Couple from Kazakhstan allegedly defrauded Sydney’s Crown Casino

• A couple from Kazakhstan was arrested recently because of allegedly cheating at Sydney’s Crown Casino
• The couple was discovered to have used small cameras to track cards and roulette spins, although the mode of cheating was not clarified
• The man is yet to appear in court and be charged, with the casino reportedly losing more than AU$1m to the couple

Casinos don’t mind big-time winners, but they do mind being taken for fools. This is probably what happened in the case of a married couple from Kazakhstan who visited Sydney’s Crown Casino and won more than AU$1m from the property before the casino realized that it had been cheated.

Fool me once – shame on you

Dilnoza Israilova and Alisherykhoja Israilov were arrested last week. Dilnoza was brought to court on Friday and charged with "dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception." Her husband is due in court on December 11. Police only released information about the proceedings on Sunday.

Back when the arrest occurred, New South Wales police were called on-site and took the couple away after it was discovered that the Israiolovs had used a small camera concealed in a Mickey Mouse T-shirt and earpieces to communicate between each other and take advantage of the casino.

Interestingly, it was casino staffers who noticed the camera, despite its small size and concealment. The couple first came to Australia in October and immediately applied for a membership at the casino, suggesting that they had supposedly concocted the whole plan at home.

The discovery of equipment specifically tailored to facilitate their ruse is further evidence, with their wins totaling $1.18m. Police summed up the affair as:

"With their mobile phones capturing images of the table, the pair communicated using deep-seated earpieces through which they received instructions to wager on various card games and ultimately cheat the casino."

The Ismailovs would use their cameras to scan the tables and receive feedback on what to play next to maximize their chances of winning.

However, the publicly available information does not specify the exact nature of cheating. Did they couple of times roulette spins to predict where the ball would land, or were they counting cards?

Can you beat casinos – only if you are Niko Tosa?

No details were released, but police had enough evidence to bring them all the same, discovering devices both on their person as well as in their accommodations. Gamblers who try to beat casinos through dishonest methods are not always caught.

One Niko Tosa has been eluding even the savviest casino experts for many years now – possibly over a decade. Tosa is said to have been able to predict where a roulette ball would drop and won unknown amounts from the game.

He, however, has never been declared a cheat. Tosa was in fact arrested in London, the United Kingdom, but no fraudulent devices were found on his person. He is perhaps the biggest mystery casinos have faced.

Image credit: Unsplash.com