Blacklisted man gets 8-20 years for craps cheating
By Francis McCabe, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Already blacklisted from casinos, Brent Eli Morris was sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison on Monday for cheating at craps.
Morris was arrested Sept. 22 after he was spotted playing craps at Caesars Palace.
Brent Eli Morris
A District Court jury convicted the 54-year-old in March of two counts of felony commission of a fraudulent act in a gaming establishment or cheating.
In a separate trial immediately before the sentencing, Judge Jerry Tao found Morris guilty of four gross misdemeanors for entry into a gaming establishment by an excluded person. Tao also ruled Morris was a habitual criminal, a sentencing enhancement under the law that allows for a lengthier prison term.
Prosecutor Rob Stephens said Morris’ method of cheating is known as “past post betting,” meaning that after the dice had rolled, he slipped chips into winning areas on the table.
Morris was placed in the infamous Black Book, also known as the List of Excluded Persons, by the Nevada Gaming Commission in February 1994 after he served several years in the Southern Nevada Correctional Center at Indian Springs for cheating at a Lake Tahoe casino in 1989.
