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StumblePolice: Planet Hollywood supervisors netted $2,201 in scam
Four arrested after suspicious employee tipped off resort
Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 | 11:46 a.m.
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The four Las Vegas Strip resort casino supervisors and managers who were charged in an alleged plot to take phony jackpot payoffs netted a total of $2,201 in two days, according to police reports.
Nevada State Gaming Control Board agents arrested the four men at Planet Hollywood after months of investigation and a tip from another employee who became suspicious, said David Salas, deputy enforcement officer for the board. The investigation is continuing, Salas said.
Jonathan Sanner, Jason Peterson and Thomas R. Kordick, all of Las Vegas, and Scott Marshall of Henderson were arrested Aug. 21 by Gaming Control Board officers and Metro Police, Salas said.
The four are charged with felony crimes including theft, forgery and conspiracy to commit theft, according to police reports.
The four worked in pairs on Aug. 14 and Aug. 15 in the Planet Hollywood poker room, where "high hand" jackpots sweetened the payouts on 26 different hands, Salas said. If a player got one of those 26 hands, he or she would get a higher payment.
The four men are alleged to have controlled the forms required to fulfill the three layers of documentation needed before the resort paid a player for the special hands, Salas said.
"These four were working in concert to generate false documents to embezzle their employer," Salas said.
To work the scam, according to arrest reports, Sanner and Peterson made up three false names who had "won" a special poker hand on Aug. 14. Marshall and Kordick did the same for one fictional player on Aug. 15.
The men were in charge of signing off on the payouts and had access to the cash payouts.
Surveillance staff at Planet Hollywood noticed that none of the fictitious players -- with their fake names signed on forms by the men arrested in the scam -- had ever played poker, police reports said. Video footage also showed Kordick creating a $487 "high hand" jackpot on a Planet Hollywood record log. Then Marshall, as supervisor in charge, signed off on the payout.
Marshall is alleged to have taken $400 from the payout at Kordick's direction, keeping $100 for himself and giving Kordick $100.
Marshall claimed that Kordick falsified the "high hand" poker log to ensure the poker bank balanced at $120,000.
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They will spend 50x that much on lawyers.
Typical of the brain trusts running these casinos.
Stupid is as stupid does. Lose your job, your freedom, and any chance at future employment for $400. Talk about cheap thrills.
Crooks have never been known to have common sense.
$2,201.00. Yeah, crackedbeak, stupid is as stupid does. If you're gonna do something like this, at least get more than what it costs to put gas in your car for a month, and maybe some groceries. Ruined lives over an amount of money that Mom can win at Bingo or playing maxline and coins on a penny machine.
For a measley few hundred four guys took the risk of losing everything including years of freedom and the honor of getting to know OJ who did a similar thing for a few footballs and some old USC socs. How stupid does it get? Lovelock is smelly, the food is always room temp. and served with apple juice or milk and NO pricacy on or at the stool. This is what they want I guess? The days of wine and roses, steaks and stuffed trout, sourdough garlic bread and meatballs with truffles are gone. This is crazy. At least they can get autographs from the Brentwood Butcher.
Im glad they got caught and hope they spend decades in prison. That should teach them. This time it was only a couple of grand but they have been stealing for years I 'll bet. These are the kind of guys that sneak food out of a buffet to eat later. Not so long ago these guys would have been planted in the desert for something like this. Im sure they will get whats coming to them in prison however because the casino's still run this town they will get punished.
i snuk food from a buffet. do i haf to go see OJ too?
I don't believe it for a min. Why? would the gaming board spend several months and a lot more money to catch a group that only stole $2,201.
Nope there's more to the story I think the casino's want to play this down so they wont lose business on account of these criminal employee's.
The Casino should reward the employee who brought this to there atten. And Promote this as a positive public relations program to protect the player's jackpot money.
.........Wow a lot of (p)'s in that sentance...........
Correction " Sentence "
I agree, casinokid..more here than meets the eye..
"Why...(for)$2,201?"
