No, not the slang name for online giants PokerStars, but rather a poker club in Houston, Texas – JokerStars Poker Room – which has uncovered a cheating scam involving RFID cards and a hidden card reader.
The bare-faced attempt to cheat a highstakes poker knight at the social poker venue was revealed by PokerNews this week, when three players – former club employee Carlito, and two of his guests, Marcelo and Ivan – were caught on camera following a security review.
CCTV footage showed Carlito swapping out the unattended dealer card tray for one from his backpack. This new deck was RFID-enabled, and a card reading device was then used to see card values in real time.
When JokerStars’ General Manager Jason Marshall confronted Carlito about his involvement in the cheating scam, he at first denied doing anything wrong. However, a search of his backpack revealed the card-reading machine and he eventually fessed up to being part of the scam.
In emails, reportedly from Carlito, he apologised, explaining: “I just got dragged into the system. I admitted that I made the wrong decision. I apologize to Jerry [club owner Jerry Yen] and everyone else. I owned up to my mistake and am ready to pay penance.”
Carlito added: “At the end of the day, I know I shouldn’t have done what I did and will never do it again.”
According to the man behind the cheating scam, he only made $400 from the card-reading racket, but claimed he had $2700 confiscated by JokerStars towards compensation to players affected.
A statement released by the club explained: “All money lost from this incident was returned and given back to the players affected.”
It continued: “We are deeply saddened by Carlito’s actions … this is a huge disappointment not just to us but the entire poker community.”
Meanwhile, the two players Carlito personally invited to play in the game, Marcelo and Ivan, fled the club before they too could be questioned over their roles in the scam.
Carlito – a former employee and ambassador for the club – was immediately banned for life from the JokerStars Social Club.
The scam has echoes of Postlegate, in which Mike Postle was variously believed to have concealed a card reader in his crotch and/or in his baseball cap that could read the live feed from the RFID-enabled cards and table.
This week’s Houston scam comes just weeks after another Texas poker room foiled a plot to introduce counterfeit chips into their cardroom.
As we reported last month, the counterfeiters attempted to introduce the fake chips by sending people into the club in order cash them. The culprits were caught almost as soon as they attempted their brazen fraudulent scheme.
The TCH reminded its patrons: “Remember, the only way you should get your chips is to purchase and cash them in directly at one of our Texas Card House clubs. This way, you can guarantee their authenticity and help protect the integrity of the DFW [Dallas Fort Worth] poker community.”
