Five Busted in French Poker Scam

While some of the world’s best poker players compete at the World Series of Poker Europe in Cannes, five people were arrested Thursday for a cheating scandal that took place in the Les Princes des Cannes casino there this summer.

In total, three Italian poker players and two casino employees were taken into custody Thursday for participating in a marked cards scheme that netter them nearly $90,000 in winnings.

The scam worked through the use of invisible ink. Each card was marked, and the employees were able to slip the cards into the packs. The players then wore infrared glasses to the tables, allowing them to see the ink that other players could not.

"In a way, these players saw through the cards," a judicial source said, according to an Associated Press report.

The first visit by the three Italian players resulted in a win of $60,400 in August. The win was large enough to attract the attention of casino officials, who alerted police.

By the time the group attempted to run the scam again, the police and casino personnel were prepared. Although the three players won over $27,000 on their next visit, they were apprehended before they could leave the facility. In the end, the three players were arrested, along with one employee from the casino, as well as an employee from a casino in Nice.

According to newspaper reports, the Italian players were “linked to serious organized crime.” Details of the scam were being sent to all European casinos, so that it could be determined if the group had attempted to run similar scams in other locations as well.

At the moment, details of the investigation or the methods used to catch the scammers have not been released, due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.