A man from North Carolina used a fraudulent check to obtain $865,000 in casino markers, all of which he promptly lost while playing at Las Vegas’s Aria Resort & Casino, authorities reported. Dharma Nadendla, 41, visited the casino’s cashier’s cage on Tuesday and presented a check purportedly from a credit union valued at $380,000. Based on this check, he received $865,000 worth of casino chips.
Nadendla proceeded to lose markers worth $500,000 and $365,000 while playing table games at the casino, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). Undeterred by these losses, he returned to his hotel room and attempted to secure yet another marker by calling the cashier’s cage.
An employee at the Aria grew suspicious and examined the check more closely, discovering discrepancies in the check numbers. The casino then contacted the credit union in North Carolina, only to find out that the check was fake and originally valued at just $174.80. To catch Nadendla, the employee told him to come back down to the casino floor to receive another marker. However, as Nadendla approached the hotel elevator, he was greeted by LVMPD officers who had been alerted by the casino staff.
Nadendla faces charges of theft of $100,000 or greater, burglary of a business, and forgery. He posted bond and is scheduled to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court on August 28.
In a separate incident, Harris County, Texas deputies conducted a raid on an illegal gambling operation, seizing over $14,584 in cash and several gambling devices. Acting on tips from local residents, undercover officers confirmed the illegal activity and secured a search warrant from a judge. The raid took place earlier this month, leading to the arrest of two individuals, Son Van Nguyen and Thanh Van Nguyen, who were charged with possession of gambling device paraphernalia. Authorities stressed that illegal gambling can often be tied to other criminal activities.
Additionally, a North Carolina public official, Jacob Ray, was arrested earlier this month for allegedly driving while intoxicated and engaging in misdemeanor gambling. Ray, the Director of the Madison County Board of Elections, was charged with driving while impaired and has upcoming court dates on August 27 and October 7 for the respective charges. The arrests were publicly revealed on July 18 by Madison County Board of Commissioners Chair Matt Wechtel, who expressed his disappointment at learning about these charges from external sources. In a statement, Wechtel urged the Board of Elections to take stringent disciplinary actions to maintain the integrity of the county’s electoral process.