From the look of his criminal record, blackjack cheater Bujar Kaloshi appears easier to catch than the common cold.
He has been apprehended and convicted for card-marking in casinos in Nevada (twice), Connecticut, Iowa, and Louisiana. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement placed him on its exclusionary list. In December, Nevada added him to the state’s List of Excluded Persons.
Kaloshi’s criminal record of cheating dates back to 2000. In other words, he’s been getting caught a long time. If your state hasn’t yet convicted him of cheating at blackjack, be patient. He’ll get around to you soon enough.
Kaloshi’s predicament is easy to play for laughs. And, perhaps unintentionally, he’s provided some himself. For example, consider the time he was arrested for attempting to relieve Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun casino of a few bucks. The New York Times reported that Kaloshi had a perfectly good reason for the attempted theft: he was trying to raise enough cash to pay a bail fee for being caught cheating in Louisiana.
Since this blackjack thing doesn’t seem to be going as planned, Kaloshi may want to consider a career in standup comedy. Perhaps he could use Rodney Dangerfield’s approach: he isn’t getting any respect at all.
Kaloshi’s story is a reminder that consistently stealing from casinos is much harder than it appears to be in popular culture. Hollywood has so mythologized those who cheat in casinos that it’s a wonder the line of “Ocean’s 11” wannabes arrested each year isn’t longer than the Rose Parade.
In the real world, it’s not so easy to take a casino for a big bag of cash. Given the human capital and improved technology which watches every turn of the cards, it’s more difficult than ever for even accomplished card-crimpers to “make a score” at a corporate casino. And on the Strip, the security force at some mega-resorts is far larger than the police departments in small cities.
Kaloshi’s angle included marking cards with an invisible ink and then reading them using special contact lenses. An earlier practitioner of that craft, Black Book member William Land, is said to have been able to repeatedly mark a deck and have it slipped into a game, where he then enjoyed a huge advantage. He, too, was eventually found out and busted.
The problem for members of the Black Book and casino cheaters generally is that technology has become dramatically better in recent year. Facial recognition continues to improve, and the ability to share information between casinos across the country makes it much harder for a traveling cheater to stay ahead of the law.
Several paths can lead to inclusion in Nevada’s Black Book. Any person deemed to be a threat to licensed gaming is eligible. The Gaming Control Board looks at felony convictions and violations of gaming law, hidden ownership, tax evasion, crimes involving moral turpitude, and a person’s reputation.
In a previous generation, some of the biggest names added to the Black Book weren’t always the ones with the most convictions. Instead, their notoriety and unsavory reputations were used against them.
For his part, Kaloshi has a long way to go before he ranks with the likes of Giancana, Caifano, and Spilotro, and, given his age (57), he’s not likely to catch up with them. In fact, given his criminal record and his inclusion on the List of Excluded Persons, it seems clear that he’s chosen the wrong career path. Although it’s not the way I’m betting, I hope his latest entanglement convinces him to change directions.
John L. Smith is a longtime Las Vegas journalist and author. Contact him at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com, or on Twitter at @jlnevadasmith.
