Players and Cannes Casino Staff Arrested in Card Marking Controversy
As the World Series of Poker Europe continues to progress in Cannes, France, a card marking scandal has already left a mark on the event’s casino.
Mainstream media including Fox News and Expatica have picked up the story, which involved the use of infrared ink marked cards that can only be seen with special glasses or contact lenses. Three Italians have been detained as a result, in addition to two casino employees and a dealer.
This isn’t the first time these group of Italians have been suspected of some sort of wrong-doing. In August, the group won over $60,000 in one-evening and raised many red flags with various staff, yet they could confirm no wrong-doing. Their suspicions did, however, lead them to set up a sting operation, which ultimately led to their arrest Tuesday. As the group began to walk off with their $41,000 in allegedly ill-gotten winnings, they were stopped, detained, and ultimately arrested along with the other conspiring employees.
The identities of the alleged cheaters are yet to be released to the public, but some French media are alleging that the group is linked with organized crime. Some fear that the cheating method has swept through all over Europe, and investigators are working with casinos in various countries at an attempt to learn more information.
This information comes less than a year after the much publicized cheating from poker professional Ali Tekintamgac, who was disqualified from the Partouche Poker Tour after tournament staff determined he had been using fake tournament reporters to signal him hole card information about his opponents.
Mainstream media including Fox News and Expatica have picked up the story, which involved the use of infrared ink marked cards that can only be seen with special glasses or contact lenses. Three Italians have been detained as a result, in addition to two casino employees and a dealer.
This isn’t the first time these group of Italians have been suspected of some sort of wrong-doing. In August, the group won over $60,000 in one-evening and raised many red flags with various staff, yet they could confirm no wrong-doing. Their suspicions did, however, lead them to set up a sting operation, which ultimately led to their arrest Tuesday. As the group began to walk off with their $41,000 in allegedly ill-gotten winnings, they were stopped, detained, and ultimately arrested along with the other conspiring employees.
The identities of the alleged cheaters are yet to be released to the public, but some French media are alleging that the group is linked with organized crime. Some fear that the cheating method has swept through all over Europe, and investigators are working with casinos in various countries at an attempt to learn more information.
This information comes less than a year after the much publicized cheating from poker professional Ali Tekintamgac, who was disqualified from the Partouche Poker Tour after tournament staff determined he had been using fake tournament reporters to signal him hole card information about his opponents.
