Player Flushes $2.7 Million Worth Fake Chips Down The Toilet

Christian Lusardi was using the chips during the Winter Poker Open’s “Big Stack, No Limit Hold ‘Em” event at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City before the police arrested him after figuring out his scheme.

Lusardi came up with not so brilliant plan of disposing the fake chips evidence down the toilet at the Harrah’s Resort and Casino. Unfortunately for him the stash clogged the sewer pipes, so the hotel informed the tournament officials, which immediately contacted the New Jersey police.

The player from North Carolina got arrested over the weekend and charged with rigging the exhibited contest, theft by deception and criminal attempt, which not only breaks American gambling laws but is a criminal assault.

The tournament got cancelled

Police made an investigation and found out that Lusardi used the fake chips on multiple occasions during the tournament and won a total of $6,814. Last week officials discovered around $800,000 of these chips – 160 chips worth $5,000 each – among the authentic casino chips. This forced the tournament organizes to terminate the event for 24 hours and then cancel it completely.

With more than 4,800 players enrolled in the poker tournament, when it was cancelled there were still 27 players who were competing and counting on their skills gained in US poker rooms, to win the big prize.

Joe Lupo, Senior vice president of operations at Borgata, commented: “This was a very unusual occurrence. It’s the first time in Borgata’s 10 years that anything like this has happened. We are very pleased that the New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau has apprehended a suspect.”

Christian Lusardi is currently held in custody in the Atlantic City Jail with $300,000 bail and no option to pay 10%.