2 accused of marking cards at Pittsburgh-area casino

By Chris Hoffman

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    GREENSBURG, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — Two men are charged with cheating at the card table at a local casino.

They’re accused of marking cards to win thousands of dollars at Live! Casino Pittsburgh in Greensburg.

Pennsylvania State Police investigators in Westmoreland County said 47-year-old Bahri Sahpolat and 44-year-old Serdar Ozmen are accused of marking cards while playing Mississippi Stud on Friday at the casino. According to state police, their cards were marked with indents to try and rig the game in their favor.

Court papers said video of the floor caught the two playing with the cards. They’re both accused of admitting to it after troopers showed up and started questioning them. The two men are accused of defrauding $12,175 from the casino.

Earlier this year, state police arrested two employees accused of rigging video roulette games at the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh. One of the accused was a supervisor. They allegedly were allowing players to keep betting even after a number hit.

The casino changed how those machines work in light of those arrests.

Sahpolat and Ozmen are in the Westmoreland County Prison. They both face theft-related charges and have preliminary hearings on Aug. 14.

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