Dealer Steals Chips

A dealer at the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh has been charged by police of stealing $501 worth of chips from the pot using a subtle hand trick.

At the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania one of the poker dealers has been accused of stealing over $500 from the poker games he has dealt. Last week police charged Matthew Eisenberg with theft and the news became public.

Eisenberg has been dealing poker for a while, but recently his pots have been falling a little short of their expected values. He is accused of moving $1 and $5 chips from the pot using his right hand to slip them into the muck. After pushing the remainder of the pot to the winner at the end of each hand he would then collect the cards and carefully tap the extra chip into his tip box whilst the players weren’t paying too much attention.

Eisenberg has been accused of using this stunt a total of 108 times between November 23rd and 29th and of stealing a total of $501 in chips. The thefts are all reported to have occurred between 7:45pm and 11pm and at 10 different tables It has been reported that security at the casino did not initially notice the theft as it was subtle enough not to be detected by players or other casino employees.

However, dealers are required to report their tips and when Eisenberg’s tips suddenly grew in value, from under $200 one day to over $500 the next, he very quickly came under suspicion. Security then reviewed the tapes of Eisenberg dealing and it quickly became apparent that he was stealing from the pots. Eisenberg no longer works for the casino and has also been reported to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, it is expected that he shall have his dealer’s licence suspended.

So far the casino has declined to make any real comment, they released a statement which simply said, “Rivers Casino is cooperating fully with authorities as they conduct their investigation.”

This was the second theft in under a month by a dealer in the Pittsburgh area. At the beginning of December Sean Savinell was charged with stealing a $500 chip from the Meadows Casino in North Strabane Township. There was a far more daring and dramatic theft early in the month at the Bellagio in Las Vegas when a man stole $1.5 million in chips at gunpoint. Since the theft the casino has discontinued their $25,000 chips and the gun man is still at large.