Crime & Safety
Casino Worker Accused of Padding Players Card
Employee charged with theft after he allegedly entered false information into computer to help a friend get extra rewards on his players card, state police say.
A Sands Casino Resort employee has been charged with tampering with a casino computer to provide extra cash rewards to a friend and casino patron, according to court records.
Edward E. Weidner III, 37, of 879 Belvidere Road, Phillipsburg, allegedly entered fraudulent information into the Bally Table View Computer, which is programmed to “rate” casino patrons by average bet, average playing time at a gaming station and other variables in order to assess rewards card compensation, according to an arrest affidavit filed by Pennsylvania State Police.
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Weidner was caught by casino supervisors entering information for one patron who was not playing and doing it on three occasions between Sept. 30 and Oct. 5 – helping that patron accumulate $2,239 on a players’ account, court papers say.
Casino surveillance personnel also allegedly spotted Weidner with the patron on Oct. 2 while he collected $2,000 in Visa gift cards accumulated through the players card and also while he bought a meal for $45.16 using the players card.
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Weidner was charged with theft by deception, unlawful use of a computer, computer trespass and criminal attempt to commit theft by deception, all felonies.
He was arraigned on Saturday before on-duty District Judge Nancy Matos-Gonzalez and released on $75,000 unsecured bail.
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