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Bail set for ex-dealer, co-defendant in casino cheating case

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Former Bellagio casino craps dealer Mark Branco, left, and his brother-in-law Jeffrey D. Martin were indicted Sept. 30 in Las Vegas in a casino cheating and theft case. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Photo via AP)

LAS VEGAS » An ex-casino dealer and his brother-in-law pleaded not guilty today to scamming a Las Vegas Strip casino out of more than $1 million with phantom craps bets.

A judge set bail at $160,000 for former Bellagio craps dealer Mark Branco and $125,000 for Jeffrey Martin, and gave them two weeks to raise the money.

Branco is currently held at the Clark County jail, Martin isn’t.

The judge rescinded a warrant for co-defendant Anthony Granito after his lawyer said Granito was undergoing open heart surgery on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Jay P. Ramen says former dealer and co-defendant James Cooper Jr. is scheduled to plead guilty Thursday to one felony theft charge and testify against the others.

All four are named in a 60-count indictment filed last week alleging cheating at gambling and theft.

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