Man Pleads Guilty To Cheating MGM Casino Out Of $30,000 In Four-Card Poker

A Holyoke, Mass. man has pleaded guilty in connection with a cheating scheme that netted more than $30,000 in illegal poker winnings at MGM Springfield.

Daniel Ruiz, 41, has been ordered to pay full restitution to the casino, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Friday in a press release. Ruiz is the first individual to have been indicted with cheating at a Massachusetts casino.

Ruiz pleaded guilty in Hampden Superior Court to one count of Larceny by Single Scheme and one count of Cheating and Swindling.

Following the plea, Judge Edward McDonough ordered Ruiz to serve two years of probation with the condition that he pay $30,025 in restitution to the casino.

The state described what scheme as follows: “While playing poker, Ruiz repeatedly used a strategy whereby he would ask dealers to break a high value chip down to smaller chips. Ruiz then handed the high value chip to the dealers, and using a slight of hand, discreetly added to his existing bet in the game, increasing his winnings. This is known as ‘bet-capping.’ He was ultimately caught when MGM observed him cheating at the game via their surveillance system.”

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