Macau Fraudsters Deceived a Casino for $580,000 Utilizing Manipulated Baccarat Decks
Five staffers at a casino on Macau's Cotai Strip are accused of coordinating a scam involving rigged baccarat decks that ripped off the establishment for HKD4.54 million (US$581,498).
On May 25, Macau's judiciary police detained eight suspects, including one dealer, two pit supervisors, and two others who were pit managers, as per a news statement from the police. The remaining three had prior experience in the junket industry.
Investigators theorize that the casino staff were lured in by a criminal syndicate, with more masterminds still at large.
Meddling with Decks
The casino employees allegedly took pristine playing card decks from storage and turned them over to their partners. At a hotel room within the casino, the conspirators would shuffle the decks to create a sequence known only to members of the group.
The "cold" deck would later return to the casino staff to be placed on a baccarat table, set up for the deliberate dealer.
A manipulated deck, also known as a cold deck, is also called this because it feels cold to the touch when used for poker games, as it's been swapped into play by trickery. Shrewd gamblers would take note of the temperature of the cards to lodge a complaint against being swindled.
When the stacked deck had taken its spot at a gaming table, the conspirators were in a position to bet, upping their wagers when they knew it was a wise move.
It's uncertain how the casino came across the scam, allegedly perpetrated at least twice, on March 29 and May 5. The criminal ring paid the casino workers the equivalent of between US$22K and US$64K each time the decks were prepared, police reported.
Spike in Macau Casino Fraud
This revelation came as Macau's Security Secretary Wong Sio Chak announced a rise in criminal activities in the city during the first quarter of 2023, which he attributed to an increase in tourism as the casino sector rebounded.
Casino fraud, often linked to illegal currency exchange, led the list of examined crimes at 21.7%, while loansharking and telecommunications deceit were also on the rise.
However, a dramatic drop in other key offenses, such as severe violence, was observed in comparison to pre-pandemic times, according to Wong.
In Q1, over 8.8 million people visited the gambling mecca. This figure surpassed the corresponding statistic for 2023 by more than 1.8 times.
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