How I Scammed a Casino to Win BIG | Statute of Limitations hosted by Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino | Forensic Files

hey it's your boy Mike The Situation Santino welcome to statute of limitations it's the ultimate lineup
it's Cooks this is not my fault that I stole this car it's conmen this is my chance I can be rich for life it's w to
be kingpins we all made together $500,000 and queen pins it was basically a lounge of
criminals these are stories of the nonviolent lucky punks and Robin hoods that Dodge the law I could have gone to
prison not jail prison because here's the situation baby it's only a matter of time before the statute of limitations
is up and technically you might walk away scotf free but don't take a from me guys I'm obviously no lawyer this is
statute of limitations what's up I'm Mike The Situation stino and we have a situation
welcome to a show where we find folks who Once Upon a Time committed a crime coming up on this episode a guy in Las
Vegas who found a way to beat the house hey every time that never happens and a crazy man gets pulled over with enough
weed stashed in his Dash to feed an army of Willie Nelson's now we go to Vegas where a
cleancut kid suddenly finds himself with an ace up his sleeve or so he thought here's what happened when he decided to
cheat the odds and the law meet Shan my name is sea and over 10 years ago I cheated a Vegas casino out of some
money the statue of limitations is up and now I'm ready to tell my story I live in Las Vegas and what people don't
know is that the people that live there don't actually gamble that much growing up um I've always been kind of a square
my family was in the hospitality business and I was more into the technical uh things like engineering and
that's what I was interested in I wasn't a fun guy at the party and I never really broke any laws my buddy Bill he
got me um a gag gift and what he had done is he he found out weighted uh roulette ball in a pawn shop and he
thought it might be funny due to the fact that I don't gamble you know my engineering side started kind of
thinking about with the weights and how it could be controlled when I started studying up on it a bit um doing some
reading I thought maybe that might be something it would be cool and maybe I can use
it I decided to go into a casino and kind of look around and see how things work um I started going in there not
really betting much but mostly watching and seeing you know how how the dealer interacts how things kind of work and
trying to figure out you know the best approach it's not something that I normally would do it became intriguing
to me and I I I thought that it might be interesting to try to pull this thing off I understood that you know if I'm
going to try to do this it's not going to be in a in a casino that has a lot of security but maybe one that's maybe off
the strip I started casing it out more and more reading more and more because I got to figure out how I'm going to be
able to uh switch a ball potentially I thought to myself the best way I would be able to switch the ball if the dealer
was distracted so I went and I got Bill he's a little crazier I had to do a little bit of convincing I mean it is
kind of you know cheating it's it's it's it's stealing money from a casino I kind
of told him what I've been doing you know he decided okay let's try it out so he comes in and we start looking
at casinos more and more the plan was is he was going to be this Rowdy Gambler placing these wild bets on the other
side of the table and you know just try to make as much commotion as he possibly
can and at which point you know I would just go in there and change change it out we started doing that we started
going to tables uh we're spending some hours there placing little bets dealer was never really distracted as much as
we needed him to be or we'd have some other Gambler come up and he would come behind me or a waitress would come by
and ask us for a if we needed a drink either way there was just never the opportunity to be able to do the switch
and you know I was really scared to begin with it's like it was very nerve-wracking I didn't want to get
caught again I'm a very straight guy we kept doing this for a while you know over the next few weeks and and Bill he
you know he started getting pretty frustrated with it I mean we were there just losing money essentially and there
came to a point where he just you know he's got up you know he walked he got up he's like I got to I'm done with this
this is just it's not going to happen and we're just risking too much you know I I don't want get caught with it this
and that so he leaves and I said you know what I'll stay at the table and I'll just uh I just gamble
a little more I don't know just see if maybe someone else comes up and maybe they'll distract them and I I don't know
um and I was sitting at the table on one of the spins the ball flew off the table it hit the ground and I thought to
myself wow this is this is my opportunity so I mean I've been there I've seen the
way the process works and all that I knew that I I was prepared so I literally just went to the
replaced it with my ball that was it I was scared to death about it um and they start spinning the ball and they're
using my ball now which is I mean it's a win I mean I'm super shocked I'm excited
scared a lot of things all at once right uh so they start spinning the ball and from you know the way that I had
calculated that I'm going to be able to better my odds was based on this weighted ball so what happens is
wherever the dealer starts at when they spin that ball on the number that they spin that ball it's going to go around
four times and I know based on my calculations and the weight of the ball that it's going to land within let's say
four or five Ines of a number group so all I need to do is see where he starts it right and then I know where to
calculate these four or five numbers and then while it's spinning is when I place
bet so I tried that a couple times and it just it was working it wasn't perfect because there's a four or five in I mean
that's what three or four numbers so I was winning and winning and winning and I went and found bill and I
told him I go look I was able to switch it he didn't he didn't really even ask any questions like he was like how did
you do it it's like don't worry about it let's get back to the table we get back
to the table we start placing bets he knows the deal of you know the 4in 5 in space that it needs to fall in and he
knew the numbers that he needs to start betting on and we start just placing placing chips chips Stacks just keep
getting higher and higher there was just a lot going on and a lot of winning obviously we're getting a lot of uh
attention from others in the casino pipes start looking around so they came in and decided to pull pull the dealer
you know this whole thing you know switch out the dealer maybe it's a luck thing uh they switch them out bring
another person in a young lady and in she starts doing it and we're winning more and more and more we got up
about about $6,000 total and this is a small small Casino so these are huge numbers there was a point that they
