The post Notorious Magician Who Conned Iowa Casino Out of $10k Gets 10-Year Prison Sentence appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.
The notorious magician who has been banned from casinos all across the US has received a ten-year prison sentence in Iowa. Shaun Benward was convicted of duping staff at the Grand Falls Casino into giving him $10,000 in roulette payouts that weren’t actually owed to him in December 2018.
try to convince the casino staff that they had placed the chips on the wrong number
The 38-year-old tried to befriend croupiers and then place bets late in the round. He would then try to convince the casino staff that they had placed the chips on the wrong number, sometimes using an accomplice to pull off the trick. To keep up the con, he would switch tables and change his outfits.
It wasn’t until his arrest in April 2025 in his native Mississippi that Benward was brought to Iowa to answer for his alleged crimes. His November trial resulted in 13 felony convictions; Judge Carl Petersen sentenced the magician on Tuesday. Benward has spent almost 12 months in prison, which will be credited as time served.
Benward has a track record of trying to pull off his con across the country, including in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. In December 2023, the Nevada Gaming Control Board added him to the state’s black book, barring him from entering any casinos in the state.
The post Notorious Magician Who Conned Iowa Casino Out of $10k Gets 10-Year Prison Sentence appeared first on Vegas Slots Online News.
