Korean mafia hustle casinos
Cheating Casino

Two members of a large Korean organized crime syndicate which is cheating American casinos, have pled guilty to hustling Foxwoods casino out of a million dollars at high limit blackjack and baccarat.

On February 25, two Korean nationals, Mr. Young Su Gy, 60, and Mr. Wookyung Kim, 34, plead guilty to cheating Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut out of approximately one million dollars at high stakes baccarat, poker and blackjack card games. The pair were arrested on November 23, 2010 and charged with: 15 counts of cheating at gambling, 7 counts of first-degree larceny, 16 counts of possession of a cheating device, 3 counts of third-degree larceny and 7 counts of second-degree larceny. The pair now face up to 20 years in prison during next month’s sentencing.

The scam did not involve a card counting system, but a mechanical device. Mr. Gy, was using a ‘holdout-device’ while Mr. Kim caused a distraction. A ‘hold-out’ device is a mechanical gadget attached to the left forearm, which is capable of storing five or seven cards. The device, when activated, shoots out a single card directly into the player’s palm. As Mr. Gy was examining his cards at high-limit blackjack, baccarat or poker, and was about to use the device, Mr. Kim caused a variety of diversions.

Mr. Kim’s diversions, which distracted both the dealer and players, ranged from screaming after an accidental cigarette burn to slipping and falling off the stool. Since the illegal device was allegedly never used more than 10 times per day, and never twice with the same dealer, the scam has gone unnoticed until October of 2011.

On October 22, the cheating was discovered after a random audit of security video recordings by The Foxwoods Office of the Inspector General. Federal authorities and State Police were notified, and the hustlers were quickly identified through the ‘Foxwoods Player Dream Card’, which were obtained using legitimate Korean passports.

In November, State Police raided the suspect’s hotel room, after learning that the pair returned to Foxwoods, arresting the two hustlers as well as finding two additional Korean nationals inside the room. A quick investigation revealed that the two additional Koreans, Mr. Ingyu Park and Mr. Sun Jang had outstanding warrants from New Jersey for multiple counts of cheating at high stakes baccarat and blackjack games in Atlantic City. Additional evidence of possible fraud involving illegal online blackjack casinos in South Korea was uncovered and forwarded to proper law enforcement agencies.

According to law enforcement sources, all four individuals have similar mafia tattoos, which South Korean organized crime task force has identified as that of the powerful Jeolla-do Korean Mafia Syndicate. Federal law enforcement believes that the four gangster are just two units out of dozens, within the Jeolla-do Mafia, perpetrating this ‘hit and run’ hustle at casinos throughout the world. The remaining two suspects await extradition to New Jersey, and are held without bail.