Two Men Plead Not Guilty to Baccarat Cheating

Two men have pled not guilty to accusations that they cheated the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. The two men, both from New York City, allegedly worked with dealers to cheat the casino out of more than $150,000.

The two men, Leonard Hu and Hung Leung, reportedly worked with dealers Jian Ng and Bong Louie. Police claim that the dealers marked the 7, 8 and 9s in the show at mini-baccarat tables. The dealers and players were all charged with felony casino cheating and larceny in New London Superior Court.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Hu and Ng had met each other at the nearby Foxwoods Casino, also in Connecticut. Hu asked Ng to mark cards for him in exchange for a $1,000 bribe each night. Hu and Leung went on to win $153,600 in one overnight session in February. The players won another $30,100 a week later, and had booked several other winning sessions prior to those nights.

Reports about the cheating case do not explicitly say how the players and dealers set up their cheating scheme. If the players used the marked cards to know that the next card to come would be a high card before a hand was dealt, it’s possible that the players may have used that information to tilt the odds in their favor. The dealers marked the cards by bending them using their thumbs. Police said that Ng admitted to marking cards at least eight times, though he was not certain if other dealers had done so as well.

According to reports, there have been no statements on the case made by either Mohegan Sun or the players or dealers involved in the case. The case is scheduled to continue in court on August 2.