Indiana Casino Player Facing Jail Time Over Slot Cheating

A casino player in Indiana is facing up to 30 months in jail over an allegation he fraudulently allowed someone else to collect his slot winnings so as to avoid the cash being commandeered for delinquent child support payments.

Juan Darnell Anderson from the small Henry County town of Middleton is thought to have won $2,065 on June 21 while enjoying one of the 1,700 slots hosted by Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in the nearby city of Anderson. The Palladium-Item reports the 49-year-old punter subsequently asked for the cash to be immediately disbursed via a ‘hand pay’, which requires authorization from an ‘electronics game attendant’.

Sham Success

However, state law mandates such winnings can only be handed over following checks with the Indiana Child Support Bureau to ensure a triumphant player does not have any outstanding child support payments.

An investigator with the Indiana Gaming Commission revealed Anderson is thought to have attempted to get around such a probe by swapping seats with a woman later identified as his wife immediately after hitting the slot jackpot. 

The official disclosed footage captured inside Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, moreover seems to suggest the suspect punter beckoned his spouse by means of a mobile phone call before moving on to a nearby machine and leaving her to claim the new after-tax windfall of $1,461.

Effective Examination

The Indiana Gaming Commission explained it withheld the immediate payment of this jackpot while the ensuing investigation saw Anderson charged in Madison County Circuit Court 5 with the level six felony of aiding, inducing, or causing cheating on a gambling game. 

The regulator divulged the defendant’s winnings were seized after checks determined he owed slightly over $17,400 in delinquent child support.

The Palladium-Item reports Anderson’s wife admitted when questioned to not winning the slot jackpot before going on to fully confess her role in the rouse after being informed it was a crime ‘to claim winnings to which you did not make a wager’. 

For his part, the defendant purportedly told the Indiana Gaming Commission he had allowed his spouse to take his place at the machine because she ‘enjoys winning jackpots’.

Vibrant Venue 

Opened as a pari-mutuel racing facility in 1994 before going on to add slots some 14 years later, Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino also hosts more than 30 gaming tables offering roulette, blackjack, craps, poker, and baccarat entertainment. 

Situated approximately 40 miles from downtown Indianapolis, the 110-acre Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino is one of 13 casinos in Indiana, which last year employed approximately 38,000 people and turned in aggregated gross gaming revenues of almost $2.9 billion. 

Considerable Consequences

The Palladium-Item reports Anderson, who does not have any prior convictions in Indiana, was charged by officials in Madison County on July 18 before a warrant for his arrest was issued the following day.

 Those found guilty of level six felonies in Indiana can be ordered to pay a fine of as high as $10,000 and serve a maximum of up to 30 months in a county jail.