LAS VEGAS — According to court records, the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s investigators said that three individuals cheated at least three Las Vegas Strip casinos out of
tens of thousands of dollars while playing table games similar to poker.
Pogos Simityan is accused of engaging in fraudulent activity at a gaming facility, cheating while gambling, and engaging in fraudulent activity while gaming. Records showed that the Las Vegas Metro Police had detained him on a warrant on Monday.
Pogos Simityan
Vahan Sudzhyan and Gevorg Avagyan, the other two accused, agreed to plead guilty on charges of conspiring to commit a crime. Both of them had prior arrests.
On July 4, 2021, the casino manager at Paris Las Vegas alerted the Nevada Gaming Control Board that Simityan, of California, and the other two suspects “were actively bending cards during their games,” according to documents from the investigation.
According to investigators’ testimony in court documents, “card bending is a type of cheating where a player bends the corner[s] of playing cards one way or the other based on their values.” This allows a player to determine the dealer’s hole card’s value based on how it is laid out on the table.
According to court documents, the casino manager informed investigators that Simityan was engaging in a game of poker and “began bending all face cards and aces to obtain an advantage during their engagement.”
Investigators stated they also discovered the same three suspects “were bending cards the day before at Planet Hollywood.”
Vahan Sudzhyan
Investigators claim that the group, which included Simityan, made off with more than $126,000. Investigators stated that Simityan had “cashed out roughly $60,000 in gaming chips earlier during his games.” According to the investigators, the games in question were Let It Ride and Mississippi Stud.
After watching a video of the defendants playing at the table, Paris security personnel detained them, according to the investigation.
All face cards and aces on both decks were bent either inward or outward in reference to the [front] side of the playing card that is not numbered, according to gaming board employees, according to the investigation.
Simityan experienced chest pain while doing their inspection, therefore he went to the hospital.
According to detectives, on July 5, the Wynn Las Vegas called the gaming board to report that “they had likewise been a victim of the identical card bending scam and suspects.” According to court filings, the group “cashed out about $19,000 as a result of their illicit conduct” at the Wynn.
According to court filings, when investigators proceeded to Simityan’s hotel room at the Wynn, they discovered that he had “abandoned his hotel room.”
Simityan was arrested on Monday, and a judge ordered him to avoid casinos until his next hearing.
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