Saturday, September 14, 2013
A 23-year-old Far East Side man is to spend nine days in jail for cheating at a Hollywood Casino
Columbus table game.
Mohamed Waes is the first casino cheater without a criminal record to be sent to jail in
Franklin County since the casino opened on the West Side in October.
Of the other nine defendants convicted of cheating at the casino, eight have received probation.
Another was additionally convicted of cocaine possession and illegally possessing a gun, and was
sentenced to two years in prison.
In imposing the jail sentence, which Waes can serve on three weekends of his choice, Common
Pleas Judge Daniel T. Hogan said he was sending a message.
“It’s not just about you,” he told Waes. “It’s about all these other (potential cheaters
visiting the casino). If they think they can cheat and there are no consequences, they’re going to
cheat.”
The judge also placed Waes on probation for one year and fined him $368 — the amount of his
winnings after the casino deducted the $250 that he gained through cheating.
Waes, of Castine Way, was indicted on 10 casino-gaming offenses — all low-level felonies — and
pleaded guilty to one count in July. Investigators said he was playing mini baccarat on Oct. 18 and
was captured on video surveillance removing or adding chips to his bets after a dealer revealed the
winning cards.
Waes was the first casino cheater to face Hogan, who recalled attending a judicial conference
several years ago in Nevada where he learned that casino cheaters in Las Vegas get prison
sentences.
“We’re not in Vegas, lucky for you,” Hogan told Waes.
Defense attorney Fran Ward said her client’s actions brought shame to his family, which escaped
war-torn Somalia when he was a child to find a better life in America.
In the Somali community, “gambling is frowned upon, but cheating is even more devastating,” Ward
said.
Waes said he was deeply sorry for the offense, which he said “has affected me and my family and
the way the community views me and my family.”
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