Articles from November 2024

Police are searching for a suspect who stole $60,000 in cash from an Oklahoma casino guest in September.

Dvoderick Robinson allegedly broke into a vehicle in the Choctaw Casino parking lot, with surveillance footage clearly showing the 45-year-old putting a package into his pocket after smashing the vehicle’s window. He came back again wearing gloves and retrieved another item.

a plastic bag containing $60,000 in cash

The victim reported the incident to security staff at the casino, explaining that his wallet which contained up to $300 in cash and a bank card was gone, as well as a plastic bag containing $60,000 in cash.

Law enforcement wants to charge Robinson with grand larceny and burglary when they catch him.

This is not the only serious crime to happen recently in the casino’s parking lot. A man died in June following a violent altercation in which he suffered stab wounds.

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High stakes fraud

Malaysian businessmen used $13m siphoned from a government development fund to gamble on high-stakes games in Las Vegas, a court in Singapore heard on Monday.

International fugitive Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, allegedly transferred the money to Las Vegas Sands (LVS) properties with an associate, Erik Can Kim Loong, to play high-stakes games at casinos including baccarat.

called the “largest kleptocracy case to date” by the US Department of Justice

The money is part of over $4.5bn which was stolen from the Malaysia Development Berhard (1MDB) fund. The case has been called the “largest kleptocracy case to date” by the US Department of Justice, and involved hundreds of individuals in government, banking, business and entertainment.

Low has long been accused of masterminding the scheme, which saw the money used to buy luxury items, fund lavish lifestyles, and even finance Hollywood films.

Money trail uncovered

Low already had a reputation as a high-stakes gambler, with a marketing executive for The Venetian revealing in 2022 that Low had gambled over $87m on baccarat at the casino.

A case was then brought by 1MDB against several companies accused of handling around $248m of the stolen funds, including Red Granite Pictures Inc. and Red Granite Capital Ltd.

Both companies are controlled by Riza Aziz, the stepson of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, who was imprisoned for 12 years in 2018 after being accused of siphoning $700m from the fund.

According to testimony from UK-based financial fraud investigator Richard Templeman, Red Granite Capital then allegedly transferred $41m to a shell company named Alsen Chance, which was set up solely to aid the embezzlement scheme. From here, $13m was transferred to LVS, with Low receiving $11m for gambling purposes at the casino, and Tan getting $2m.

Low profile

Low is wanted by international authorities and is believed to be hiding in China. His current state is a far cry from his flamboyant and extravagant lifestyle which not only saw him gamble millions in high-stakes casino games, but also rub shoulders with the Hollywood elite.

Low is alleged to have given a $325,000 Ferrari to Kim Kardashian as a wedding present, and also gave numerous works of art, including Picassos and Basquiats, to Leonardo DiCaprio. The actor later returned the gifts.

Perhaps most fittingly, Low was also a major investor in the production of the Martin Scorses film The Wolf of Wall Street, which deals with the rise and fall of a flamboyant high-level financial fraudster.

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Authorities in China have warned young Navy officers about the risks of engaging in online gambling and dating scams, saying anyone falling afoul of bad actors can undermine the military and lead to security risks.

targeted people born in 1990 and later

The People’s Liberation Army Navy posted on social media about how criminals can take advantage of anyone exposing their identity online. It targeted people born in 1990 and later, as they are transitioning into the bulk of the navy’s personnel.

The post recommends being very careful when making friends online and to “never lose sight” of their principles. It also reminded people that it is illegal to gamble online in China and compared gambling addiction to being “possessed by a demon” and leading people to rack up significant debts.

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Fine and a refund

The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) has started the week by heavily fining one of its licensees and agreeing to a hefty tax refund for another.

failing to allow its agent access to a theater

On Monday, the NGC hit Northern Nevada’s biggest casino with $250,000 penalty for denying one of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB)’s agents access. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the NGC fined Grand Sierra Resort and Casino holding brand MEI-GSR Holdings LLC for failing to allow its agent access to a theater in the Reno resort owned by the Las Vegas Meruelo Group.

Meruelo had the opportunity to challenge the complaint issued by the NGCB in October, but opted not to.

Showing its nicer side, the NGC agreed on Monday to refund the Craig Estey-owned slot machine chain Dotty’s over $3m in overpaid taxes.

Happy tax story

Dotty’s is a chain of 41 licensed casinos and slot machine parlors in Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and Illinois operated by Estey-owned Nevada Restaurant Services, Inc (NRSI).

Dotty’s parent brand originally submitted its settlement claim for overpaid taxes to the NGC asking for a refund of “$3,120,197.28 plus interest of $222,744.12.” 

interest was accruing at a rate of about $446 a day”

In August, however, the NGC refused to pay the interest. It stated NRSI “took so long to file the claim and the interest was accruing at a rate of about $446 a day.”

While NRSI agreed to drop its interest claim, it subsequently discovered that it was eligible to file a claim for “a refund for an additional two years of tax overpayments.”

