Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleState Supreme Court throws out mother, daughter slot cheating convictions
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.
CARSON CITY — A mother and a daughter, each convicted of more than 30 counts of slot cheating in casinos in Clark County, have drawn some relief from the Nevada Supreme Court.
LaVonna Wallace and her daughter Stephanie Balsamo were accused of using a cheating device to bilk the slot machines at Nevada Landing, Gold Strike and Whiskey Pete’s casinos in 2006.
The two were accused of using an instrument with a light to manipulate the machines and get unauthorized payouts.
The mother was convicted of 43 cheating and burglary counts. The Supreme Court ruled there was insufficient evidence to uphold the convictions on 22 of the cheating counts.
The court invalidated 15 of the counts of use of a cheating device because it was never seen in Wallace’s possession at the machines that were allegedly cheated. And seven of the 12 counts of possession of a cheating device were thrown out.
The daughter was convicted of 36 counts of cheating and burglary. The court said there was insufficient evidence to support 15 of Balsamo’s convictions for use of a cheating device, described about the size of a short coat hanger with a light attached.
Balsamo was not seen in the possession of the unit at the time the alleged cheating was under way.
Security officers testified that one of the women would insert the device into the machines to draw the payout. The other woman would place a pack of cigarettes over the payout meter to hide the combinations on the slot machine. A purse was placed top of the payout chute to conceal the maneuvering, they testified.
The Supreme Court rejected the argument that the errors denied the women a right to a fair trial.
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
- Two dead after accident in downtown Las Vegas
- Superstar Whitney Houston dies at 48
- Instant Analysis: Debating whether UNLV should continue series with San Diego State
- Police looking for man in white Ford Explorer
- Dining Guide: 2012 Valentine’s Day options in Las Vegas
- Four people injured in car accident
- Color from the scene at Thomas & Mack Center: We have a wire job! Rebels win, and Louie Armstrong sings!
- Blog: Justin Hawkins’ steal seals UNLV’s thrilling 65-63 victory against San Diego State
- After Nevada and Florida wins, Mitt Romney trying to prove he’s ‘severely conservative’ to CPAC base
- UNLV makes key plays down stretch to hold off San Diego State 65-63
Blogs
The Kats Report
Color from scene at Thomas & Mack: We have a wire job! Rebels win, and Louie Armstrong sings!
South Point owner Michael Gaughan's take on 'Vegas Stripped': 'I'll give it an 8' (4 Comments)
Author relishes writing the life story of ‘larger-than-life’ Oscar Goodman (3 Comments)
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 Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Wait a minute.. WHAT???? Don't the casinos have camera systems which catch these cheaters using devices? How could these convictions have gone this far? How much of our tax dollars were wasted in the court proceedings against these two women? UNBELIEVABLE !!!
I agree with environprotector. What a waste of time and money.
yeah - toss them in jail next to OJ. Guess in 2006 you could cheat - not anymore the machines are too smart.
The cheating took place at Whiskey Pete's. Not exactly an MGM level of security there.
Just steal the whiskey from pete...not his money!
cheat the casinos by saving your money.
Whiskey Pete's, not exactly an MGM level of security there. Hit that nail on the head adam. It is even worse when terrible herbst took over, and brought in a new director of security that was canned from NLVPD for DUI.
I've read this article 3 times, and what I can't figure out, is were any of the comvictions upheld? I think that almsost half the convictions were upheld for both women, but the story never says that. It also never says what their original sentences may have been, and if any of the sentences were still in effect. In other words-are they still guilty of something associated with these acts and are they still in jail or paying fines?
What is the Nationality and immigration status of these people? I want to see there pictures as well.
Why do you want to see there (sic) pictures? Do you think there (sic) Hispanic? Or are you just lookin for a date with someone smarter than youself (sic)?
lol @ StanG
It was probably a remote garage door opener.