A pair of shop workers stole a whole day's taking and lost it all in a casino when they put more than £3,000 on red.
Kieron Trott and Christopher Cameron said they just wanted to see what it would feel like to gamble so much money at once - but were forced to quit their jobs at Poundstretcher after the bet went sour. The crime was so foolish that even the men's lawyers appeared to mock them in court - one said it was a 'miracle' that his client had managed to get another job. Trott, 19, and Cameron, 48, worked together at a branch of Poundstretcher in a Sunderland retail park.
On October 13 last year, their manager left them in the shop at the end of her shift - along with the day's takings of £3,380. On the spur of the moment, the two men decided to go to a nearby casino where they gambled - and lost - the whole amount instantly. Lee Poppett, prosecuting, branded the offence 'somewhat unusual'. He said: 'At 9pm [the manager] received a call from Mr Trott stating that she needed to come back to the store because they had gambled away the takings.
'She believed it was a form of joke, but Mr Trott said, "I'm not joking, call the police." 'She could hear Mr Cameron in the background saying, "He is being honest, you have to come back to the store."'
The pair resigned immediately, and are now trying to repay the money they took. They pleaded guilty to theft by an employee when they appeared at Sunderland Magistrates' Court. Trott and Cameron, who are both from Sunderland, were handed 12-month community orders and were told to pay £110 each in costs and surcharges. Trott was told to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, while Cameron will have to do 66 hours.
Ian Cassidy, defending Cameron, said, the situation was 'almost like something out of a comedy' and that his client has never even been to a casino before. 'Mr Cameron was working his regular shift. It was just the two of them and part of the routine is to check the cash that has been taken that day. 'They are joking, saying what would it be like if we took this money and gambled it. Unbelievably, they persuaded themselves to do this. 'He can't quite believe it. He described being in the casino a matter of minutes.
'They were seen transferring the cash into chips then go to the table saying "red?" and "yes". Lo and behold it came up on black.' Jason Smith, defending Trott, said: 'It was an act of gross stupidity. They were saying, "Let's go and do this, we might make some money out of it." How that would work is beyond me. 'He is paying the money back at a rate of £50 a week because, miraculously, he's managed to find work at Nissan.'
All or nothing
All or nothing
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: All or nothing
In a European casino the bet is only slightly below 50:50 because their wheels have only 1 green number (O) out of 37 so the house edge is about 3%.
yrs,
rubato
yrs,
rubato
Re: All or nothing
assuming the casino has fair tables. my dad was a modern day pirate. the best gambler I ve ever met, and that is saying something. he taught me the tricks that cheaters use and how to avoid being cheated. his best advice was to play the odds. the odds are against you in the casinos. never gamble in casinos. same as playing pool. you don t have to be great player to win money, just bet 5 bucks against the best players and 20 bucks against the fishes.
I don t gamble anymore, but we used to have fairly high stakes card games on fridays in the backroom of the local pub. I can remember many nights walking home with hundreds in each shoe and pocket and sock. had to hedge your bets in case the crackheads got you on the way home.....
I don t gamble anymore, but we used to have fairly high stakes card games on fridays in the backroom of the local pub. I can remember many nights walking home with hundreds in each shoe and pocket and sock. had to hedge your bets in case the crackheads got you on the way home.....