SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - Authorities have charged a man with cheating a Massachusetts casino out of $30,000 by by distracting poker dealers, the state attorney general’s office said.
Daniel Ruiz, 38, of Holyoke, was indicted last week by a Hampden County grand jury on charges of larceny and cheating or swindling, the office of Attorney General Maura Healey announced Monday.
Ruiz went to the MGM Springfield casino several times over about three weeks in January and February where he played the four-card poker tables, Healey’s office said. He devised a scheme to distract dealers in order to discreetly bump up his wagers when he determined he had a winning hand, authorities said.
The scheme was identified through a joint investigation by the Massachusetts State Police and the attorney’s general’s office, which both have investigators dedicated to uncovering casino cheating schemes.
Ruiz will be arraigned in Hampden Superior Court at a later date. It was not clear if he had an attorney.
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