Casino Laser Gang Off The Hook
Published: Friday, December 10, 2004 Online-Casinos.com
CASINO GANG OFF THE HOOK
Laser gang will not be prosecuted
Remember the Online-Casinos.com & InfoPowa story earlier this year about the hi-tech gang that tried to use techie gadgets to gain an edge over the Ritz land casino? There was an interesting sequel this week when the UK media reported that the accuseds will not be prosecuted....and they can keep their GBP sterling 1.3 million in winnings!
The three gamblers used a James Bond-style laser device to win over GBP 1 million at a London hotel casino, were arrested but will not face prosecution as they did nothing illegal, police said this week.
The trio who pulled off the audacious coup at the Ritz on March 16 used a laser based device to calculate where a roulette ball would land.
"All three persons that were arrested have been informed that no further action will be taken," a Scotland Yard spokesman told Agence France Presse.
"All the money detained by the police has been returned to the accuseds," he added.
Police seized the cash and froze the accused's bank accounts during a nine-month investigation into the alleged sting.
The gamblers, described by police sources as a "chic and beautiful" Hungarian woman, aged 32, and two "elegant" Serbian men, aged 33 and 38, were alleged to have used a laser scanner inside a mobile phone that was linked to a micro-computer. The scanner measured the speed of the ball as it was released by the croupier, identified where it fell and measured the decaying orbit.
The data was beamed to the micro-computer, which calculated on which section of numbers the ball would land. This information was then flashed onto the screen of the mobile just before the wheel made its third spin, by which time all bets must be placed.
Having reduced their odds of winning from 37-1 to 6-1, the trio placed bets on all six numbers in the section where the ball would definitely end up.
On the first night they won GBP 100,000, returning the next night to win GBP 1.2 million.
After the casinos security experts examined closed-circuit television footage, officers from the Police gaming squad arrested the trio at a nearby hotel on suspicion of obtaining their winnings by deception.
They were given bail but have now been told they are free to leave Britain.
Legal sources said the gamblers were let off because it was deemed they had not violated any law, since the scanner did not interfere with the ball or wheel.
