Borgata Poker Tournament Cheat To Receive Five-Year Sentence, Must Pay Casino $463,540Christian Lusardi Admits To Using Phony Chips In January 2014 Event |
|
Christian Lusardi was just indicted last month over last year’s poker tournament at the Borgata that had counterfeit chips in play, but he has already pleaded guilty to the crime.
Lusardi took a plea deal this week, admitting to trademark counterfeiting and “criminal mischief,” the AP reported. He will receive five years in prison thanks to the deal.
Apparently the charge of second-degree attempted theft by deception was dropped, which allowed him to avoid an additional 5-10 years behind bars.
The Borgata said it lost $463,540 in revenue from canceling the poker tournament and compensating customers for the ordeal, and the 43-year-old must pay the casino that amount. To make his future even bleaker, Lusardi also owes nearby Harrah’s just under $10,000 for damaging that casino’s pipes when he tried flushing the fake tournament chips down a toilet.
The chips were discovered in the pipes after guests in a floor below alerted the casino that water was dripping into their rooms. There were 2.7 million worth of tournament chips in the pipes, and Borgata staff found 800,000 fake chips in play.
Lusardi cashed for $6,814 in the tournament. He was the chip leader going into Day 2. A total of 4,814 players put up the $560 to enter. The remaining prize money was frozen after the tournament was canceled with just 27 players left, but the funds were eventually released to the players.
In April, Lusardi was sentenced to five years in prison in a separate case involving pirated DVDs. He must pay $1.1 million in fines from that.
Though the North Carolina native was a person of interest to police in 2012, authorities uncovered the extent of the DVD pirating after the Borgata incident.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
