The Argosy Casino Hotel and Spa in Riverside has lost more than $100,000 following a counterfeit chip scam. The scam, which took place over a period of a few weeks, is currently being investigated by highway patrol gambling agents.
Ameet Patel, the casino general manager, said “It could have been worse”, and confirmed that a man was arrested last week by state gambling agents after a cashier had detected several $100 chips which were slightly thicker than the casino’s own chips, and did not fit properly into storage racks.
According to Lt. Bob Zubeck, the gambling enforcement supervisor for the Missouri western district, no one has been charged yet. Zubeck said that there had been several cases of counterfeit chips being used since gambling began in the state in 1994, but that in most cases the casino chips were of poor quality. He said “These were really high quality, the best I’ve seen”.
Patel agreed that “They’ve done a fairly good job”, and commented on the chips that “They were very hard to spot.” He added that “We’re co-operating fully” with the investigation.
The casino removed every $100 chip from play after the suspect chips were noticed, and replaced them with a back-up inventory of chips. So far, 1,100 fake chips have been identified.
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