From the archives

Blackjack Cheating Dealer Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

This report is part of the Online Blackjack Odds archive. Read it as a snapshot of the blackjack world at the time it was published.

1 min read · · Online Blackjack Odds
Blackjack editorial illustration — Blackjack Cheating Dealer Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
From the archivesNames, operating status, offers, table rules and availability may have changed. Check current conditions directly.

The story, in context

  • Offers, event schedules, software and operator availability mentioned in this report may have changed.
  • Use the publication date when interpreting the story. It is not a current offer listing.

Mike Waseleski, one of the six defendants charged for cheating at the blackjack tables and winning around $800,000 back in 2009, has been proved to have illegally assisted Tran Organization to win $1.5k at the blackjack tables of Resorts East Chicago Casino. He has been sentenced to $250,000 fine and 5 years imprisonment.

According to the trial records at the court, the arrested belonged to Tran Organization that was formed in 2002 in California. They trained blackjack dealers to pretend to be shuffling cards at blackjack and mini baccarat games. The act of pretend shuffling enabled them to memorize the order of the cards. The members of the casinos would specially request the dealers not to shuffle the cards and use this knowledge while wagering. Allegedly, Waseleski took such a training course at Houston, Texas.

The US department of justice says that the cheats also used secret software and hardware to win thousands of dollars at a time. The gang cheated at the blackjack tables of around 27 casinos.

In March 2009, Phuong Quoc Truong, who belonged to the Tran Organization, was sentenced to 6 years federal imprisonment after making illicit wins worth $868,000 in just 90 minutes at the Resorts East Chicago Casino.

A question to take away

What has changed since this story was published?

Report incorrect information

Help us keep this page accurate

Tell us about a changed bonus, an incorrect rule or a broken link. Reports go to the site editor and are not published. Do not include passwords, account numbers or other personal details.

No name or email is requested. We save the page, issue and message privately for editorial review. A temporary, salted network-address key limits abuse for one hour; normal hosting logs are separate. Please submit only information you want the editor to receive.

Open this section to load the submission form.