Las Vegas Dealers Arrested For Alleged Cheating

Article ByDavid Weir

November 9, 2023

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Posted in: Nevada Gambling News, US Casino News, US Gambling Crime News, US Gambling News

Two Las Vegas baccarat dealers have been accused of collaborating with players to cheat at gaming tables in the Rampart Casino.

Yuxuan Leng, alongside a second dealer who remains unnamed, was arrested on November 2.

The accomplice players won more than $5,000 each from the alleged scam. Court documents were obtained by local media outlet KLAS this week in which investigators said both dealers deliberately shared their hands with the players before they placed bets.

Baccarat gambling is big business at the famous Nevada casinos of the Las Vegas Strip. The traditional card game is often associated with high-limit players. In September, more than $147 million was wagered on baccarat tables at the state’s casinos.

Caught on Camera

The suspected cheaters were first reported to the Nevada Gaming Control Board in mid-2022. Fellow Rampart Casino staff members’ suspicions rose when the two long-time baccarat players went on an unusual winning streak.

The two suspects activities were then observed on the Rampart’s surveillance system. This showed that the two dealers were “revealing gaming cards to [both players] prior to the conclusion of gameplay on six separate incidents spanning over the month of May,” the documents said.

Suspects Interviewed

The two players were then contacted by police investigators.

One, whose name was omitted from documents, “admitted to having the baccarat dealers show him gaming cards during his baccarat play and taking advantage of the knowledge acquired.”

The other reportedly told police he had knew nothing about the incidents and denied any involvement with cheating.

Out of the two dealers suspected of cheating, Leng or her representatives have yet to make a statement. She is due in court in December on charges of cheating and conspiring to cheat.

The other unnamed dealer denied receiving any money from players or being part of a scam. He claimed to be “one of the fastest dealers, but sloppy as well,” according to the documents.

He was arrested on cheating charges, but his current status is unknown.

Cheating at a gambling game is a category C offense under Nevada law, potentially carrying up to six years in prison and/or up to $10,000 in fines.

Big Time Casino Cheats

In the grand scheme of things, while still deplorable, this case of cheating at the Rampart Casino was fairly small scale.

Other Las Vegas cheats aim higher. Earlier this year, four men were arrested after being accused by Gaming Control Board investigators of cheating two Las Vegas Strip casinos out of $225,000.

The group allegedly used a dice sliding technique to manipulate results while gambling at craps at The Cosmopolitan and another casino.

The most infamous cheat in Las Vegas history has to be Dennis Nikrasch. The slot machine engineer used his position of trust to manipulate slot jackpots at certain times when his friends would conveniently be at the machine to collect.

He made more than $16 million from his 22-year scam, lasting from 1976 to his arrest in 1998.

More recently, Maryland casinos were victim to a big-time baccarat cheating scam in 2019. Former casino dealer Min Zhang of Virginia was sent to jail for 18 months and three years of supervised release after cheating MGM National Harbor out of more than $1 million at its baccarat tables.