2 Men Accused of Cheating at Poker at Sands

Two Cuban-born men were arrested for allegedly cheating while playing Texas Hold ‘Em Poker at the on Friday afternoon, according to court records from the office of District Judge David Tidd.
 
Jose L. Rodriguez, 46, of the 7400 block of West 20th Avenue, Hialeah, Fla., and Sandro Alonso, 38, of the 100 block of 77th St., North Bergen, N.J., were arrested after Sands security surveilled them and allegedly observed them switching cards during four separate hands while playing the game.
 
“Texas Hold 'Em poker is a game in which the patron plays against several other patrons, with the cards dealt by the dealer,” state police explained in the criminal complaint. “The dealer deals two cards to each player … with various betting rounds between. The person wins if he has a higher hand than the other players. The players are only entitled to the two cards they are dealt by the dealer.”
 
According to the criminal complaint against Rodriguez, he was also found to be in possession of four counterfeit American Express cards. The cards were embossed with actual account numbers, but the names on them did not match the names of the rightful account holders, according to the complaint.
 
Alonso, who was remanded to Northampton County Prison on $25,000 bail after being charged with a variety of misdemeanors related to cheating on a game of chance, allegedly told police that he and Rodriguez had previously switched cards at the Sands casino and at the Mohegan Sun casino near Wilkes-Barre.
 
“Alonso has said that he has just started cheating a couple months ago to earn extra money,” police said in the affidavit of probable cause contained within the criminal complaint against him.
 
Rodriguez, who is also in Northampton County Prison under $25,000 bail, has been charged with misdemeanors including forgery (altering writing); conspiracy to commit theft by deception; knowingly by trick/fraud winning or reducing a loss; and tampering records or ID writing.