A man from North Carolina stands accused of theft, burglary, and forgery after presenting a bad check as collateral for $800K in gambling loans at a Las Vegas casino.
Police said Dharma Nadendla of North Carolina was at Aria Las Vegas Resort and Casino on Tuesday, July 23. That’s when he presented staff at the cashier’s cage with a bad credit union check for $380K.
He used that to receive $800K in what is known as markers over two loans. However, the staff became suspicious and studied the check. When Nadendla returned for a third marker, he was instead met by police, who arrested him on the spot.
After being charged with theft, burglary of a business, and forgery, he posted bail. He is due back in Las Vegas Justice court for a preliminary hearing on August 28.
The Incident
As he couldn’t cash the check at the bank in time to gamble, he applied to receive what is known as a “marker,” a short-term loan for purposes of gambling. The $380K check expedited the already usually fast process, and the casino loaned him $500K in casino chips.
Nadendla gambled that away and returned for another $380K, which he also lost. He then brazenly returned to seek a further loan, which triggered casino officials into taking a closer look at his check.
It revealed a simple forgery, as the bottom number and the top number did not match. Casino staff then called the North Carolina credit union the check was supposedly from. They told the casino that the check was only issued for $174.80.
Casino Scammers
People attempting to use fake checks, cash, and chips to gamble at Las Vegas casinos is far from uncommon.
In April this year, Gratis Woolen Jr. was booked by Las Vegas Police on 14 charges relating to the use of several thousand dollars in fake chips from Las Vegas casino resorts.
He was arrested after a year-long investigation into the fake chips, which were cashed throughout 2023 at Harrah’s Las Vegas, The Linq, The Cosmopolitan, and the Golden Gate Casino on Fremont Street.
In an interesting case from earlier this year in Australia, one scammer made a high-stakes getaway from the Star Casino in Sydney after being caught with $34,000 in fake chips.
Using a change of clothes and some swift feet, the suspect evaded casino security and police before catching a flight to China. He remains at large.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
