Roulette, a laser, a cellphone and 1.3 million later

Filed in archive Casinos on December 4, 2004

Ritz blitz gambling trio keep their chipsThree gamblers who used laser technology and a mobile phone to scam a casino out of millions have been told they can keep their money

Back in March, 2004, 3 Eastern Europeans entered the Ritz Casino and began to play roulette. The hi-tech scam used a laser scanner hidden inside a cellphone. This was then linked to a computer that would compute the speed of the ball and the likely number it would finish on. The result would be returned within 3 wheel rotations - before the Croupier could say "no more bets"

On the first night, they won �100,000. They returned a second night and won a further 1.2 million pounds.

Detectives were called in, the gamblers were arrested, mobile phones were confiscated and the funds were frozen.

However, this weekend, the police have said the case has now been dropped and the 3 were handed their money back - since no laws had been broken.

This has the chance to send shockwaves throughout the casino industry - no doubt security will be increased and more video cameras installed.

However, as with all scams that pay off - its just plain ingenious!

Related Headlines:
Arrests over claims of �1m Ritz casino scam