Poker pro Christian Lusardi Pleads Guilty to Counterfeit Scheme

Christian Lusardi made headlines in the poker world early last year after he was charged with a bizarre scheme which involved playing poker with counterfeit chips.

For those whose memories need a little rehashing, Lusardi had been playing in the 2014 Borgata Winter Open Big Stack, No Limit Hold 'Em in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The event was cancelled in its late stage by the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which hosted the event, when news of Lusardi’s counterfeit chips surfaced.

Lusardi attempted to flush the chips down the toilet of his hotel room at Harrah’s Hotel Casino, which damaged the hotel’s pipes and were soon recovered by law enforcement officers.

The Borgata ended up losing US$463,540 in revenue from the event and the pipes caused US$9,455 of damage as a result of Lusardi’s failed attempt to get rid of the fake poker chips.

Fast forward one and a half years later and Lusardi has now admitted all wrong doing in the incident after he pleaded guilty to trademark counterfeiting and criminal mischief in a US court.

Lusardi, who was sentenced to five years imprisonment earlier this year with regards to his role in a global DVD counterfeiting operation, could face another five years as a result of his new guilty plea.

The poker chip counterfeiter will also be required to reimburse the Borgata for its loss of revenue for the cancelled event.

He must also pay Harrah’s Hotel Casino the cost it paid in order to fix the damages its toilet pipes.

It is currently not clear as to whether or not Lusardi has to return the US$6,814 he won in the tournament.

The Borgata has revamped security at its casino and poker facilities in order to prevent another such counterfeiting scheme from happening within its doors again.

Some prevention measures the casino has introduces includes using more colours on its poker chips as well as using an ”authentication element” that makes their chips identifiable under UV light.