Frankie Cucchiara has tweeted what he described as the worst Las Vegas poker experience in his life.
One recent Friday night in Resorts World Las Vegas, he was pulled up by security who marched into the room as if they were about to bust an international blackjack card-counting team. His crime? Apparently he was identified as having been overpaid by $3,000 when buying chips 18 months ago.
This was the last thing Cucchiara expected to happen as he was enjoying an evening out, looking for a PLO game with Joey Ingram and Will Jaffe.
After identifying Cucchiara, the security guards left the room with his passport to double check that they had their man. Cucchiara still had no idea what the problem was and he was ordered not to leave the room.
Fifteen minutes later, the guards reappeared and demanded Cucchiara hand over $3,000.
"We have facial recognition software in the cameras above us that identified you as soon as you walked in here. You were paid $3000 extra when you bought chips on June 22, 2022."
Cucchiara was stunned at the allegation, obviously not being able to remember that far back clearly. When he told the guards he had no idea what they were talking about one said:
"If you do not pay, we will have you banned from every casino in Las Vegas for life!"
Ok, that’s harsh, especially for a young man who has recently packed in his job to tackle professional poker full-time.
Joey Ingram was now stood by, and asked for them to be able to see the tape to ensure the debt was genuine. The answer was a firm no.
"We are not authorized to show you any footage that we take here at Resorts, so you'll have to take our word for it."
Now Jaffe has his say and makes it clear no payment will be offered until they offer proof.
The argument went back-and-forth with no progress when Cucchiara worked out how he could at least get away for now. He told them he would go and get money and then return to the casino.
After deciding not to return to sort out the matter, Cucchiara flew back home to Dallas and forgot about it all…until a phone call from the Las Vegas Police Department gave him a shock reminder.
A case had been raised and the police officer said they had seen the CCTV footage that proved Cucchiara bought $3,000 in chips and received $6,000.
Now the memory started to flood back!
Cucchiara had played a $10/$20 cash game and was losing heavily, repeatedly pulling $100 chips out of his bag. When he tallied up his night’s work, it turned out he was only a few hundred dollars down.
Now it all made sense and he promptly wired Resorts World $3,000 to cover the mistake.
Maybe he should have gone in disguise like in the video below!
Frankie Cucchiara, for those who haven't come across his channel yet, is becoming one of the most popular poker content creators on the scene.
Check out his video below where he gambles for a date with Kitty Kuo. The pair are now expecting a baby together!
Check out this podcast clip from Bart Hanson where he talks with a guest about a similar story.