Gambler glued vouchers together to con casino, investigators say
A man is in custody more than a year after investigators say he glued two vouchers together to place a fraudulent wager at a Las Vegas casino.
Yisahk Betremariam, 37, is facing charges of burglary and committing a fraudulent act in a gaming establishment.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Betremariam tried to play a $500 free bet voucher at a craps table on April 4, 2018, at SLS Las Vegas, 2535 Las Vegas Blvd. South, but was rejected by a floor supervisor, who said the voucher was given to Betremariam’s friend and could not redeem it.
Betremariam returned to the same craps table nearly five hours later and bought in for $300. A short time later, according to the report, Betremariam showed his $500 voucher and attempted to use it. The table allowed him to use it, and he won his next bet. He played one more roll and then left the table.
When an employee tried to enter the voucher into the casino’s computer system, it would not validate. It was then discovered that part of a voucher for a free buffet with Betremariam’s name was glued over the $500 free bet voucher.
The affidavit said Betremariam and his friend had been flagged by casino dealers and staff as “shot takers,” often trying to “scam the casino out of money by complaints or purposeful game errors.”
The investigator also said in the report that Betremariam had several arrests in Clark County for first-degree burglary and grand larceny.
An arrest warrant was issued in August, and Betremariam was detained Tuesday. He is scheduled to return to court for his preliminary hearing June 27 at the Regional Justice Center.
Contact Tony Garcia at tgarcia@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307. Follow @TonyGLVNews on Twitter.