Crazy Gambling Stories From The Month Of July

The gambling world can sometimes produce really off-the-wall stories. Every month there are plenty of cases of individuals going to extreme lengths to pay back debts, or of simply bizarre behavior at casino properties around the globe. It can be entertaining and sometimes sad.

July was no exception, as there was plenty that happened in the casino world.

Here’s a look at some of the most colorful and noteworthy from the month that was.

Man Robbed Of $35,000 Blames Casino

A man who was robbed at home of more than $35,000 in gambling winnings sued the Ohio casino where he won the money, arguing a cashier should have issued him a check instead of cash. Police said the man was robbed at gunpoint of the stack of $100 bills when two armed men woke him at home hours after he left the Hollywood Casino Columbus with his winnings.

Italian Poker Star Kills Self Over $600,000 Loss

Italian poker star Alessandro Bastianoni was found dead inside a luxury apartment in Miraflores, Peru this month with reported gambling debts of $600,000.

His death appeared to be a suicide by poisoning, according to local media. Bastianoni’s body was discovered by his partner Yeinni Ospina, who lives in Colombia, media said.

She last spoke with him July 6 and went searching for him after losing communication.
“He told me he’d lost a lot of money and I could hear a profound sadness in his voice.”

Police Bust Russian $1.5 Million Per Day Gambling Chain

Russian police have broken up an illegal gambling operation that brought in daily earnings of 50 million rubles ($1.5 million), the Interior Ministry said in July.

“Police exposed a group in Russia whose participants organized gambling games on the Internet under the guise of bookmaking activity in violation of Russian legislation,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Man Left Mom At Casino While Robbing Bank

Coushatta Tribal Police arrested a man who robbed a bank and briefly escaped with an undisclosed sum. The American Press reported that accused, of New Orleans, was booked with first-degree robbery and felony theft following a robbery of the IberiaBank in Kinder. Allen Parish sheriff said the robber indicated he had a weapon, but never showed it to the teller.

Court Rules 540-Pound Blackjack Dealer Doesn’t Suffer From Disability

A 540-pound blackjack dealer was unsuccessful in his disability discrimination appeal before the state Supreme Court as the court found his obesity was not a disability.

Andrew O., the petitioner, whose full name was withheld by the Court due to the discussion of his medical records, was hired as a blackjack dealer by Mardi Gras Casino and Resort, the respondent, on April 29, 2010. Mardi Gras is owned by Racing Corporation of West Virginia.

The petitioner was required to wear a company-supplied uniform consisting of a long sleeved tuxedo shirt, a bow tie, an apron, and black pants. The casino also required the shirts to be tucked in with the sleeves buttoned at the wrists.

OK Casino Closes Suddenly, Leaving Workers Without Paychecks

A power struggle between factions of the Apache Indian Tribe of Oklahoma has spilled into the operation of an Anadarko Casino operated by the Tribe. About 60 employees of the Silver Buffalo Casino say they were supposed to get paychecks but didn’t. They say the casino gave them each $200 in cash, but that doesn’t come close to covering what is owed to them.

Man Grew Cannabis In Order To Pay Gambling Debts

A man who ended up in debt through playing poker was onto a loser when he agreed to look after a cannabis farm to try and slash his dues. Police went on to discover plant material which would have yielded more than a kilo of cannabis.

Plants were also found in a downstairs room of the property in Martinique Drive, Darwen, with the remains of other plants being seen in a garage there.

‘Desperate’ Gambler Blamed Toddler For Phone Theft

A gambling addict caught stealing a mobile phone from a shop assistant blamed a sleeping toddler for the theft, a court has heard.

North Surrey Magistrates’ Court in Staines was told Glen Healy stole from shops two days in a row to feed his gambling habit in the hope a big win would provide for his family.

However the bench was told that down-on-his-luck Healy lost more than he won, leading him to the thefts on June 13 and 14 in Staines.

Nun Gets 90 days In Jail For Gambling Theft

The thefts weren’t just a one-time crime. Instead, they followed a long-term pattern of a Catholic nun’s systematic stealing from two churches and their parishioners.

Those crimes included taking money from the weekly collection basket, depositing checks made out to the church into her personal bank account and carrying on a campaign of dishonesty for five full years, all to feed her gambling addiction, authorities said. That’s why Sister Mary Anne Rapp, a 68-year-old Catholic nun from Lewiston, is going to jail after having pleaded guilty to stealing almost $130,000 from two churches.

Judge Rules Casino Waitresses Can Be Fired For Gaining Weight

In late July, Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Nelson Johnson ruled that waitresses at a New Jersey casino can be fired for putting on weight, potentially setting a dangerous precedent for other workplace discrimination cases, experts said.

The 22 women behind the suit, known as the “Borgata Babes” targeted a policy at the Borgata casino that barred them from gaining more than 7 percent of their original body weight

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