group. However, upon interviewing the dealer, they realized he hadn't purposely facilitated the cheating. Phone records confirmed this, showing he wasn't in contact with any gang members. Investigations in Illinois found the group carried out the same operation at Bally’s Casino in Chicago and were banned from the venue.
Pennsylvania casinos and casinos in other states like Mississippi, New York, California, and Illinois reported baccarat losses due to a similar strategy carried out by a group of six men, who were eventually identified as the accused. Indiana authorities issued warrants for the gambling ring members' arrests. One of the six, Jianchu Liu, a Chinese national, is also the subject of a warrant Pennsylvania issued on two felony counts of winning by fraud or trickery for activities in Pennsylvania casinos.
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