Forty four year old Phuong Quoc Truong, otherwise known as Pai Gow John, will be sentenced this week for his role as the leader of a card-cheating ring. Truong could spend up to twenty years in prison once his is sentenced in a San Diego court room this week.

Truong was the leader of the gambling ring that took almost $7 million from twenty five different casinos. There were thirty members of the cheating ring and they focused mainly on the game of baccarat. The members of the ring focused on the false shuffle. The leaders of the ring would find dealers who would work with them and they then taught the dealers the skill they needed to do the false shuffle.

The dealer would be taught to create a slug. In the first deal the recorder would determine the order of the cards and during the next deal the dealer will keep a group of cards separate, which is called the slug. The members of the ring would then bet on the next card to appear from the slug deck.

It was in April 2008 that Truong plead guilty to conspiracy and racketeering. He agreed to forfeit some of his property which was worth almost $2.8 million.



- 2009-09-02