HOLYOKE — A city man has pleaded guilty in connection with a scheme that netted him more than $30,000 in illegal poker winnings at MGM Springfield, according to Attorney General Maura Healey’s office.
In a statement, investigators said Daniel Ruiz, 41, pleaded guilty March 24 in Hampden Superior Court to one count of larceny by single scheme and one count of cheating and swindling. He has been ordered to serve two years of probation and must pay back $30,025 to the casino.
According to the attorney general’s office, Ruiz is the first person ever indicted for cheating at a Massachusetts casino.
Charges against Ruiz followed an investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Gaming Enforcement Unit at MGM Springfield, with assistance from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the attorney general’s Gaming Enforcement Division, and Springfield Police.
According to investigators, between Jan. 29, 2019 and Feb. 14, 2019, Ruiz, while regularly playing Four Card poker at MGM Springfield, would ask dealers to break a high value chip down to smaller chips.
Ruiz would hand the high value chip to the dealers and then, by using sleight of hand, discreetly add to his existing bet in the game, increasing his winnings — a technique known as “bet-capping.”
Ruiz was ultimately caught when MGM staff observed him cheating at the game via their surveillance system, according to investigators.
The Gaming Enforcement Division of the attorney general’s office, under the state’s Expanded Gaming Act of 2011, investigates and prosecutes gaming-related financial crime, organized crime, corruption and money laundering, including most criminal activity occurring at the state’s casinos.
Steve Pfarrer can be reached at spfarrer@gazettenet.com.