Crime & Safety
Alleged Vegas & Indiana Gambling Cheats Charged With Ripping Off Joliet Harrah's For as Much as $500K
Gambling cheaters—including a Bulgarian chess expert and a former schools superintendent from Indiana—took Harrah's for at least $100,000 and as much as $500,000, according to court papers.
A band of gambling cheats from Las Vegas and Indiana—including a Bulgarian chess expert and a former schools superintendent—fleeced the Joliet Harrah's out of as much as a $500,000, according to court papers.
One of the five alleged fraudsters, chess expert Svetoslav Dorobanov, was dismissive of the 14-count felony indictment handed down against him in Will County Court.
"These charges are phony," Dorobanov, 38, said in a telephone interview. "I'm just playing in the casino, next thing I know I'm facing burglary and these other charges."
Dorobanov might be at a master at chess, but he also plays cards and finished 195th in the 2010 World Series of Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tournament. The Las Vegas resident said he was aware of the charges against him and that he is looking for a lawyer.
Dorobanov said he frequently plays at different Harrah's gaming houses and that the charges recently filed against him were prompted by his coming out a winner.
"The casino is very bitter for losing money to me," he explained.
Charged along with chess champion Dorobanov is former LaPorte, IN, schools Superintendent Rande Thorpe, 57. Thorpe, incidentally, was charged with ripping off the Harrah's in Tunica, MS, just two months ago, as was his wife, Virginia Thorpe, 57.
Virginia Thorpe was charged with the Joliet job as well.
According to a story in the Herald Argus of La Porte, Rande Thorpe was "arrested days after the school board accepted his retirement."
The Thorpes appear to be the smallest of the five fish the cops are after, based at least on their bonds, which were set at $100,000 each.
Las Vegas resident Randy D. Binnings, 48, was hit with a $500,000 bond, presumably making him the alleged ringleader.
Dorobanov and another man, Paul Jovenich, 42, also of Las Vegas—both got bonds of $250,000.
Viginia and Rande Thorpes' telephone number has been disconnected, according to a recorded message. Messages left in Jovenich's voicemail were not returned.
Indictments against the five include charges of burglary, the unlawful structuring of a currency transaction, money laundering, computer fraud, cheating at a gambling game and computer tampering.
The five allegedly made their score by fiddling with an unspecified number of electronic keno machines so they would "pay out five times the correct amount," according to court papers.
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