Blotter: Casino scam gang leader sentenced

The leader of a Vietnamese gang that conspired to defraud casinos out of millions of dollars was sentenced to seventy months in prison by a federal judge in San Diego, California, this week. Phuong Quoc Truong, a Vietnamese immigrant living in San Diego, plead guilty to his part in the "Tran Organization" a gang of casino cheaters that worked at casinos across the US and took down more than US$7 million in five years.

According to federal prosecutors, the gang bribed casino dealers to use "false shuffles" and other card tricks to insure that the players received winning hands in blackjack and mini-baccarat games in casinos around the country. The list of casinos hit by the scammers spans from California to Connecticut, including the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Federal authorities have prosecuted dozens of gang members involved in the scam, including more than thirty that have entered guilty pleas in exchange for lighter sentences. Although most of the gang members are of Vietnamese descent, one of the indicted co-conspirators was Jacob Nickels, a pit boss at a Seattle-area casino affected by the scam. Jacob Nickels' father, Greg Nickels, was the mayor of Seattle when his son was indicted and sentenced to three months in federal prison for his part in the scheme.

The scam centered on a technique known as a "false shuffle". After the scammers bribed the dealers, the dealers would create blocks of unshuffled cards in the shoes for their blackjack and mini-baccarat games. These blocks of cards, called "slugs", would create winning hands for the players. Whenever the dealer would start to deal a "slug", the players would lay down large bets on cards they knew would win.

In addition to his stiff sentence for leading the group, Truong will forfeit several million dollars in property, including two homes, a Porsche and a Rolex watch, to cover the fines and restitution payments.

Discuss this article below or on our Facebook Fan page.