(Michigan City, IN) - Charges have been filed against a man accused of making a habit out of stealing credits belonging to other people via slot machines at the Blue Chip Casino.

 

Gabriel French, 39, has been charged in La Porte Superior Court 4 with Level 6 felony Cheating at Gambling. The charges were filed after French was previously escorted out of the Michigan City casino on several occasions for stealing credits from slot machine players over a recent two-month period, having also been evicted from the location for 72 hours after each of those alleged incidents as per court documents.

 

According to authorities, the South Bend man is known as a “Scooper,” who walks around the casino floor looking for credits left in slot machines by people who walked away from them momentarily or for extended periods.

 

Specifically, he’s been charged with cashing out just over $175 dollars in credits from a slot machine on February 17th. He failed in his attempt, though, to redeem the cash voucher at a kiosk when he was recognized by casino security, which placed the voucher into a safe until it could be returned to its rightful owner.

 

French could face as much as a 30-month sentence.