Crime News

Hotel Cleaning Woman Accused of Stealing Phones

Allentown single-mother tells police she gave one of the stolen phones to her daughter.

  A cleaning employee at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem told police she could not afford to buy her daughter a cell phone, so she stole two of them from a hotel patron, according to court records. Sandra Marrero, 39, who told police “she is a single mother who works very hard,” gave her daughter the less expensive $200 phone, telling her she found it. Marrero, of 107 Ridge Ave., Allentown, admitted she brought the more expensive phone – a $700 iPhone – back to the hotel. But she threw it in the trash – although officials were able to recover it -- after her supervisor asked about the missing phones, the records say. At one point, Marrero admitted to a hotel investigator that she gave the phone to her daughter. The investigator called …

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2 Men Accused of Cheating at Poker at Sands

Cuban-born casino visitors allegedly caught exchanging cards at Texas Hold 'Em table.

  Two Cuban-born men were arrested for allegedly cheating while playing Texas Hold ‘Em Poker at the Sands Casino 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 …

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Sands Ends Year with Record-Setting Month

Casino sets new state record for table games revenue in December.

  The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem closed out 2011 by once again setting a monthly table games revenue record for Pennsylvania casinos in December, the state Gaming Control Board reported on Wednesday. The Sands grossed $11.7 million in revenue from table games last month, shattering the Bethlehem casino’s previous record of nearly $10.8 million in table games revenue in August. Combined with slots revenue of $23.4 million, the Sands brought in more than $35 million in revenue in December alone. The casino’s total revenue for the year was $377 million. In December, Sands table revenues alone netted the state $1.6 million in tax revenue and $234,000 in local share taxes. Casinos across the state earned nearly $56 million in table games …

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Sands Table Games Revenue Drops in September

Casino took in $2 million less at tables than August, but $3.8 million more than September 2010.

Table games revenue at the Sands Bethlehem Casino dropped by more than $2 million in September as compared to August, a 19-percent decline, according to final monthly figures released today by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The gross intake from 129 tables took in nearly $8.7 million in September, as opposed to the $10.7 million the Sands’ tables took in during August, which is a monthly record for a Pennsylvania casino. Sands table games netted $1.2 million in state taxes and $173,930 for local tax beneficiaries. Overall, table games in Pennsylvania grossed nearly $51.4 million in revenue in September at 10 casinos hosting 930 tables. That meant a total of $8.3 million in tax revenue, according to the gaming control board. The …

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Sands Event Center Plans Unveiled

Live Nation will bring, promote about 200 musical, comedy shows a year.

A new 3,000-seat event center will open at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem by May 2012, with shows that will be booked by the world’s largest concert promotion company, Live Nation. A three-way partnership among the Sands, Live Nation and the Vision Entertainment Group of Allentown was announced during a media event at the Sands Hotel this afternoon. The center will bring between 180 and 225 live shows a year with the same type of big name acts that are booked to appear at venues like The Tower Theater in Upper Darby and The Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City, said Gerald R. Deifer Jr., a partner with the Vision Entertainment Group. In the next month, The Borgata event center is staging shows by Blondie, Bruce Hornsby, Adele and Whoopi …

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Sands Dealer Charged with Stealing Chips

60-year-old man from Lower Nazareth Township faces multiple charges.

A Sands Bethlehem Casino poker dealer was charged by state police gaming officers with stealing chips, according to The Morning Call. Michael Paul Spedding, 60, of 4655 Pine Drive in Lower Nazareth Township, is facing five counts each of receiving stolen property, theft and unlawful to take property with intent to defraud. He is free on $10,000 unsecured bail and has been ordered to stay out of the casino.

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Viewfinder

Viewfinder: Fight Night at the Sands

Bethlehem's Ronald Cruz scores a technical knockout in main event.

Ronald Cruz, a welterweight from Bethlehem, scored a technical knockout in the sixth round of his fight with Doel Carrasquillo, pleasing the hometown fans who packed the tent at the Sands Casino Bethlehem for the first ever Fight Night at the Sands on Friday night. With a knockout over his rival from Lancaster, Cruz remains an undefeated 13-0 with 10 knockouts. Meanwhile, heavyweight William Miranda of Allentown defeated Zeferino Albino of Philadelphia in a four-round decision, improving his record to 3-3-1. Another, Allentown fighter, lightweight Eliud Torres fought to a draw with Bryne Green of Vineland, N.J. after six rounds. Eric Newell, another heavyweight from Bethlehem, had his scheduled bout with John Mercurio of Philadelphia …

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Friday Night Fights are Coming to Bethlehem

Organizers hope 8-fight card at the Sands this week will be the first of many to come

Professional boxing comes to the Sands Casino Bethlehem on Friday night and both the promoter and the casino’s president are hoping that it will be the first of many fight cards to come in the Christmas City. Headlining the Friday night fights will be Bethlehem’s own Ronald Cruz, a promising, undefeated 24-year-old welterweight who has knocked out nine of his 12 opponents. Stepping into the ring with him will be Doel Carrasquillo, a 38-year-old veteran fighter from Lancaster who is described by the fight promoter as having an “iron chin and heavy hands.” The seven-fight undercard features three other Lehigh Valley boxers: Lightweight Eliud Torres of Allentown will face Bryne Green of Vineland, N.J.; heavyweight Eric Newell of Bethlehem, a …

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Cameras Capture Sands Assault

Reading woman charged with hitting boyfriend.

Bethlehem police say a Reading woman assaulted her boyfriend early Sunday morning on the floor of the Sands casino, then told investigators that he hurt himself by falling. But police say that security cameras in the casino didn't back up Carmen Abreu-Quinones' story, with surveillance footage showing her her striking Jamie Gonzales-Flores several times.  Abreu-Quinones, 27, of 1640 Cotton St., is charged with simple assault and harassment. She was arraigned before on-call District Judge Daniel Corpora in Easton, and is free on bail.

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Sands Show Tent Rocked by Thunderstorm

Paul Anka concert delayed 45 minutes after crowd is evacuated.

The thunderstorm that ripped through Bethlehem Thursday night nearly brought the house down before Paul Anka had a chance to. Anka’s show before a sold-out crowd of 2,000 people in a giant tent outside the Sands Bethlehem Casino was delayed for about 45 minutes night after the thunderstorm made the tent “shake and shift,” according to one eyewitness. Sands Casino personnel evacuated the tent, though many had already began to leave, said Pamela Varkony, an Allentown-based motivational speaker and blogger who attended the show. “People became panicky, no stampede, but they beat it out of the tent and back in to the casino,” Varkony wrote in an e-mail. When the show finally did start, Anka thanked the audience for its patience. “I wasn't sure…

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