Mike Waseleski was established as being on the wrong side of the law for aiding the Tran Organization in their illicit win of $1.5 at blackjack from Resorts East Chicago Casino.

Mike Waseleski, of Hammond, Illinois, among six other defendants, was charged back in September 2009. The blackjack cheaters were busted for taking nearly $800,000 in a false shuffling scam.

The court records from the trial now suggest these people were members of a much greater crowd which originated in California in 2002. That group trained blackjack dealers from diverse casinos to act as though they were shuffling for blackjack card games and mini-baccarat even while they really weren’t. This would enable group members to memorize the card order. The members would then signal the dealers not to mix up the cards and use knowledge of the card order when placing bets. Waseleski allegedly attended such training in Houston, Texas.

Taking illicit blackjack strategy even further, the cheaters utilized secret hardware and software to monitor the playing cards. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, this system enabled the defendants to win hundreds of thousands of dollars within single sittings.

The illicit gambling crew hit 27 casinos, which also included the Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Indiana. Thus far, 41 people have confessed guilt. Waseleski will receive his sentence on March 28, 2011. He may serve five years in prison and pay a fine of $250,000. Four codefendants all pled guilty and received probation or time served.

Last March, Phuong Quoc Truong, another blackjack cheater was sentenced to 6 years in federal prison, after winning $868,000 in 90 minutes at the Resorts East Chicago Casino. This was part of a larger swindle which tallied $7 million in dubious “winnings”. Truong was also a member of the Tran Organization.