Nevada Regulators Throw Black Book at $1.2 Million Bellagio Craps Cheaters

Nevada Regulators Throw Black Book at $1.2 Million Bellagio Craps Cheaters.

Costfoto / NurPhoto / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

Two members of a Bellagio craps cheating ring will join the list of those barred from entering Nevada casinos as they take their place in the Gaming Control Board’s (NGCB) legendary “.”

Bellagio craps cheatersAnthony Granito (left) and James Cooper were one half of a Bellagio craps scam that was surprisingly simple yet oddly effective, conning the casino out of an estimated $1.2 million over two years. (Image: Associated Press)

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, on Thursday Anthony Grant Granito and former Bellagio dealer James Russell Cooper became the 33rd and 34th entries on the list of persona non grata. They were part of a four-man team that cheated the Strip casino for an estimated $1.2 million.

The ringleader, Mark Branco also a former dealer remains incarcerated, but Granito, Cooper, and the fourth member of the team, Jeffrey Martin, have just received parole. Martin has agreed to attend a hearing with the Nevada Gaming Commission, but Granito and Cooper have not.

Thus their names will join those of a long line of mobsters, scam artists, robbers, and fraudsters who have fallen foul of casino regulators over the years. Once listed, those caught entering a restricted gaming establishment face a gross misdemeanor charge. The only way to be delisted is through death.

Bogus Bets

The four men were in 2016 after each pleading guilty to one count each of theft and fraud in relation to the scheme, which ran from 2012 to 2014.

With the two dealers operating as inside men, Martin and Granito would often place valid bets on the craps tables to distract attention, while interspersing them with illegitimate ones.

This involved one of the men mumbling something incomprehensible as the dealer tossed the die. These interjections were designed to sound like hop bets a wager that a specific number would come up next and Martin and Granito were paid by the dealers as though they had correctly predicted the outcome.

Painstaking Investigation

It sounds simple, but it was surprisingly effective until a suspicious dealer reported his colleagues to security.

Even so, the mix of valid and bogus bets made life difficult for the Bellagio’s security personnel, who sifted through hours of video as they painstakingly tried to piece together losses and wins and decipher genuine bets from fraudulent ones.

On one day in July 2014, for example, Granito lost $64,000 on valid bets, but won almost $150,000 in illegal bets for a net win $85,000.

But they weren’t as careful as they should have been. According to investigators one series of winning bets defied odds of 452 billion to one.

Article Sources
California Lottery Winner of $10M Hit By Accident After Person Bumped Her editorial policy.
  1. Man Gets Flushed with $1 Million at Flamingo Las Vegas

Compare Accounts
×
Louisiana Lawmakers Disagree on Harrah’s New Orleans Extension
Provider
Name
Description
Century to Open New Missouri Casino on Nov. 1  MGM Resorts Releases Audio of Jesus Campos Reporting ‘Shots Fired,’ Company Scrutinized for Potential Witness Tampering  Jack Lam Charged With Bribery in Philippines, Faces One to Five Years Imprisonment  Charles Barkley Wants His Cremated Ashes Spread Inside a Las Vegas Casino  The Wild West: Wyoming Effort to Form Statewide Gaming Commission Appears Dead  Brooklyn Nets NBA Odds Shorten After Landing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving  San Manuel Extends Closure While Other Southern California Tribal Casinos Reopen  UNLV Report Says Online Sports-Betting Ads Should Not Target Youths  Live! Casinos Reworks Rewards Program, Expand Loyalty Offering for Top Patrons  Rapper Blueface Avoids Nevada Prison Sentence After Violating Probation