A gambler at a Columbus, Ohio casino recently received a sentence of nine days in jail for cheating a local casino. He is the first person in Franklin County without a previous criminal record to go to jail for this offense since the casino opened.

Under Nevada law, it is unlawful to cheat at gambling. Cheating can take different forms. It can include playing the slots with counterfeit coins or, in the Ohio case, quickly adding more chips to your pot when you see that you’ve won your hand.

Always assume that casinos have cameras monitoring the activity at every table. Nevertheless, there are still defenses to a charge of cheating, including:

• It was an innocent mistake: For example, you accidentally used a foreign coin in the slot machine, which got mixed in with all the American coins you were using to play the slots.
• There isn’t enough evidence against you: For example, the casino claims that you added chips to the pot when you saw that you had blackjack, but you assert that your stack of chips fell and that you touched only those chips; if the camera evidence is unclear, you cannot be convicted beyond a reasonable doubt.

Penalties for cheating

Cheating is a felony under Nevada law. The penalties depend on whether you have prior convictions:

• First offense: One to six years in prison, or a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
• Second (and subsequent) offense: One to six years in prison, with an option for the court to add a fine of up to $10,000.

The court is not allowed to grant probation or suspend the sentence if it is a second or subsequent conviction.

Because cheating carries the possibility of both prison time and a felony conviction, it is imperative to obtain the skilled representation of a Reno criminal defense attorney.