Two croupiers of the Crown Perth resort and casino have faced a monetary fine for taking part in an unlawful gaming house set in a rental property which gave access to casino workers who were suspended from gambling to poker nights.
The two workers in question, spouses Eugene and Jacqueline Soh, were suspended from participating in any gambling activities at the casino or place bets at the TAB since they are licensed croupiers. Despite that, Mr. Soh gambled occasionally, so he decided to rent a Morley-based house for AU$220 a week in order to play poker there with fellow croupiers who were also banned from gambling.
The husband and wife set up a poker table in the house, provided food and drinks and hired a deal to run the poker games. For that, the couple would take a portion of the winnings of each hand at the time when these weekly gambling nights were held. As explained by Mr. and Mrs. Soh, most of the cash was used by them to pay for the private gaming house expenses, but the family also took a small profit for themselves.
The spouses were expected to be put to a trial in Perth Magistrate’s Court on December 19th, but instead, the two of them decided to plead guilty to the accusations of using the house they had previously rented as a common gaming house. In addition, the husband also pleaded guilty to participating into the illegal gambling operations.
The Couple’s Activities Were Investigated for a Long Time
The unlawful activities of the family were investigated for some time, with surveillance of the house also included. In September 2017, the house was searched by the police, who found nine people there, including Mr. Soh, sitting around a poker table stacked with cards and chips.
At the hearing, Magistrate Greg Smith commented that what the husband and wife were aware of the fact that what they were doing was wrong, but also explained that the key motivation of the family was not to generate profits but to simply play cards with some colleagues of theirs. In the end, he accepted that Mr. and Mrs. Soh were of prior good character and would most likely not be involved in another offence.
As mentioned above, the spouses suffered monetary fines, with Mr. Soh being imposed an AU$3,250 fine and Mrs. Soh facing an AU$1,500 fine. The two of them were also ordered to pay court costs totalling AU$1,000. Magistrate Smith also granted the couple spent convictions after assuming that the two of them were not likely to commit another offence. The lawyer of the family, Seamus Rafferty, further explained that both of them were likely to lose their licenses for working as casino employees as a result of the convictions.
- Author
Olivia Cole