actually had to switch out the chips they ran out of chips they had to bring more uh you know there's people around
us they're placing bets over the top of ours I mean it was just it was it was chaos and you know these sacks are just
getting bigger and they're getting bigger and we're getting fired up and the more you the more you win the more
you want and like everyone's around me and everyone's cheering like it just fires you up you know and we're we're
thinking to ourselves I mean how much how far can we take this how far can we take this you know because I'm thinking
I'm loving this winning feeling because I'm not just I generally don't win I don't
gamble the pressure grew because of all this money or all these chips that I have in front of me and at that point it
started kind of hitting me where I'm like wow there's a lot going on now and I am breaking the
law next thing you know I get a tap on the shoulder I heard like this low voice say
Excuse me sir and I'm thinking what's going on you know there's all these people around I I don't know who it
might be right so I turn around it's a Pit Boss this is it right now I'm on the radar I'm busted
I'm caught it's over what are the odds if sea Gets Busted probably very high guys The House Always
Wins if this is going to get me in jail guess what the Situation's going to do out of here the Streets is
Watching we're back with more statute of limitations our boy sha is playing with
house money and an illegal ball at a Vegas roulette wheel he's been winning chips and over fist that is until the
Pit Boss starts getting super suspicious then you guessed it things get dicey just
watch so I turn around it's a Pit Boss and he's like hey can I help you out and can I get you something you want
to take a break I'm thinking oh sh clearly I was a VIP but for all the wrong reasons the guy is just trying to
ask me to step away from the table so he could ask me more questions I'm thinking so with that um I said no thank
you I said I'm fine for now I'm just going to play a couple more hands and I think I'll be leaving uh he accepted it
um maybe I don't know uh he did walk away though I was able to do a couple more bets which I did um I did on
purpose do a couple losing bets just so my winning streak would kind of uh subside because it's been going for so
long and and I'm clearly on the radar so um play placed a couple more bets lost and decided this time to walk to the the
cashier I leave the table first I'm not going to leave with Bill we're not full speed together that walk was so long you
know I take these chips and I'm I'm just walking to the the cashier and I'm thinking to myself at any moment like
I'm going to get a tap on the shoulder like Hey sir can you stop for a minute uh that's just going through my head it
was a long long walk I get there I'm still thinking there's you know we're at the Cashers and people are looking at me
and I feel like they're looking at me you know there's a lot of pressure I got a lot of money and again I'm breaking
the law so um I was able to get my chips uh cashed and I was able to just walk out and get to the car but when I got to
the car it felt great you know closed it up sat there thinking holy smokes what I
what have I just done I got away with this this is craziness you know and now I'm thinking to myself I left bill in
there you know and Bill he's a little crazier than I am so I'm thinking you know I don't want him to make too big of
a scene I don't want him to make a mistake cuz essentially if he gets caught then eventually you know it might
lead back to me um plus he's my friend I still want to get him in trouble you know I sat there and I probably waited
there for I don't know maybe another 40 minutes or so uh and I was getting nervous at that point and I'm thinking
you know what he was caught uh and I'm thinking maybe I should leave maybe I shouldn't stay I didn't know what to do
at that point you know and then next thing I know there's a there's a knock on the window and I'm thinking this is
it and it was Bill um he did place a couple more large bets he did push the envelope a little more I think he told
me he made like a $1,000 bet made a ton of money on one and then he realized that it was time to
go so you know he took his money and he excited to cash out luckily so Bill gets
in the car um and I'm thinking we got to get out of here so we start driving away
I remembered I had the roulette ball in my pocket and I said you know what just this I rolled down the window and I just
chucked it I just wanted no more part of it um I'm sure everyone there scratching
their heads of how we did it but we did it and it got done um and you know that that was pretty much the end end of the
story it's not something that I would do again but when it was happening it was awesome obviously Shawn hasn't seen
casino because he would know not to cheat the house but he waited out the statute of limitations Shawn may have
that little white ball but he also has big brass ones for cheating the house now it's time for a pretty heavy story
from a guy in a ton of trouble well maybe not a ton more like 20 lbs because that's how much weed he has stashed in
his Dash driving through Arizona plus he also had a gun that's enough to earn him
anywhere from 10 years to life in prison let's me Joseph what's up man my name is
Joe I committed a crime in Arizona but I beat the statue of limitations and now I
can tell you the story so I'm start off from the top me and my boys we used to run weed from
California Arizona we run about 10 20 lbs every other week we make about uh 10 racks 10 grand running jugs is simple
you just got to have a good car you got to have a stash spot you got to look good and that's it this time it didn't
work out as it's planned all right so I'm doing my mental checklist I'm running this batch we got to get the
vehicle ready we got to get the weed ready and we ain't taking no bull we're taking fire we're taking that c cush we
got to pack it tight so we're pin it in you got to surround wrap this like 10 times surround wrap it surround wrap it
tight you got to lay on it you got to put your shoulder on it you got to get small bricks it's real cushiony but you
got to get it real small and then when you get it real small you can you can fit about 10 across the dashboard 20 lb
but I got to lay air freshener all across the top and all across the bottom and then you throw a little bit of chili
powder on the floors and stuff so when the dogs come to smell they sniff the chili powder and they they go
crazy so boom we locked everything in tight got the stash spot make sure it works but the stash spot they only open
up if you turn the ignition and pick the roll down button and then boom the dashbo pops out license plates are good
tags are good we're ready to roll there's a strap in the back seat but I got to tell
it was perfect I'm taking off I'm getting close to the destination spot and um I get lit up the car pulls me
over I a I ain't sweating it dude the car's legit I'm Legit Spike hair green eyes white boy they ain't telling
me so boom he ped me over and I'm like What's Up officer is there a problem say yeah there's a problem you need to get
