In Lancashire, UK, Craig Walker and Daniel Johnson, two croupiers at a local casino fitted the roulette wheel to their advantage. The duo figured out how to rig the wheel in such a way that the ball would fall into the same slot. A friend, Kevin Traynor, would then come to play at their table and reap the benefits. Traynor won £23.000, money later split three ways between the scammers.
After the casino boss scanned the security footage for discrepancies, the scam was uncovered and the offenders admitted to fraud, placing the two croupiers in jail. At the Preston Crown Court hearing on Monday, the croupiers confessed to working hand in hand In order to find a way to rig the wheel. They were looking to achieve a “no spin on the wheel”, then one of them would give the signal to Traynor that the bet will increase from £25 to £100. At this point, Traynor would place his bet and cash in big time.
This method of betting small and winning big usually stands out in the eyes of professional casino managers, and so, Traynor was flagged suspicious. The scam lasted 8 rounds before being shut down by police. Traynor received a 9-month sentence to be suspended for 2 years in order for him to do 200 hours of unpaid work. Walker got 14 months and Johnson 12.
Johnson’s defence attorney stated that the whole ordeal started out as a joke. The croupiers, at some point, began to seriously think about how to get away with such a scam. Walker’s defence attorney commented about his client “He will never again work in the trade he had learned since he was 18. No one is ever going to trust him.”
Sadly, the main reason their plan got too far was due to all three men being in debt.