Sands Bethlehem Dealer Arrested for Overpaying Players

Jul 2016

Dustin Jermalowicz | POSTED IN Blackjack | 1 COMMENT

A blackjack dealer at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has been arrested and charged with overpaying players at the game he was working.

Sergio Sanchez-Ramon was charged with the crimes this week as he reportedly caused the casino to lose more than $2,275 in wagers to players. That number is totalled from surveillance that took place from June 12-14th of this year when Sanchez-Ramon erroneously paid out more than he was supposed to on Toke wagers, which are treated as tips to dealers.

The defendant was arraigned on charges of theft and unlawful taking with intent to defraud. He was given a bond of $5,000, of which he posted 10% and was released.

While the charges against the dealer certainly look bad, it will be interesting to see how the state builds its case. It seems that a case could be made that the dealer was inept, and simply didn’t know what he was doing, and it is not certain whether those actions rise to the level of criminal intent in the state of Pennsylvania.

The Keystone State is currently undergoing a period of transformation for the gambling industry, as there is currently a bill in the Senate that would allow players to gamble online. The state is facing a lot of competition from neighbouring states, which have moved to integrate online gambling or have cut back taxes on land casinos.

Online blackjack will update this story as more developments arise.