I think, as LasVegas2009 speculates, this is only what they got them on. The racket has probably been on-going. Good to know the authorities are doing their jobs. Bad to know the kind of lowlifes who actually have these important casino jobs. This cues my daily mantra: Las Vegas must diversify from its gaming-only economy.
casinokid,
Are you serious? If you are, let me explain. The GCB acted on a tip from another PH employee; they spent a limited amount of time and money investigating the case; whatever time and money spent was well spent as it will deter further instances of cheating/embezzling in the future and reassure the gambling public that the games in NV are regulated.
Now that's not saying there isn't more to this story....there may indeed be and also, I agree that the whistleblower should be rewarded by the casino. In the old days he might have to fear some retribution, I hope that isn't true today but many people would look the other way and not get involved!
it said the scam was going on for months before they were arrested. the $2201 was just two days worth of stealing. they stole many thousands of dollars before being caught.
I was hopeing that the casino's could at least try to make it look like they were policeing from within by taking the employee that reported it seriously, And bringing in the GCB into the loop.
Poker Jackpot money belongs to the players and not to Planet Hollywood. The players got ripped off by not getting lower payoffs.
Sometimes, when I see these apples at the buffets that are more green than nature can ever make them, or more red than they could possibly be by nature, I decide to "snuk" one apple from the buffet, too. Just to eat it later. But I swear that I never planned to snuk heavy stuff, such as a slice of prime rib wrapped in paper or a chicken breast for my dog. I think under such conditions would I qualify for low punishment and only short imprisonning? :))))
I suspect there is a whole lot more to the story than we are hearing right now.
The authorities have these guys in four separate rooms, playing one against the other.
Just like any other criminal, they are going to talk to save themselves.
There is no knowing where this trail might ultimately lead.
Lastword- You are forgetting the float. If these casinos are holding $120K for payouts like the article says, they are making about $3k in interest off it. Do you think that ever goes back in the payout pool? Now think about Stations where they have a guaranteed $150K. One primary and two backups plus smaller pools for each casino.
A whole $2,201.00? Gasp! I suspect there is more to the story than is being reported here.
Scams are despicable and scammers need to punished to the fullest extent of the law!
I admit I have taken both Prime Rib & Steak from buffets but never for myself, only for my dog as he couldn't join me at the Buffet. As for the thieves, they will get what they deserve and I hope they get "Big Bubba" as their cell-mate. Maybe one of them can be OJ's B*tch!
*Yawn.
What I've heard:
Former Security Officer at Planet Hollywood wanted to continue getting his cut. They didn't want to pay him since he's no longer working there. He went to the police for retaliation.
What is Planet Hollywood doing? Where did they get these loosers? I cannot imagine that the pool of applicants for those jobs was so low that they had to go with the lowest of intellienge? Kinda makes ya wonder about HR departments and their "awesome" applicant screening processes! Just maybe they need to rethink who they may have eliminated!
I never liked Planet Hollywood. The New Aladdin was great, especially the early days of the London Club where we once had a very lucky night and were given a great suite for free for 7 days! It was cool but those days are over. And now? Planet Hollywood is trying to make things better. Obviously they can't . It's too big and too noisy. You must be a special person to like such a gambling factory. I will play elsewhere.
Greetings from Switzerland
They'll probably spend more time in prison than a murderer or rapist. Nevada has never treated casino cheaters lightly. There are still undisclosed graves in the desert of those cheaters of the 50s and 60s.
would be something to switch off the airconditioning from May to August, just to make sure the inmates of this poker room scam will not feel cold......
The gaming industry is highly regulated and this is an example of why. Planet Hollywood did a good job ferreting these bad apples out. Pundits who knock the industry try to sound profound but characteristically think small. This industry is key to the well being of ALL who live in the state. Shame on these bad guys - they knew better and will now never work in the industry again and will certainly have to find other work outside of LV.
I am curious. I won a high hand jack pot there a about the same time this occurred. I was on vacation from Germany. Does anyone think the pay out should have been bigger for me since they took money out of the jack pot? I won $436 that day for my high hand... thank you