Last Thursday, for the first time in a decade, the Nevada Gaming Commission held an evidentiary hearing to consider the revocation of a gaming employee’s license. And that hearing resulted in poker dealer Jesus Saucedo having his registration stripped for stealing chips from pots.
Saucedo was a poker dealer at the Bellagio, but it was what he did while a dealer at Bally’s that was the subject of the hearing. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Commission agent A. Alan Vaughn was questioned by Assistant Attorney General Michael Somps. Vaughn said that on June 17th, 2017, Saucedo took a $5 chip from the chips set aside for the casino’s rake and put it in his toke (tip) box. Vaughn said that video showed Saucedo “curling his fingertips around the chip and moving it near the rake pile before sweeping into a box used to collect tips from players.”
After looking at the tape, Bally’s called in regulators to investigate further, who saw two other hands from the same day where it appeared that Saucedo stole $5 chips. For his part, Saucedo claims he didn’t steal any money intentionally. He admitted that he did put one of the chips in the toke box, but it was by accident; with the others, he said he moved the chips to the rake.
“My mistake was not following the proper procedure. It was not my intent to steal from my previous employer,” Saucedo said at the hearing.
The commissioners didn’t buy it and Commissioner John Moran, Jr. let Saucedo have it:
I think you cheated the game. I think you cheated your employer and, consequently, you cheated yourself because I think you’re a very skilled and good employee except for the fact that you cheated. … I don’t think this was your first rodeo. I think you’ve been doing this a long time. I wish we had facts for that, but we don’t. But I don’t need anything else than your admission and what I saw on the affidavits. I’m going to believe what I saw.
The Bellagio suspended Saucedo Thursday and will end his employment since he has lost his registration.
It is somewhat interesting that Saucedo was able to get a job at the Bellagio after leaving Bally’s. Though a complaint against him was filed in October, he was able to maintain his registration until last week’s hearing. He apparently resigned from his position at Bally’s after he was found out, possibly a small favor from the casino in exchange for a) not getting fired and/or b) not taking a poker dealer job elsewhere. Obviously, Saucedo did seek poker employment elsewhere, but whether or not that was contrary to an agreement he had with Bally’s, we don’t know.
Saucedo does have the option to appeal the ruling and can ask for another hearing in a year, if he so chooses.
