Here, this one’s on the house
Two employees – or former employees – of Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland have been arrested for allegedly engaging in a scheme to steal $27,000 from the casino. Unlike other incidents in which casino staff implemented scams, Sonejah Richards and Allen Hill were not table game dealers but rather VIP hosts.
According to The Baltimore Sun, the two created fake casino rewards accounts, put comps onto the rewards cards, and then gave those cards to players. The same two players received the cards each time Richards and Hill churned out more rewards.
Richards loaded comps onto 30 rewards cards in February. The free slots play and fraudulent winnings enjoyed by the two yet-to-be-named players totaled over $20,000. Hill loaded up 20 cards in March, costing the casino $7,300.
The motive for the scheme has not been made public, but the casino believes that all four people involved benefited. If one were to guess, the players probably cashed out the winnings and other possible rewards and gave a portion of it to Richards and Hill.
The two players have not been charged yet, but Richards and Hill are facing both felony and misdemeanor theft and identity-fraud charges.
Money, money everywhere
As mentioned, casino employees ripping off their place of work is nothing new. Just like gamblers will try to cheat the casino, so will workers. There is a lot of money right there for the taking, and there is always that temptation to try to take advantage. It’s not ultra-common – employees don’t enact schemes every day – but it happens enough that it’s not surprising.
This past March, former JACK Cleveland Casino poker room dealer Jason Saliba pleaded guilty to stealing chips from the pot. In September 2024, a player believed he saw Saliba pocketing chips. One would not normally expect to witness this, so the player must have been confident about what he witnessed, as he reported it to the casino. Casino staff looked at security footage and confirmed the player’s observation.
An Ohio Casino Control Commission investigation found that Saliba stole chips 14 times in a one-month period. Because the total was for less than $1,000 – he dealt low-stakes games – the theft charge Saliba faced was just a misdemeanor.
The 14 incidents, though, each counted as fifth-degree violations of state gambling laws. After all was said and done, five of the gambling charges and the theft charge were dropped and Saliba pleaded guilty to nine misdemeanors. As part of his guilty plea, Saliba avoided time behind bars. He is banned from the casino and must pay a fine.
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