Very early Thursday morning TMZ reported that Ex-NBA player Charles Oakley was arrested at the Cosmopolitan. The arrest actually happened on July 8th but this was the first report. The Nevada Gaming Control Board told TMZ that Oakley “was suspected of adding to or reducing his wager on a gambling game after the outcome was known.” Shady.
Later that day, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported more about the incident with Charles Oakley. He was playing blackjack at the Cosmopolitan and removed a $100 chip when he realized that he would lose one of his bets.
Adding or removing money from a bet is probably more serious of a crime than many of us think. Oakley is due to appear in court on Aug. 7. If he’s convicted, this felony can bring a prison sentence of between one and six years and a $10,000 fine.
The Cosmopolitan isn’t known for having player-friendly rules on the main casino floor. If Oakley is a smart gambler he was playing the high limits room. According to the most recent blackjack survey, the Cosmopolitan has two very good $100 blackjack games. The double deck game has a house edge of only 0.25% while the 6 deck game has a house edge of 0.285%.
More Famous People Gambling And Getting Kicked Out Of Casinos
Athletes and celebrities gambling in Las Vegas come with bankrolls of different sizes. I’ve seen Flavor Flav playing $5 roulette at Planet Hollywood and Charles Barkley play $25 blackjack at The Venetian. It looks like Johnny Football was a red chipper when he was playing blackjack at the Hard Rock a couple years ago.
Charles Oakley isn’t the first celebrity or athlete to get the boot from a casino. The most recent big name celebrity to get kicked out of a casino was Ben Affleck. In fact, Batman was given a lifetime ban at the Hard Rock. Why? He was counting cards. It’s not illegal to count cards at blackjack but it is frowned upon. The Hard Rock will become Virgin Hotel Las Vegas next year. There’s no word if the ban will carry over.
While Oakley was kicked out for cheating (but not banned) and Affleck was banned for counting cards, Allen Iverson has been banned from three casinos for being a jerk. According to Complex, Iverson was supposedly throwing chips at dealers in two Detroit casinos. Meanwhile, he was banned from Bally’s in Atlantic City for urinating in a trash can. Not cool.
