Alleged cheats at Bally's casino in Evansville arrested
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EVANSVILLE — Two separate investigations by the Indiana Gaming Commission netted two arrests in Evansville this week, both of which involved alleged schemes to cheat at Bally's Casino & Hotel.
The first arrest occurred Monday when officers booked 42-year-old Luis Manuel Garcia Segoviano at the Vanderburgh County jail on one count of cheating at gaming, a Level 6 felony.
On Thursday morning, officers booked 81-year-old Albert Walls, of Cecilia, Kentucky, into the jail on two counts: cheating at gaming and misdemeanor theft. He's since been released.
According to court records, Segoviano stands accused of orchestrating a "jackpot switch," in which a person who wins at a slot machine pays another casino patron to collect the jackpot in exchange for a cut of the funds.
In Segoviano's case, investigators determined he staged the switch in order to avoid paying state and federal taxes.
Walls, who has had a warrant out for his arrest since Oct. 4, allegedly purchased a set of stolen Bally's casino chips that he later attempted to use at a roulette table.
An attempt at a 'jackpot switch'
On Sept. 8, a player at Bally's attempted to cash out a $1,322 slot jackpot, but there was one problem: The player owed back child support, and under state law, he could not collect the winnings.
At this point, the would-be jackpot winner is alleged to have made a confession to Bally's staff. The $1,322 did not truly belong to him, he explained, according to a probable cause affidavit. It belonged to Segoviano, who paid him $100 to cash out the jackpot.
The alleged scheme, according to state statute, constituted an illegal jackpot switch.
A manager at Bally's promptly notified the Indiana Gaming Commission, which in turn began its own investigation and conducted interviews with Segoviano and the man he is alleged to have paid to collect his winnings.
Segoviano denied knowing what a "jackpot switch" was, a gaming commission agent wrote in his arrest affidavit, or that it was illegal.
According to Segoviano's testimony, his excitement at hitting the jackpot enticed a nearby player to inquire about his big win. During a conversation with the other player, Segoviano said he offered the man $100 to cash out his winnings.
"I asked Segoviano why he offered (the man) $100 to claim the jackpot because it would be easier to claim it himself," the state investigator wrote. "He said that if he claimed it, he would have to pay state and federal taxes ... He was just trying to save money."
What the other man involved in Segoviano's alleged jackpot switch didn't know was that had he been able to collect the $1,322 on Segoviano's behalf, he would have been stiffed with a $242 bill in federal taxes: more than double what Segoviano had agreed to pay him.
When gaming commission agents pointed this out to Segoviano, he reportedly replied by stating, "They like cash."
The other man, however, apparently did not take well to the idea he would have paid Segoviano's taxes for him.
"I told him that he would have to pay approximately $300 in taxes for claiming the jackpot for which he was only going to be paid $100 to claim," the state investigator wrote. "He was visibly upset. He did not know he would have had to pay federal taxes and that the taxes would have been higher than what he received."
According to court records, Segoviano posted a $445 cash bond and was released from the Vanderburgh County jail with an order to appear in court.
Stolen chips lead to Kentucky man's arrest
Walls' arrest came almost two months after an agent of the Indiana Gaming Commission accused him of "cheating at gambling" as a Level 6 felony.
It started just after midnight on Aug. 26, when a Bally's surveillance officer claimed the 81-year-old had been "in possession of black non-value roulette chips that had been found to be stolen," and that he attempted to use them at a roulette table.
According to the probable cause affidavit in the case, Walls left Bally's but later returned to the casino floor just before 2 a.m. The agent took him to a gaming commission office and asked about the chips.
Walls reportedly said he'd purchased 19 chips from a "friend" for about $10 on the casino floor. He didn't know they'd been stolen, he claimed.
He identified the friend – who hasn't been charged in the case – and agents tracked the man to a vehicle sitting in the parking garage.
The friend, 43, reportedly said he'd "swiped" the chips from a roulette table and quickly sold them to Walls in the bathroom. He also said Walls knew the chips had been pilfered and bought them anyway – contradicting the story Walls gave to the agent.
The affidavit doesn't say why Walls wasn't arrested that night. According to jail records, he was released Thursday on $500 bond.
