Couple Accused of Cheating Wynn Las Vegas Out of $700,000

The Nevada Gaming Control Board recently ordered the arrests of two Argentine nationals. The two reportedly cheated the Wynn Las Vegas out of $700,000. The Wynn has filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court according to the Las Vegas Review Journal story appearing today.

News of the incident was recently released by Gaming Control but the incident is still on the docket as an open case with the Clark County District Court. The suspects involvement in a scam involving the Wynn's dice games under investigation by the Las Vegas District Attorney but there are no charges filed as of yet.

Leonardo Fernandez and Veronica Dabu, both citizens of Argentina, reportedly used the cheating technique known as "dice sliding." The technique, used on a craps table, takes advantage of one of the dice landing with the number six facing up. This creates betting opportunities for the players who are in on the scam.

A dice game normally features three dealers. One stickman, who retrieves the dice and sends them out to the shooter. The stickman is responsible for watching the dice at all times including, the flight of the dice and making the call. The other two dealers stand opposite the stickman in positions called second base and third base or just bases.

Before casinos began cutting back on management labor, there was also a casino management employee sitting down in front of the bank of chips, named the boxman. The boxman was responsible for depositing money, watching dealers to make sure they are not stealing or strong arming tips from the players and most importantly, a boxman is responsible for watching to make sure players are not cheating.

The boxman position has vanished from most casinos and this has led to an increase in attempts to cheat the casinos. The cheating technique known as dice sliding is not common but it can be stopped if the right personnel are on the game.

Anyone who has ever gambled on a craps table knows the first rule of throwing the dice, hit the back wall of the craps table. This has led to questions about the dealers on the dice crew. Under busy circumstances on a high stakes game it is tough to suspect one player, especially a female, of dice sliding. The practice is so uncommon some dealers have never witnessed the practice live.

Another consideration in this arrest is the Wynn's long time practice of assigning dealers to the same game every day they work. This does not mean there was collusion in this case but the possibility for collusion looms large under these circumstances.

The key to this incident is surveillance and lack of management presence. Surveillance was obviously keyed in to the subjects on their last appearance at the tables before their apprehension. On July 17 the couple won $145,000 on seven slides and that is when the couple came under suspicion and were subsequently arrested.

Todd Jacobs is a Las Vegas resident with extensive knowledge and contacts in the city and surrounding areas of Nevada. To contact Todd with a potential news story about Las Vegas or Nevada email him or direct message him on Twitter @LVIIToddJacobs.