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CANNES

Riviera poker cheat used infra-red contact lenses

A court near the glamorous French Riviera city of Cannes this week handed a jail term to a daring and sophisticated poker cheat, who used infra-red contact lenses to count cards marked with invisible ink in a scam described as "the first of its kind in Europe."

Riviera poker cheat used infra-red contact lenses
A French court convicted self-styled "cheat of international renown" Stefano Ampollini, for using infra-red contacts to cheat a Cannes casino. Photo: GambleRomaniaCheats/Youtube

A court in the southern town of Grasse this week convicted an Italian stud poker player, who described himself as “a cheat of international renown,” for using infra-red contact lenses to count cards at a casino in the chic Côte d'Azur resort of Cannes.

The elaborate and daring strategy impressed even the presiding judge, who called it “the first of its kind in Europe,” and “a combination of old techniques and high-end technology,” according to French daily Direct Matin.

The court heard how Stefano Ampollini, 56, took to the “Les Princes” casino in the Mediterranean city of Cannes in August 2011, armed with some invisible ink, and a set of infra-red contact lenses purchased online from China for €2,000.

Standing across from him at a stud poker table was a secret accomplice, who sniffed or snorted or sneezed at opportune moments, allowing Ampollini to know which cards to mark with invisible ink.

Watching everything through his contacts, the hi-tech shark was then able to keep track of the game, while his opponents looked on in bemusement and frustration.


A still image shows cards visible to the naked eye (left), and cards marked with invisible ink, seen through infra-red contact lenses (right). Photo: Cheng Fan/Youtube

On that occasion, Ampollini and his partner in crime walked away with €70,000 between them, and when the Italian returned alone two months later, he won €21,000 for himself, but was then arrested by police as he left the casino.

It’s not clear how exactly casino management got wind of Ampollini’s scheme, although in a similar case in Las Vegas last week, a suspect was seen on CCTV, “dipping” his fingers under the poker table, and pressing them into certain cards – an action consistent with marking the cards with invisible ink.

Ampollini smiled as presiding judge Marc Joando marvelled at the ingenuity of his infra-red contacts racket, according to Direct Matin.

For all his cunning, however, the court didn’t hesitate on Wednesday to slap Ampollini with a two-year prison sentence, and €100,000 fine.

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ACCIDENT

German tourists among 13 dead in Italy cable car accident

Thirteen people, including German tourists, have been killed after a cable car disconnected and fell near the summit of the Mottarone mountain near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy.

German tourists among 13 dead in Italy cable car accident
The local emergency services published this photograph of the wreckage. Photo: Vigili del Fuoco

The accident was announced by Italy’s national fire and rescue service, Vigili del Fuoco, at 13.50 on Sunday, with the agency saying over Twitter that a helicopter from the nearby town of Varese was on the scene. 

Italy’s National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps confirmed that there were 13 victims and two seriously injured people.

Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported that German tourists were among the 13 victims.

According to their report, there were 15 passengers inside the car — which can hold 35 people — at the time a cable snapped, sending it tumbling into the forest below. Two seriously injured children, aged nine and five, were airlifted to hospital in Turin. 

The cable car takes tourists and locals from Stresa, a resort town on Lake Maggiore up to a panoramic peak on the Mottarone mountain, reaching some 1,500m above sea level. 

According to the newspaper, the car had been on its way from the lake to the mountain when the accident happened, with rescue operations complicated by the remote forest location where the car landed. 

The cable car had reopened on April 24th after the end of the second lockdown, and had undergone extensive renovations and refurbishments in 2016, which involved the cable undergoing magnetic particle inspection (MPI) to search for any defects. 

Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Twitter that he expressed his “condolences to the families of the victims, with special thoughts for the seriously injured children and their families”.

Infrastructure Minister Enrico Giovannini told Italy’s Tg1 a commission of inquiry would be established, according to Corriere della Sera: “Our thoughts go out to those involved. The Ministry has initiated procedures to set up a commission and initiate checks on the controls carried out on the infrastructure.”

“Tomorrow morning I will be in Stresa on Lake Maggiore to meet the prefect and other authorities to decide what to do,” he said.

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