out the car sir boom he pulls me out the car and I'm tripping dude I got a gun in
the car I got weed I got about 10 20 lbs in the dashboard I don't know what's going to [ __ ] happen
and he pulls all this my pockets he throws me in the back of the vehicle I already know when he put you in the car
and he pull everything out of your pockets there's something going on he's like yeah uh just's a warrant for your
arrest I arrest for who I for Mario Mario Gonzalez I was like do I look like Mario Gonzalez to
you and he's like no sir but the car is under Mario Gonzalez I said well I'm not
Mario it's my friend named Mario and I'm just using his car can just tell like you know I could tell you could smell
something but I don't know if he smells it or not sudden he calls her backup and
then all of a sudden I see another officer roll up he looks at me then he looks at the car
and they go in they start searching out of it I already know it's bad they're looking for Mario I'm not Mario there's
a gun in the car there's a bunch of weed in the car dude I'm in the back seat I don't know what's going on it's getting
weird cops are showing up should I should I take a run for it should I should I just go the car's not in my
name how about I just hit the cop door and just take a run for it could I beat them like I know they're not going to
find the weed cuz I got it in a stash spot there's there's a button under the steering wheel it's it's super clean
they a find that but the gun was under the seat in the middle so I see them and they're searching the vehicle oh my gosh
literally the gun was right here in the middle and I got a cop and their knees were right here and they're like looking
through the back behind like the seats and all they had to do is move their knee over about a half a foot while
they're tearing through them trying to throw them off I'm like don't forget the Gul compartment don't forget the Gul
compartment I'm like oh the key for the glove compartment is on the keys so I'm like trying to throw them off get them
away from the gun cuz their knees getting close like this is over with I'm going to
going to jail they're going to find the gun they're going to find the weed and they keep searching they're searching
all of a sudden I see him pull out a bag and it says gun bag they found the gun it's over with
going up State M own Joseph is definitely in the hot seat but when the heat is on he
keeps his cool and that's what you're supposed to do we will see how Joseph gets out of this situation
next welcome back to satet of limitations our boy Joseph is all gas and no breaks he's in the back of a cop
car right now praying the cops don't find the 20 lb of Wheat and the gun he has stashed if they do he could be
looking at a lifetime in present oo hey this is going to be good but the gun was
under his seat in the middle so I see them and they're searching the vehicle I'm like a literally the gun was right
here in the middle and I got a cop and their knees were right here and they're like looking through the back behind
like the seats and all they had to do is move their knee over about a half a foot
while they're tearing through I'm trying to throw them off I'm like don't forget
the glove compartment don't forget the glove compartment I'm like all the key for the glove compartment on the keys so
I'm like trying to throw them off get them away from the gun cuz their knees getting close like oh this is it's over
with I'm going to going to jail they're going to find the gun they're going to find the weed and they keep searching
they're searching all of a sudden I see them pull out a bag and it says gun bag they found the gun it's over with
going Upstate and I see him he took the gun bag and he P the property that he took
out of my pockets inside the gun bag I was like was it a gun he just didn't have no other bags and he used the gun
bag to F my property in they come back in the vehicle they're like U the car ain't your name so we're going to
impound it but you're going to have to go down to the station you got to pay a fee uh you just got to go get your car
out of the impal and you're free to go I'm sitting there I'm like I know they're going to hit the car again with
the dogs and super search it and start RI seats up tearing apart the tow truck driver comes I see him pting the car up
you know he got to give me the eye and I know when he piss the car up cuz he's booving over the doors they put on a
flat B he's pulling it and I see him looking up the side he sees that button and he kind of looked at me and then he
look back and I'm like is he going to say something to the police like he was going to tell or keep the weed for
himself the fool was Tatty he had tats on his neck I can tell he's with the business so I was like ah so boom he
took the car didn't say nothing when we go back to the station some them that they're stressed out then I'm do
push-ups I'm drinking water I'm like it's over with you know you know should I call my mom what should I do you know
who should I call I don't know what's going to happen and the next thing you know after an hour later I've been
stressing I'm like go trying to get a phone call they come out they say you're free to go you just got to go get your
car at the tow yard and that's it so boom I go to the tow yard I get over there I get my keys boom soon as I check
the spot weed's G I make the call to Mario I'm like bro I got hit your car had a warrant on it
for my arrest what do you want me to do dude they took the weed I still got my gun what you want me to do oh you owe me
10 grand you owe me 10 grand I was like I don't I'm got 10 grand what do you want me to do with the 10 grand I'm on
my way back I don't know what's going to happen I still got my gun so whatever Rec say something might happen not in
his Direction so boom we're going I pull over I'm like dude I got anything to drink this is this is this day is been
crazy so boom I go to the bar have a drink dude I'm missing a bunch of cash I still got the gun I got the
car coach truck driver gots all the weed the hell am going to do and then guess what happens I look over and who's
playing pool the tow truck driver all I got to say is when had a crazy life was running weed back and
forth from California Arizona I don't recommend it to no one and um you know I changed my life and uh you're probably
going to hear more stories from him you got to love the statue of limitations God Bless
America wait did the toe guy get smoked I have more questions than I have answers right now and I'm sure you do
too wow that's what's up I guess he could have spent a lifetime Behind Bars instead said he pulled off the hell Mary
inside the bar I got a feeling this isn't the last we've heard from Joseph and if you thought that was intense
check out more stories of cheats Crooks cons and some everyday folks that got away I'm Mike situation Santino see you
next time on statute of limitations this program is for entertainment purposes only and it is
not legal advice the statute of limitations are complicated and depend on many factors if you need advice you
should seek legal counsel from a competent attorney in your [Music] jurisdiction
yeah [Music] yeah [Music] yeah

