Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleCasino scammers in Black Book plead guilty to cheating slots
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009 | 5:51 p.m.
Michael McNeive
William Cushing
Two casino cheats listed in Nevada's Black Book and a woman who was their accomplice in a 2006 crime pleaded guilty Tuesday in District Court for their roles in a slot machine-cheating scheme they used at several Las Vegas casinos.
William Cushing and Michael McNeive pleaded guilty to the use of a cheating device in a slot machine, and Susan Lewanda pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cheat at gambling. The trio used the scam at several Las Vegas casinos, including Boulder Station and Fiesta Rancho, in 2006.
The three are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 5, 2010.
Police reports indicate surveillance videos show Cushing and Lewanda would stand watch at slot machines while McNeive inserted $1 bills and forged them as $100 bills using the cheating device.
Cushing and McNeive are in Nevada's List of Excluded Persons, otherwise known as the Black Book, and are barred from the state's casinos.
According to Gaming Control Board records, Cushing, 57, was first arrested in 1984 and has been arrested numerous times for gaming crimes in Nevada and other states. McNeive, 68, was first arrested by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1996 and also has been arrested for gaming-related crimes numerous times, including cheating slot machines.
McNeive, who was added to the Black Book in August, was convicted of trying to cheat a slot machine at a Rite Aid drugstore in 2003. He is the 36th person entered into the list.
The Black Book was created in 1960 to battle organized crime in Nevada casinos. People can only be removed from the list if they die or if the commission determines that they shouldn’t have been listed. Anyone on the list who enters a casino or any casino that knowingly allows an excluded person to enter can face gross misdemeanor charges.
Discussion: comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
No trusted comments have been posted.
Post a comment
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Discussed
- E-mailed
- Las Vegas traffic stop leads to ‘Suge’ Knight’s arrest
- Judge: Cops won’t be barred from trial involving Metro officer’s slaying
- After $500 offer from ‘Pawn Stars,’ charity nets $12,000 for movie script
- Nick Diaz tests positive for marijuana at UFC 143
- At UNLV basketball games, they call him Tiny, and that big kid can dance
- Okada gets favorable ruling in case against Wynn Resorts
- Lawmaker: ‘Illegal immigrants bilked $4.2 billion from the U.S. taxpayers’
- Vermillion drops lawsuit against Sisolak, county
- Rise and fall of the Charity Queen: How Kathleen Vermillion gained fame
- Celebrity preview: JWoww, Sean Kingston, Ice-T and Coco, Nelly
Blogs
Elsewhere
Landowner: All roads could lead to Uxbridge casino
Revel reveals smoke-free casino opening
Cirque du Soleil show in Sands China casino to close this month
Meet the woman behind Sheldon Adelson
The Kats Report
A sophisticated look at line-moving and dog-show handicapping from Wynn's Johnny Avello
Elsewhere
Update 2: Caesars IPO pricing delayed due to "glitch" - underwriter
The Kats Report
A party replete with Carrot Top, 'AGT' contestants, a couple of Blue Men, deep-fried Oreos ... oh, and the Super Bowl (2 Comments)
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
They pleaded guilty Tuesday to a crime committed in 2006? This is 2009. What were they doing for the last three years?
"According to Gaming Control Board records, Cushing, 57, was first arrested in 1984 and has been arrested numerous times for gaming crimes in Nevada and other states. McNeive, 68, was first arrested by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1996 and also has been arrested for gaming-related crimes numerous times, including cheating slot machines."
I have a feeling that the book is about to be thrown at them, as it should be.
they now have joined Al Capone!being in the Black Book.. lol........
This would kinda open up the door for all the strip property managers too,for ripping off everyone that came through there doors?
I think this ads color to the local scene and they should be freed and given as guest appearance on csi
And what about the people hanging around in the Downtown casinos waiting for a single guy entering the restroom and then following him, pretending like they're going to wash their hands but in fact checking up with you if you care for "anything"? Happened to me at the Fitzgerald the other day. I don't know if this guy was trying to sell me some company or some of the white stuff. But it was clear he was after my green stuff. Which I didn't have to spare for pimps. I wonder if security and video surveillance is making sure that such subjects are being thrown off the casinos and also being black-booked. Those are the real dangerous guys keeping the customers away from the casinos. Since this happened, I always get a strange feeling like somebody's watching me and following me whenever I need a restroom break.
From Switzerland
Greetings
I am glad that the guys at the Golden Nugget got the situation under control to a degree that it's not too obvious how many "working girls" are relaxing by the bar right next to the poker room. A blind squirrel knows what's going on there, and I am happy that they finally took hand on it, but I have serious concern that all security guards of all properties are showing same loyality towards their employer or simply "overlook" such things after they got a little palm-greasing from these unknown "customers".
These are the things that belong to the black book, as that's the 101 business on a daily basis. Slot crooks are b-j counters are making perhaps 0.001 per cent of that business, so what's the point here?