Poker Players Caught Cheating at Grosvenor Casino
Five poker players have pleaded guilty to allegations of cheating at the popular Grosvenor Victoria Casino in central London. The incident took place between the 4th of April and 2nd May 2014, with the gang collecting £33,600 (€44,663) through the scam.
The group of Turkish men used a method of card-swapping under the table to swindle the casino. During successive games of three-card poker, two players proceeded to switch cards to make a winning hand, whilst third distracted the dealer and another acted as lookout. The cheating scheme allowed the group to quickly rack up thousands of pounds in fraudulent winnings.
The first day of the trial at the Old Bailey last week saw Ergun Yasar and Tarik Nergiz, both 33, plead guilty to the charge of conspiracy to cheat. The other co-accused – Murat Kolcak, Ozgur Aytekin and Ali Kuyar – have already pleaded guilty to the charge.
Judge Charles Wide adjourned the sentencing of all five men until the 9th February 2016, stating that he would not be ruling out a possible jail sentence and that there should be “no promises, no expectation” due to the seriousness of the offence. Yasar, who is based in Tottenham, and Nergiz, from Hackney, both currently remain on bail.
The Grosvenor Victoria Casino is on the Edgware Road in the heart of London, and is one of the UK’s biggest and busiest gambling spots. It provides casino and poker 24 hours a day, all week. Being part of the Grosvenor Casino Group, it hosts events during the annual Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) which is one of the UK’s major live poker tournaments. It was established in 2007 and has run successfully for eight consecutive seasons, providing competitive live poker opportunities for players throughout the UK . There is another tour scheduled for 2016, with the first leg due to begin in six days.
