GRAND RAPIDS, MI Aug 7 2013 – In just one weekend, Joe Michael Koster took in nearly $10,000 playing video poker at Kewadin Casino Hotel & Resort.His luck has run out.
The government says Koster cheated the Sault Ste. Marie casino by using a “light wand,” a device that blinds coin payout sensors in gaming machines – and causes machines to pay out winnings far in excess of what was actually won.
The device has been around for years. It has also been used on slot machines.
Koster and five others have been indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and theft from a gaming establishment on Indian land, according to recently unsealed indictments filed in U.S. District Court.
The government said the scheme began in July 2009, and ended June 25, 2011.
Koster used a light wand – a tiny light and camera battery - on video poker machines, the government said.
“By using this device, defendant Koster tricked the video poker machine into paying out winnings well in excess of those to which Koster was entitled,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Lochner wrote in the indictment.
The government said Michael Leo Patterson, Cheryl Rose Steinsiek, Vannessa Dale Robb, Bruce Kirby Robb and Jeffrey Paul Neighbors helped Koster. They allegedly acted as lookouts for casino security workers, or as “blockers,” to prevent passers-by, security personnel or security cameras from seeing Koster using the light wand.
The others allegedly cashed out winnings at the casino cash cage, or made travel arrangements. Many traveled from Oklahoma, records said.
Koster and others stayed 52 weekends – Thursday to Sunday – during the two years the alleged crimes took place.
The indictments did not state the total amount the government believes to have been stolen, but noted three weekends when thefts ranged from $8,686 to $9,987.
The casino is operated by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell.
Source-mlive.com