NRSI is therefore ditching the interest claim and seeking an additional $1.8m tax refund from the NGC. According to media reports, NRSI’s overpayments came from “not properly deducting wagered cashable electronic promotion amounts from gross revenue of $46.9m,” a rebate it was entitled to.

In hot water again

Just as Dotty’s legal team is getting more familiar with the NGC, so is Grand Sierra Resort’s. The Commission’s $250,000 fine on Monday is for the same agent entry violation Grand Sierra committed in January 2021.

According to the settlement stipulation on Monday, however, the latest barred NGCB agent was denied entry to Grand Sierra for about six minutes. The agent was eventually allowed to enter the theater armed, but opted to leave after a “discussion with security officers.”

The NGC asked Senior Deputy Attorney General Michael Somps why the NGCB agent was trying to access the resort’s theater. In response, Somps prefaced that: “board agents have access to all portions of the premises of a gaming establishment.”

Somps added that what happens in non-gambling areas has an impact on Nevada’s overall reputation and that of its gaming industry. The DA cited disciplinary measures taken by the NGCB against licensees “for events that happened in their nightclubs, which was off the gaming floor.”

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Casino suffers attack

Crypto Casino Metawin has suffered a major cyberattack which resulted in $4m drained from the company’s Ethereum and Solana hot wallets.

The attack, which took place on November 3, exploited Metawin’s frictionless withdrawal system. After gaining access to the wallets, the hacker quickly made off with $4m in Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL).

the funds have since been moved to the KuCoin exchange and a nested service on HitBTC

According to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, the funds have since been moved to the KuCoin exchange and a nested service on HitBTC, with 115 wallets linked to the attack so far.

Normal service restored

Responding to the attack, Metawin CEO Richard “Skel” Skelhorn stated: “We temporarily paused withdrawals to assess and secure our systems. Now, withdrawals have been re-enabled for 95% of users, with final checks underway for the remaining accounts.”

“We’re in the process of topping up wallet balances now. We’ll also be implementing additional security controls for new users, while also exploring ways to maintain a flexible and seamless experience for our trusted community.”

We’re not gonna dwell on it. It’s in the hands of the feds now”

Skelhorn went on to confirm that the authorities had been contacted, saying to ZachXBT: “We’re not gonna dwell on it. It’s in the hands of the feds now…we will make some internal adjustments to keep the players happy but the bad actors at bay.”

As for the source of the funds to top up the wallets, Skelhorn claimed he used his own personal fortune to help finance the replenishment. “I just emptied my piggy bank… We keep building.”

Crypto hacks continuing

The attack is the latest in a series of hacks which have affected many crypto users over recent months. In October, Radiant Capital suffered a major exploit for $55m, while a wallet believed to be controlled by the US government was also drained of $20m.

$88m lost in crypto hacks in the month of October alone

The losses made up the bulk of a reported $88m lost in crypto hacks in the month of October alone, while November started off in much the same manner when attackers made off with over $13m from centralized exchange M2 last week.

The repeated attacks have nonetheless failed to stem the flow of the ongoing bull market in crypto, or indeed its increasing adoption in the gambling world. Crypto casinos are continuing to proliferate, while in the United Kingdom, crypto companies are quickly replacing gambling sponsors for Premier League soccer clubs.

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The European Commission has rejected two complaints alleging the monopoly control Française des Jeux (FDJ) has over sports betting and lottery products in France is unfair.

The comprehensive investigation concluded that this 25-year exclusive arrangement was legal and that the state aid it received was legitimate. FDJ’s share price jumped 5% on the back of the news.

claimed the €15.2m ($16.5m) that FDJ pays the government annually is too little

Complainants from 2020 claimed the €15.2m ($16.5m) that FDJ pays the government annually is too little and the discount to the true market value is a form of unjust state aid. While the Commission decided to increase the total payments by €97m ($105m) over the 25 years, it took no other action.

The gambling operator welcomed the news of the Commission’s ruling that its privatization in July 2018 was fully legal. The French government sold half of its 72% ownership in the operator to boost public finances.

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Law enforcement used old-fashioned detective work to track down the man who planted two explosive devices at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, Florida.

The property had to be evacuated twice following the discovery of the bombs in bathrooms in late September.

The authorities held a joint press conference on Thursday announcing the arrest of Brian Eckley following a collaborative investigation involving the FBI, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Seminole Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

A special agent involved in tracking down the culprit explained how they initially had zero leads and “nothing to go on.” After reviewing surveillance footage, they noticed a man acting peculiarly at the casino three days before the incident.

bought it using an alias, cash, and a burner phone

They tracked down the unique white truck he drove and found the vehicle’s previous owner, who revealed Eckley bought it using an alias, cash, and a burner phone to arrange the deal.

Police had even arrested the suspect a couple of days before the bomb incident for aggravated assault with a firearm. The authorities linked forensic evidence in the two cases, getting a match.

Eckley, who went so far as altering his gait while walking through the casino, faces up to 30 years in prison.

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