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objectid=14076264&method=full&siteid=50143
RITZ CASINO HIT BY £1.3M LASER SCAM Mar 22 2004
Three arrested over roulette 'sting'
By Jeff Edwards, Chief Crime Correspondent
A HI-TECH gang may have taken one of Britain's most exclusive casinos for £1.3million in an amazing sting.
Two Serbian men and a "beautiful" Hungarian woman are alleged to have used a laser scanner to predict the spin of a roulette wheel at the Ritz casino in London last week.
It is claimed the device, hidden in a mobile phone, was linked to a micro-computer which calculated where the ball would drop.
As the ball was spun, the information was delivered back to the gamblers by pushing a button on the phone and bets were placed before the third spin of the wheel, which is allowed.
Police arrested the trio at a nearby West End hotel for "obtaining their winnings by deception" after the casino became suspicious.
On their first visit, the three won £100,000, but they scooped £1,200,000 the following night.
When the group left the club, they were given £300,000 in cash and a cheque for £900,000.
But after reviewing tapes from surveillance cameras, the club, which is underneath the Ritz Hotel, called in police.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Clubs and Vice Unit, which investigates casino con tricks, seized the cash and several mobiles.
They are being examined and now Scotland Yard's Serious and Organised Crime Squad has taken over the investigation.
Yesterday, a senior police source said: "Casinos allow gamblers to place bets during the first three revolutions of the wheel. The three were betting in this narrow window.
"The device can't predict the exact number, but it does reduce odds from 37-1 to possibly 6-1.
"The trio is made up of two Serbian men, aged 39 and 34, and a very chic and beautiful Hungarian woman of 33."
They have been released on police bail until the end of the month.
There is no offence of "cheating" at a casino, but, under a Gambling Bill to go before Parliament next year, any attempt to use outside influences would be an offence.
A senior source within the casino industry said: "There have been rumours about a device that could compute the rate at which the speed of a roulette wheel and the ball degrade for several years.
"But there has been no hard evidence before that such a device has ever been used.
"Whether it is a crime at all is a moot point because the scanner does not actually interfere with the wheel or the ball.
"In the end, the only thing that the Ritz may be able to do is refuse to allow them in."
The casino refused to comment.
objectid=14076264&method=full&siteid=50143
RITZ CASINO HIT BY £1.3M LASER SCAM Mar 22 2004
Three arrested over roulette 'sting'
By Jeff Edwards, Chief Crime Correspondent
A HI-TECH gang may have taken one of Britain's most exclusive casinos for £1.3million in an amazing sting.
Two Serbian men and a "beautiful" Hungarian woman are alleged to have used a laser scanner to predict the spin of a roulette wheel at the Ritz casino in London last week.
It is claimed the device, hidden in a mobile phone, was linked to a micro-computer which calculated where the ball would drop.
As the ball was spun, the information was delivered back to the gamblers by pushing a button on the phone and bets were placed before the third spin of the wheel, which is allowed.
Police arrested the trio at a nearby West End hotel for "obtaining their winnings by deception" after the casino became suspicious.
On their first visit, the three won £100,000, but they scooped £1,200,000 the following night.
When the group left the club, they were given £300,000 in cash and a cheque for £900,000.
But after reviewing tapes from surveillance cameras, the club, which is underneath the Ritz Hotel, called in police.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police Clubs and Vice Unit, which investigates casino con tricks, seized the cash and several mobiles.
They are being examined and now Scotland Yard's Serious and Organised Crime Squad has taken over the investigation.
Yesterday, a senior police source said: "Casinos allow gamblers to place bets during the first three revolutions of the wheel. The three were betting in this narrow window.
"The device can't predict the exact number, but it does reduce odds from 37-1 to possibly 6-1.
"The trio is made up of two Serbian men, aged 39 and 34, and a very chic and beautiful Hungarian woman of 33."
They have been released on police bail until the end of the month.
There is no offence of "cheating" at a casino, but, under a Gambling Bill to go before Parliament next year, any attempt to use outside influences would be an offence.
A senior source within the casino industry said: "There have been rumours about a device that could compute the rate at which the speed of a roulette wheel and the ball degrade for several years.
"But there has been no hard evidence before that such a device has ever been used.
"Whether it is a crime at all is a moot point because the scanner does not actually interfere with the wheel or the ball.
"In the end, the only thing that the Ritz may be able to do is refuse to allow them in."
The casino refused to comment.