Stefano Ampollini Poker
September 27, 2013 2:06 pm
In 2014 invisible ink was used by casino workers in France to mark cards. The Italian gambler Stefano Ampollini used infrared contacts to see the cards marked with ink. He was fined and jailed together with his band of helpers. The examples show that cheating at a casino, online or land-based, usually lands up in a jail.
- Issues like this have stopped former online poker players from revisiting and playing at the Lock Poker website. However, one such high profile poker player who prefers to be anonymous recently confirmed that he had a Skype conversation with a senior official from Lock Poker who offered him the privilege of a preferred cash out policy, provided.
- A man named Stefano Ampollini was sentenced to two years in prison for the offense. Opponents of Sunglasses and Pushes to Ban the Practice There are several poker pros who have advocated against the use of sunglasses at the poker table. One of the biggest critics is Daniel Negreanu who feels that the integrity of the game is at stake.
- Another interesting case involving infrared contacts centers on an Italian gambler named Stefano Ampollini. The 56-year-old was also caught in 2013 during a scam at Les Princes casino in Cannes, France. Ampollini spent €2,000 to purchase special contacts that allowed him to see markings on cards.
Of all the cheating techniques used to scam poker games over the years, the latest one to be unearthed was so sophisticated in its use of high-end technology as to impress even the presiding judge at a French court in Grasse.
For days, judge Marc Joando marvelled at the techniques used by Italian Stefano Ampollini, known as ‘Parmesan,’ who along with a small gang of accomplices, was able to take Les Princes Casino in Cannes for €71,000 back in 2011.
At the heart of the deception were two corrupt casino staff who had previously marked all the cards with invisible ink, and a pair of infra-red contact lenses costing €2,000, which enabled a discreet accomplice known as “The Israeli”, to read the cards and relay the information through a series of gestures to Stefano Ampollini, 56, who was also playing in the same poker game.
Nevertheless, despite winning bundles of cash, surveillance staff at Les Princes Casino became suspicious, with the casino owners’ barrister, Marc Concas, explaining in court:
“Casino security found his behaviour rather strange as he won very easily and, above all, because he folded twice when he had an excellent hand, suggesting he knew the croupier’s cards.”
Consequently, when Stefano Ampollini returned to the casino two months later and won a further €21,000 for himself, he was promptly arrested by police as he exited the casino.
Soon after, the sophisticated gang’s scam was revealed and this week the men were handed down fines and prison sentences. For his part in the crime, Ampollini received a two-year prison sentence and €100,000 fine; Gianfranco Tirrito, 55, described as “probably the mastermind”, was given a three-year jail term and €100,000 fine; while Rocco Grassanno, 57, received 30 months behind bars and a €50,000 fine.
Talking about the case after sentencing was handed down, prosecution lawyer Mr Concas told The Daily Telegraph; “This is the first time this sort of technique has been seen in Europe.”
Four Chinese men were arrested after defrauding a small business owner out of 70,000 yuan (approx. $10.5k) in a poker game. And a police investigation uncovered that they used marked cards and special contact lenses in the crime.
The victim, identified by his surname Feng, was lured to Dali, Yunnan by four men who promised to recruit customers for his pesticide business.
The suspects brought Feng to their hotel room in Dali and began playing poker with him. According to a police report, Feng lost every single hand that he played with the men.
When the poker game was over, Feng dropped 10,000 yuan in cash along with another 60,000 in promissory notes.
Suspecting that he’d been cheated, Feng contacted authorities and they raided the Dali hotel room.
According to the South China Morning Post, police found the four men sleeping in the hotel room, along with 30 packs of marked cards, and a pair of special contact lenses.
The suspects later admitted that they marked the cards with a special ink that can only be seen with the contacts. One of the men wore the contacts and signaled what cards Feng had to his opponents.
Feng originally told police that he’d been drugged too, but reports haven’t stated anything about the police finding drugs on the scene.
This isn’t the first time that gamblers have used special contacts in a cheating scandal.
The Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut caught Bruce Koloshi marking cards in a stud poker game. They found that he was also wearing infrared contact lenses that allowed him to tell what the cards were based on markings.
Koloshi’s case is an interesting one because he was busted doing the same thing in Louisiana and faced trial there. His goal was to generate enough money that he could pay court costs in Louisiana.
Another interesting case involving infrared contacts centers on an Italian gambler named Stefano Ampollini.
The 56-year-old was also caught in 2013 during a scam at Les Princes casino in Cannes, France. Ampollini spent €2,000 to purchase special contacts that allowed him to see markings on cards.
A twist in this case is that Ampollini had inside help from a dealer who sorted cards in a way that allowed him to see the markings better. There was another casino employee who marked the cards for Ampollini.
Stefano Ampollini Poker Player
The trio made almost €100,000 before Les Princes security uncovered their plot. Ampollini was sentenced to two years in prison as a result.