Poker Writer
A husband and wife couple from Kazakhstan were arrested in Sydney, Australia, after being accused of using hidden cameras to cheat at one of the city’s casino resorts. Staff at the Crown Sydney Casino became suspicious after the couple had won over $1.2 million AUD ($786,000 USD) and caught them using a spy camera hidden inside the woman’s shirt.
Alisherykhoja Israilov and Dilnoza Israilova reportedly came to Sydney in October from Kazakhstan. They applied for membership to the casino the very same day. They visited the casino multiple times over the next few weeks, accumulating winnings of over a million. That raised the initial suspicions of the casino staff in the Barangaroo neighborhood casino.
Logistics of the Cheating
36-year-old Dilnoza was wearing a camera hidden inside the graphic portion of her Mickey Mouse t-shirt, according to New South Wales Police. Her husband, 44-year-old Alisherykhoja Israilov, had a magnetic probe and a mirror attachment for a phone, which were also allegedly used to rig games, although no specifics were given regarding that part of the plan.
The spying devices were allegedly connected to the couple’s cell phones, allowing them to get images of the table from an angle that revealed the faces of the cards. They were simultaneously using hidden earpieces to communicate, so one could let the other know what bets to make. Casino cheating expert Sal Piacente recently demonstrated, in collaboration with WIRED, how to conduct a similar scheme.
Although the focus there was on a rigged card shuffler, not spy cameras, the final step of the execution is similar in concept. The cheating is too obvious if the player is checking their phone before betting. So, cheaters often work in pairs, with one receiving the information and signaling to the other, who is making the bets.
New South Wales police summed the alleged scheme up as follows:
With their mobile phones capturing images of the table, the pair communicated using deep-seated earpieces through which they received instructions to wager on various card games and ultimately cheat the casino.
Third High-Profile Cheating Incident This Year
This cheating scandal is similar to one from Northern Indiana in June where six Chinese nationals also used phones and hidden cameras to win over a million across ten casinos.
Then, of course, came October’s indictments of 31 people for cheating at poker and sports betting, including several prominent figures in the NBA. The targets there included individual gamblers as well as commercial sportsbooks.
Authorities charged the Kazakh couple with “dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception,” a particular subtype of fraud in Australian law.
Authorities do not currently suspect that the conspiracy extended to individuals other than the couple. They are not actively seeking any other individuals related to the fraud.
The casino victimized in this cheating scandal is the picturesque Crown Sydney Casino on the coast. It is the tallest building in Australia’s largest city and sits on the harbor, making it a high-end, luxurious destination.
Image Credit: 芳蘭 徐芳蘭 via Wikimedia Commons (license)
