Blackjack dealer first to be convicted of cheating a casino

Monday, Feb. 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Investigators said Dong Ok Lee of Portland was "dumping his tables" - letting customers win by dealing out of turn and showing his "hold" card before all bets were made.

Lee, 34, was sentenced to 10 days in jail and five years on probation, and ordered to pay $1,500 in restitution to the casino at Grand Ronde.

Surveillance cameras mounted throughout the casino followed Lee as he moved from table to table. A group of five players who were winning followed Lee, and were paying larger than usual tips.

"Typically, all the customers don't get up and follow the dealer to his next table," said Polk County deputy district attorney Mark Heslinga. "This time they all followed him. His tin cup was overflowing."

It was only a matter of time before somebody was convicted of cheating Oregon casinos, said Joe Smith, director of the Grand Ronde Gaming Commission and a former investigator with the Nevada Gaming Control Board,

"You don't ask 'if' this will happen, you ask yourself 'when,"' Smith said.

A tribe in Washington lost an estimated $1 million in just a few days when it was hit by a dirty dealer-card cheater combination, he said.

Slipping marked cards into several decks, the cheaters were able to bilk the house quickly. The addition of one extra card can skew the odds in favor of the patrons by 14 percent of more, Smith said.

At Spirit Mountain, there have been three other fraud cases involving employees, but nothing as serious as Lee's theft. There have been 50 other cases throughout the state, but no other Oregon casino has yet dealt with a case involving more than $750.

Capt. Greg Willeford, director of the Oregon State Police gaming enforcement section, said crimes against Oregon casinos have been under-reported.

"We believe that cases like Lee's involving internal theft and scamming are going on more than we know," he said. "Either a tribe's surveillance staff isn't trained enough to spot it, or the tribal government is afraid to report it for fear it might make them look bad."

Six Oregon Indian tribes run casinos, and three others have the option. The Grand Ronde recently signed a new agreement with the state that is seen as a model for future discussions with other tribes.

The Grand Ronde agreement expands the kinds of games offered at the Spirit Mountain Casino and directs 6 percent of net gambling revenues to community programs.