Croupier in Wolverhampton roulette ruse stole £16,500
A croupier who was addicted to gambling stole more than £16,540 from the casino where he worked.
Shaun Pace turned to crime after a losing streak left him without money to buy Christmas presents for his children, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
The 27-year-old agreed to let a punter win regardless of the spin of the wheel on the roulette table where he was based, said Mr Marcus Kraehling-Smith, prosecuting.
Pace, who had worked at the Rubicon Casino in Temple Street, Wolverhampton city centre for nine months, paid out if the person lost and gave him over the odds if the bet was successful.
The scam was spotted by the compliance manager during 'player tracking' in which CCTV cameras are monitored to check that customers and employees are behaving legitimately.
Mr Kraehling-Smith said: "A serious discrepancy was quickly noticed. Money was being paid on bets that had not won."
Police were alerted and Pace was arrested at his workplace the following day, January 5. He admitted striking a deal with a customer in which they had agreed to split the profit.
An investigation identified a total of 119 suspect transactions between the pair from December 13 to January 1 involving £16,540. Pace admitted the offence but claimed no more than £12,000 had been taken and maintained he had personally received just £1,300 of this.
Mr Mohammad Hafeez, defending, explained: "He was desperate for money at the time of the theft. He has a gambling habit. He needed cash to buy some Christmas gifts for his children."
Pace from Bassett Road, Friars Park, Wednesbury, was sacked but has found another job on the night shift of a soft drink firm where he does not handle cash, said Mr Hafeez who added the defendant was also receiving help to kick the gambling habit.
Pace pleaded guilty to theft by an employee and was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months with 80 hours unpaid work.
