Two men who cheated a Pittsburgh casino by marking cards have avoided a prison sentence. Serdar Ozmen and Bahri Sahpolat appeared in court on Wednesday and have to serve two years of probation for their crimes. The gamblers, who reside in Maryland and California, were at the Live! Casino Pittsburgh when they played Mississippi Stud Poker and won more than $12,000.
Security personnel at the casino noticed irregularities while looking at surveillance footage before confiscating their chips, and law enforcement apprehended the pair on charges of using a cheating device, criminal trespassing, receiving stolen property, and theft. Ozmen and Sahpolat had remained in custody since their arrest and didn’t plead guilty to any charges. Besides the probation period, they can never re-enter the casino. They can complete an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program as they are first-time offenders, which will get rid of the trespassing charge.
In a statement about the cheating incident, Live! Casino Pittsburgh spokesperson Tom Meinert explained how staff detected the wrongdoing through “sophisticated security measures” and immediately contacted the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and the Pennsylvania State Police.
The two men who marked cards while gambling at a casino in Pittsburgh have managed to avoid prison time despite winning over $12,000 through their cheating tactics. Serdar Ozmen and Bahri Sahpolat, hailing from Maryland and California respectively, were caught by casino security personnel using surveillance footage to detect irregularities in their gameplay. As a result, the men were apprehended on charges of using a cheating device, criminal trespassing, receiving stolen property, and theft.
Following their arrest, Ozmen and Sahpolat were held in custody but did not plead guilty to the charges brought against them. Instead, they were sentenced to two years of probation and are prohibited from re-entering the casino where the cheating took place. Additionally, as first-time offenders, they have the option to participate in an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program to have the trespassing charge dismissed.
The Live! Casino Pittsburgh spokesperson, Tom Meinert, highlighted the casino’s swift response to the cheating incident, citing the use of sophisticated security measures that enabled them to detect the wrongdoing promptly. The casino immediately notified the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and the Pennsylvania State Police upon discovering the cheating tactics employed by the two men.
Overall, the case of Ozmen and Sahpolat serves as a cautionary tale for individuals looking to cheat at casinos, emphasizing the importance of stringent security measures in place to detect and prevent fraudulent activities. Despite their attempts to mark cards and gain an unfair advantage in their gameplay, the two men ultimately faced legal consequences and are now obligated to comply with the terms of their probation.