Two Guilty Of Bilking Casino Out Of Thousands

Two of five men accused of cheating Harrah’s Skagit Valley Casino out of tens of thousands of dollars have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and been sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Yen Mar Shou, 65, of San Francisco, and Kong Mah, 63, of Vancouver, British Columbia, pleaded guilty Thursday to defrauding a gaming establishment, Skagit County chief deputy prosecutor Garl Long said.

In addition to the jail sentence, District Judge Larry Moller ordered the two to pay a $1,000 fine, forfeit all cash and chips in their possession at the time of their arrest, and barred them from entering any casino or gaming establishment for two years.

Three others, King Wong, 46, and Jian Wu Guo, 43, of Oakland, Calif.; and Jilin Situ, 38, of Las Vegas, are charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree theft.

Jian Wu Guo remains in custody in lieu of $20,000 bond. The other two earlier posted $20,000 bail.

Prosecutors contend the men ran a complicated and well-organized scheme that swindled the Upper Skagit Tribe’s casino near Bow out of at least $38,000 on Aug. 9.

According to court documents, cameras caught some of the men peeking at cards before they were dealt.