Says scam threatened entire casino industry

LAS VEGAS - The ringleader of a slot cheating gang prosecutors said stole millions of dollars and threatened ''the entire casino industry'' pleaded guilty Monday.

Tommy Glenn Carmichael, 49, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a single charge of engaging in an illegal gambling business and agreed to testify against his co-defendants in exchange for a reduced sentence. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October and faces a maximum of five years in a federal prison.

Carmichael was one of seven Las Vegas residents charged last year with operating a slot machine scam that netted more than $5 million from casinos nationwide during a two-year period. Carmichael also built and sold sophisticated slot machine cheating devices, according to federal prosecutors.

All seven defendants were charged with interstate travel in aid of racketeering, interstate transportation of stolen property and money laundering.

Charles Denton Clark, 38, pleaded guilty in September to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and was sentenced Friday to 13 months in prison. The cases against Ramon David Pereire, 52, Lisa Jane Luxom, 30, Richard Allen Ealey, 45, and Michael Joseph Balsalmo, 40, are still pending.

A seventh defendant, 40-year-old Raul Lescano, has been deported to Argentina but could still face charges if he returns to the United States, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Damm said.

The group used methods as simple as a coin on a string and as sophisticated as an optical device designed to fool slot machines to pay out during a two-year spree at casinos across the country, according to court records.

Damm said the group could make up to $10,000 a day cheating slots and were also in the business of selling their homemade devices. The group bought slot machines to develop and practice cheating techniques and were in the early stages of developing a computer device that could cheat slot machines by remote control.

From Las Vegas, the group spread out to hit casinos in such places as Atlantic City and New Orleans. Prosecutors said members also hit numerous Indian casinos across the country.