Cheating Casino Dealers in Macau Might Be Risking More Than Their Jobs and Prison

Dealers Buried Under the Bridge?

With all the inside baccarat cheating scams going down in Macau the past five years, more or less since the giant Las Vegas-type casino resorts have sprung up across the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong, you might wonder if the cheating dealers participating in them are brazen, brave or just plain stupid. Are they working with the Chinese criminal Triads to rip off their casinos? Are they ripping off other Triads who might have financial stakes in Macau Casino VIP rooms?

The answer to these questions are not at all as complex as you might think. To put it short, many Chinese Triads are behind the casino cheat teams that prey on Macau's baccarat tables. This is fine for the dealers who are protected from most harm when they get involved in these scams. BUT, and this is a big "BUT," sometimes these dealers are cheating Triads that are involved in the ownership of the VIP baccarat rooms, where the Triads bring in mega-gamblers to play. Here is where the dirty dealers get into serious trouble.

One casino dealer at the Sands Macau, the hotel owned by Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas casino-fame (who has been in hot water for a number of possible illicit casino operations involving his casino), had his arms and legs broken for participating in a baccarat false-shuffle scam that ripped off the Triad operating the VIP room in the Sands. Supposedly, the Triad wanted this dealer murdered as a message to other dealers who might think of ripping off their baccarat rooms, but they settled for the beating.

My take: When I first performed a baccarat false-shuffle scam at the Las Vegas 4 Queens Casino in 1977, about the only thing I had to worry about was not fucking up the false shuffle! There were no cameras nor knowledgeable floor personnel to thwart me. But today, especially in Macau, cheating your casino can be very dangerous.

A lot more dangerous than the US Justice Department was to the Tran Organization!