A casino employee in Iowa has been arrested for theft after allegedly loading illicit credits onto player club cards for her friends.
The suspected scheme occurred at Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque and involved around $1,500.
The casino fired the employee on Feb. 3 after the alleged theft was uncovered.
Former employee allegedly gave free credits to boyfriend
There are a total of 23 casinos in the state. Iowa online casinos are still prohibited even though online sports betting has been successful. Online poker is also prohibited, except for sweepstakes like at RealPrize, which is not played with real money.
Krysten L. Davis, 22, of Dubuque was hired as a customer service representative at Diamond Jo Casino on Jan. 10. Less than a month later, she was fired for allegedly loading $1,500 of gaming credits on several player cards. She is accused of giving the cards to friends, including her boyfriend, who used the cards to play for free on slot machines.
Diamond Jo Casino sits on the Mississippi River and is a gaming hub for the tri-state area of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The casino offers a massive gaming space that spreads over 35,000 square feet. On the gaming floor, there are 19 table games and just about 1,000 slot machines. Outside of not having poker, there is not much missing from Diamond Jo Casino.
According to the Telegraph Herald, Davis admitted her guilt when confronted by authorities.
“When Davis spoke to authorities, she admitted she placed unauthorized credits ‘on random player accounts throughout the month of January and printed out new cards with altered security pin numbers.’”
The scheme was revealed in a joint effort between casino security and local police.
Iowa is no stranger to casino crimes
There have been several incidents at Iowa casinos this year so far.
Cornelius Clay of Sioux Falls was arrested on the last day of February for alleged jackpot switching. Police said Clay owed $35,000 in unpaid child support. To obtain his winnings, he paid another person to collect his jackpot for him. After getting arrested, Clay is now facing three charges, including avoiding offset while gambling, solicitation to commit a felony, and having no valid driver’s license. Clay could see up to five years in prison.
Iowa criminalized jackpot switching in July 2022. Since then, the crime has been charged four times. Of the other three incidents, two were at Wild Rose Casino in Jefferson and one was at Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City.
Man suspected of assaulting woman who threw a drink at him
Adonliel Artisani is facing a charge of willful injury causing serious injury after he allegedly assaulted a woman who threw a drink at him on the casino floor. Police say Artisani waited for her to leave the establishment and proceeded to punch and kick her repeatedly. The assault led to the woman having a broken jaw, broken facial bones, missing teeth, and an ear laceration. Artisani, who has a prior history of assaults, has been in prison before and is currently being held with bail set at $25,000.
On Feb 15, a man was charged with fifth-degree theft after allegedly stealing a box of men’s cologne from a casino gift shop. Another man was arrested for public intoxication on Jan. 28. A woman was arrested the day prior for intent to deliver methamphetamine at a casino.
Anthony Kueter allegedly attempted to use a fake ID card, a fake social security number, and a fake name to claim two jackpots at Rhythm City Casino, which led to his arrest. Kueter owes just under $40,000 to the state of Iowa and tried to avoid paying up by allegedly using fake credentials. He faces three charges, including forgery, two charges of gambling-avoid setup, and second-degree fraudulent practices.