Shawn, a man from Last Vegas, uses a friend’s gag roulette ball to consistently outsmart the casino. Joseph, a daring risk-taker, gets caught with 20 pounds of weed in his dash. While calm, he loses control when the drugs are discovered. Hosted by the iconic Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Statute of Limitations pushes the boundaries of justice as individuals confess to non-violent crimes that have long surpassed the statute of limitations. Each episode features the stories of those brazen enough to confess their secret crimes. New episodes of Statute of Limitations will be posted every Friday and Sunday. If you’re ready for more crazy stories, brought to you by Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, comment below and be sure to hit that like and subscribe button!

Brief Summary

Shawn cheats a Vegas casino, Joseph evades police with weed and a gun.

Key points

Cheating the Odds. A man recounts how he cheated a Vegas casino using a weighted roulette ball.
The Tension Builds. As winnings pile up, the pressure mounts and suspicion grows.
A Narrow Escape. After a tense encounter with the pit boss, he manages to cash out and flee.
A Crazy Day. After a wild encounter with the police, he reflects on the chaos of the day.
Unexpected Reunion. He unexpectedly sees the tow truck driver while at the bar, raising more questions.
Life-Changing Decisions. He reflects on his past life of crime and the choices that led him here.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This is my chance I can be rich for life.

A moment of ambition and risk.

0:25WatchMar 3, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from True Crime Files

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.