A professional gambler from New Jersey faces federal charges for allegedly structuring financial transactions at Kansas City’s Ameristar Casino to avoid federal reporting requirements.
Officials say Richard Dougherty, 52, is a member of the Tom Hyland Card Counting team, one of the most successful blackjack teams in the country.
A criminal complaint alleges that Dougherty purchased at least $166,380 in chips with cash in 11 structured transactions at Ameristar.
He also allegedly cashed in chips for $315,075 in 32 separate structured transactions from Feb. 16, 2012 to March 27, 2013.
Dougherty was arrested at the casino on the evening of March 28, following the filing of the criminal complaint earlier that day. He appeared in court Monday and was released on bond.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Dougherty won nearly $700,000 during dozens of visits to Ameristar over the past year. The Hyland Team is most known for their expertise as card counters and passed on their skills to many team members over the years. Hyland team members, both full-time and part-time players, are scattered across the country. The team at one point had grown to 30 or 40 people. Playing as a team rather than an individual helps to smooth over the losses, because if one person has a bad day then it’s usually smoothed out by the wins of teammates.
Because the Hyland team has been counting cards for so long they are recognized at many casinos. The team has used disguises throughout the years at various casinos. However, at present, disguises are less important as there are laws, specifically in Atlantic City and in Missouri, to prevent casinos from barring card counters.
Federal law requires casinos to file currency transaction reports with the federal government for each transaction (either cashing in or cashing out) of $10,000 or more. These regulations also require that multiple transactions be treated as a single transaction if they are conducted by, or on behalf of, the same person, and they total more than $10,000 during one business day. It is illegal for an individual to structure financial transactions in such a way that the casino fails to file the required report.
Dougherty made at least 60 visits to Ameristar between Feb. 16, 2012 and March 27, 2013. During this time period, the affidavit says, Dougherty won at least $697,892 and lost $382,880, netting him $315,012 in casino winnings. Not one time during his play at the Ameristar did Dougherty cash out for more than $10,000, according to the affidavit. Dougherty allegedly structured these currency transactions in amounts less than $10,000 to avoid triggering the filing of a currency transaction report.
The affidavit also refers to Dougherty’s gambling activities at casinos in Powhattan, Kan.; Atlantic City, N.J.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Metropolis, Ill.; Elizabeth, Ind.; Valley View, Calif.; West Lake, La.; and Morton, Minn. Dougherty has allegedly used multiple aliases at a large number of the casinos he has played. According to the affidavit, casinos have filed 126 currency transaction reports on Dougherty since 1996.