DODGY GIZA
Infamous card shark Billy the Egyptian accused over hi-tech poker con trick
GAMBLERS outraged by a casino scam have pointed the finger at a shady poker con man known as Billy the Egyptian.
Several players fleeced by the card shark posted his pic on Facebook after we exposed his antics at Glasgow’s Alea casino.
A MYSTERY gambler known as Billy the Egyptian stands accused of being the mastermind of an attempted casino heist.
Several angry poker players have contacted the Record complaining they have been fleeced by the hi-tech card cheat.
We revealed yesterday how police were called to the Alea in Glasgow, because a croupier was in cahoots with a card shark.
While working on the story, we were contacted by a number of gamblers who claimed an individual going by the nicknames “Billy the Egyptian” or “Egyptian Billy” was behind the scam.
Furious patrons subsequently published an online image of the player in a bid to warn other casinos and fellow gamblers not to allow him anywhere near a poker table.
They said Egyptian Billy claimed to be a businessman who operates between London and Glasgow.
He was said to be well-known at casinos in both cities.
The Facebook post carries a photo with the heading: “Poker Cheat”, accompanied by footage claiming to show the alleged con in operation.
The Record is not publishing the individual’s surname, which appears on the Facebook post.
It goes on: ”Known as Billy ******* or Egyptian Billy but likely to have other aliases.
“Apparently recently found to be using an electronic device and colluding with others to cheat in live cash games in Glasgow.
“Do not play poker with this man, or permit him to play in your establishment.
“Known to play in Glasgow and London.”
The posting tied in with information already brought to our attention by several gamblers.
Alea bosses confirmed to the Record that the croupier – who we are not naming – was “in collusion” with the player when police were called to the Springfield Quay casino on Thursday night.
One angry patron of the casino said: “This is being circulated to casinos across the UK and beyond.
“The issue here is that players that go to Alea, expecting everything to be above board and fair, have been robbed by this guy and a member of Alea’s staff who was involved. We suspect this has been going on for months, and players are entitled to expect that even basic security measures put in place by the casino would have detected this.
“Egyptian Billy always sits at a particular seat in relation to the croupier, which in itself should have rung some kind of alarm bells.
“Patrons of this casino have been losing money.”
Another regular player said: ”I have seen this guy in action. At first I thought he was a really poor player because he was backing really outside chances. Then it dawned on me that he was a really lucky player, because despite the bad decision-making, he kept on winning.
“And I’m not talking about the night the police were called. I’m talking about weeks before.
“This guy has been playing in the Glasgow Cash Game for about five years.
“Now we need to know how long he has been cheating with the help of one of Alea’s employees.
“The one thing we do know is
that Egyptian Billy has been on a huge winning streak for many months.
“There’ll be a lot of players who will be asking Alea for their money back.”
Another source said: “Egyptian Billy is well-known in Glasgow.
“He has always favoured the game at Alea instead of any of the other casinos and is rarely seen elsewhere.
“He appeared on the scene five or six years ago and was dubbed Egyptian Billy because he always wore Egyptian-style sandals.
“But his heritage is thought to be Lebanese.
“For this scheme to work, the croupier needs to place the deck on the table on its own for a short period of time. The fact the croupier was doing this should have alerted staff.”
The precise details of the scam are not known.
But one possibility involving collusion of the croupier and a player is a deck of electronically marked cards which send signals to a tiny mobile phone camera.
It then sends a signal to a second mobile device which feeds an earpiece.
The devices can tell which cards are at the top of a deck of cards when it is placed on the table. They can also predict which one of the players at the table will have the strongest hand based on the information transmitted.
Police have confirmed that no arrests have so far been made following the incident on Thursday when they were called to the Alea, on the banks of the Clyde.
Sources in the poker world claim Egyptian Billy is now in London. The croupier involved is thought to have been suspended by Alea.