Casinos have eyes in the sky—it has eyes everywhere. In a business that deals with a lot of money, it’s important to watch every move of the people inside the casino be it of its players or of its employees.
So it’s amazing that it took more than two years before someone finally noticed that two Bellagio Casino dealers and their two friends were doing something fishy at the craps table where the dealers were assigned.
Bellagio fired Mark William Branco and James Russell Cooper Jr. after their scheme was exposed by another dealer who became suspicious of them.
They were arrested in July last year together with co-conspirators Jeffrey Martin and Anthony Granito and were named in a 60-count indictment which was filed just last Wednesday, October 7.
The four were charged with theft and cheating at gambling—charges which could imprison them for decades.
So it’s amazing that it took more than two years before someone finally noticed that two Bellagio Casino dealers and their two friends were doing something fishy at the craps table where the dealers were assigned.
Bellagio fired Mark William Branco and James Russell Cooper Jr. after their scheme was exposed by another dealer who became suspicious of them.
They were arrested in July last year together with co-conspirators Jeffrey Martin and Anthony Granito and were named in a 60-count indictment which was filed just last Wednesday, October 7.
The four were charged with theft and cheating at gambling—charges which could imprison them for decades.
After their scheme was exposed, the casino’s fraud control agents and gambling regulators spent hours reviewing the security videos, watching them work and gamble. They also went through the financial records of the suspects.
They found that the four were using phantom bets, accepting late and unclear bets and paying out winnings when their supervisors were not aware what was going on.
Deputy Chief of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board, James Taylor, admitted casino cheating and theft is common--they arrest as many as 500 people every year for it. (Get acquainted with the Boards duty at: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Division/Research/LegInfo/Orientation/2014-15/Handouts/03-JudHandouts_Gaming.pdf)
“…But to have it go this long and for this much money is unusual,” Taylor said.
Lawyer for Jeffrey Martin said his client will not plead guilty and has until October 20 to raise the bail amount which is $125,000 while Branco posted a bail of $160,000 pending trial. Granito is still in the hospital following an open heart surgery.
Cooper has cooperated and would be testifying before the jury. However, his attorney sought delay which the judge granted until Tuesday.