South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Ex-casino staffer gets prison for free gambling sprees
By Jon Burstein
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 15, 2008
A former <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = RUNTIME /><RUNTIME:TOPIC id=PLGEO100100414000000>Seminole</RUNTIME:TOPIC> Casino <RUNTIME:TOPIC id=PLGEO100100403010000>Coconut Creek</RUNTIME:TOPIC> employee was sentenced Thursday to 21 months in prison for acting as the inside person who stole $570,000 in vouchers and passed them off to five regular customers.
Ada Velez, 37, held back tears as Broward Circuit Judge Stanton Kaplan handed down her prison term for swiping the vouchers, used to play slot machines for free. She apologized, saying she knew what she was doing was wrong but she allowed it to spin out of control because the customers insistently asked for more vouchers.
Velez's pilfering of the vouchers had gone unnoticed for six months until August 2006, when one of the five slots players pressed her luck by asking for a free meal from another casino employee. That employee realized the player had been playing an unusually high number of vouchers and alerted security.
The five customers — including an 83-year-old woman who uses a walker and a 74-year-old stroke survivor — all have agreed to plea deals with the Broward State Attorney's Office.
The vouchers allow patrons who signed up with Player's Club cards to get free spins based on how much they play the machines. No customer should have received more than a $100 voucher per visit. One of Velez's co-defendants played $9,000 in free vouchers in one day.
Velez, a casino service representative, had been "an attraction" with customers because she is a professional boxer who has held five titles and fought at the casino, said her attorney, Barry Butin. After retiring in 2004, she returned to the ring in November to claim the vacant International Boxing Association super-bantamweight title.
She pleaded guilty in January to a single count of first-degree grand theft. In addition to her prison sentence, she must serve 10 years' probation and pay up to $570,000 in restitution.
Velez said Thursday that she gave the vouchers to the customers in exchange for tips — never pocketing more than $1,000 a month. But two of the customers testified that Velez approached them, offering to sell the vouchers.
<RUNTIME:TOPIC id=" PESPT000100">Luis Alicea</RUNTIME:TOPIC>, 48, of <RUNTIME:TOPIC id=PLGEO100100412050000>Delray Beach</RUNTIME:TOPIC>, said he would pay Velez up to $4,000 at a time for vouchers worth three times that amount inside the machines. The handoffs were made inside the casino, in the casino parking lot and at a nearby gas station, Alicea said.
Alicea and his wife, Carmen Alverio, 65, used nearly $385,000 in free-play vouchers, according to court records. Both agreed Thursday to testify against Velez in exchange for plea deals for grand theft. The couple agreed to pay the casino $100,000 upfront and an additional $25,000 while they complete five years' probation. In addition, Alicea must spend 45 days in the Broward County Jail. Their deals still must be approved.
The three other customers: Harry Baldassarre, 74, and his wife Reinelda Baldassarre, 83, of <RUNTIME:TOPIC id=PLGEO100100403030000>Coral Springs</RUNTIME:TOPIC>, and Terri Mallard, 40, of <RUNTIME:TOPIC id=PLGEO100100403070000>Fort Lauderdale</RUNTIME:TOPIC>, took similar deals.
While the customers played thousands of dollars in vouchers, their attorneys said they have nothing to show for it. Harry Baldassarre said that most of his winnings went straight back into the slot machines. He has estimated that he and his wife lost more than $40,000 at the casino over four years.
Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4491.
Ex-casino staffer gets prison for free gambling sprees
By Jon Burstein
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 15, 2008
A former <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = RUNTIME /><RUNTIME:TOPIC id=PLGEO100100414000000>Seminole</RUNTIME:TOPIC> Casino <RUNTIME:TOPIC id=PLGEO100100403010000>Coconut Creek</RUNTIME:TOPIC> employee was sentenced Thursday to 21 months in prison for acting as the inside person who stole $570,000 in vouchers and passed them off to five regular customers.
Ada Velez, 37, held back tears as Broward Circuit Judge Stanton Kaplan handed down her prison term for swiping the vouchers, used to play slot machines for free. She apologized, saying she knew what she was doing was wrong but she allowed it to spin out of control because the customers insistently asked for more vouchers.
Velez's pilfering of the vouchers had gone unnoticed for six months until August 2006, when one of the five slots players pressed her luck by asking for a free meal from another casino employee. That employee realized the player had been playing an unusually high number of vouchers and alerted security.
The five customers — including an 83-year-old woman who uses a walker and a 74-year-old stroke survivor — all have agreed to plea deals with the Broward State Attorney's Office.
The vouchers allow patrons who signed up with Player's Club cards to get free spins based on how much they play the machines. No customer should have received more than a $100 voucher per visit. One of Velez's co-defendants played $9,000 in free vouchers in one day.
Velez, a casino service representative, had been "an attraction" with customers because she is a professional boxer who has held five titles and fought at the casino, said her attorney, Barry Butin. After retiring in 2004, she returned to the ring in November to claim the vacant International Boxing Association super-bantamweight title.
She pleaded guilty in January to a single count of first-degree grand theft. In addition to her prison sentence, she must serve 10 years' probation and pay up to $570,000 in restitution.
Velez said Thursday that she gave the vouchers to the customers in exchange for tips — never pocketing more than $1,000 a month. But two of the customers testified that Velez approached them, offering to sell the vouchers.
<RUNTIME:TOPIC id=" PESPT000100">Luis Alicea</RUNTIME:TOPIC>, 48, of <RUNTIME:TOPIC id=PLGEO100100412050000>Delray Beach</RUNTIME:TOPIC>, said he would pay Velez up to $4,000 at a time for vouchers worth three times that amount inside the machines. The handoffs were made inside the casino, in the casino parking lot and at a nearby gas station, Alicea said.
Alicea and his wife, Carmen Alverio, 65, used nearly $385,000 in free-play vouchers, according to court records. Both agreed Thursday to testify against Velez in exchange for plea deals for grand theft. The couple agreed to pay the casino $100,000 upfront and an additional $25,000 while they complete five years' probation. In addition, Alicea must spend 45 days in the Broward County Jail. Their deals still must be approved.
The three other customers: Harry Baldassarre, 74, and his wife Reinelda Baldassarre, 83, of <RUNTIME:TOPIC id=PLGEO100100403030000>Coral Springs</RUNTIME:TOPIC>, and Terri Mallard, 40, of <RUNTIME:TOPIC id=PLGEO100100403070000>Fort Lauderdale</RUNTIME:TOPIC>, took similar deals.
While the customers played thousands of dollars in vouchers, their attorneys said they have nothing to show for it. Harry Baldassarre said that most of his winnings went straight back into the slot machines. He has estimated that he and his wife lost more than $40,000 at the casino over four years.
Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4491.
