Stefano Ampollini Poker Player

Parmesan, a 56-year-old man whose real name is Stefano Ampollini, then used infrared contact lenses purchased online for 2,000 euros from a Chinese company to read his competitors' hands. Like many other card sharps, the men's downfall was their success.

Of all the cheating techniques used to scam poker games over the years, the latest one to be unearthed was so sophisticated in its use of high-end technology as to impress even the presiding judge at a French court in Grasse.
For days, judge Marc Joando marvelled at the techniques used by Italian Stefano Ampollini, known as ‘Parmesan,’ who along with a small gang of accomplices, was able to take Les Princes Casino in Cannes for €71,000 back in 2011.
At the heart of the deception were two corrupt casino staff who had previously marked all the cards with invisible ink, and a pair of infra-red contact lenses costing €2,000, which enabled a discreet accomplice known as “The Israeli”, to read the cards and relay the information through a series of gestures to Stefano Ampollini, 56, who was also playing in the same poker game.
Nevertheless, despite winning bundles of cash, surveillance staff at Les Princes Casino became suspicious, with the casino owners’ barrister, Marc Concas, explaining in court:
“Casino security found his behaviour rather strange as he won very easily and, above all, because he folded twice when he had an excellent hand, suggesting he knew the croupier’s cards.”
Consequently, when Stefano Ampollini returned to the casino two months later and won a further €21,000 for himself, he was promptly arrested by police as he exited the casino.
Soon after, the sophisticated gang’s scam was revealed and this week the men were handed down fines and prison sentences. For his part in the crime, Ampollini received a two-year prison sentence and €100,000 fine; Gianfranco Tirrito, 55, described as “probably the mastermind”, was given a three-year jail term and €100,000 fine; while Rocco Grassanno, 57, received 30 months behind bars and a €50,000 fine.
Talking about the case after sentencing was handed down, prosecution lawyer Mr Concas told The Daily Telegraph; “This is the first time this sort of technique has been seen in Europe.”

Stefano Ampollini Poker Game

• For days, judge Marc Joando marvelled at the techniques used by Italian Stefano Ampollini, known as ‘Parmesan,’ who along with a small gang of accomplices, was able to take Les Princes Casino.
• Read everything on Stefano Ampollini,. Stefano Ampollini is jailed for high tech scam involving invisible card marking and infra red contact lenses.
• Another interesting case involving infrared contacts centers on an Italian gambler named Stefano Ampollini. The 56-year-old was also caught in 2013 during a scam at Les Princes casino in Cannes, France. Ampollini spent €2,000 to purchase special contacts that allowed him to see markings on cards.

When you play poker at a brick & mortar casino, it is a simple and straightforward process. Yet when you enter the world of online poker, there are a different set of rules that come into play.

The terms and conditions that govern when and how an online poker player can withdraw his winnings, is most likely to have an amount or time stipulation attached to the withdrawal process. This often proves to be a deterrent, especially given the negative publicity online poker has received in the U.S over the last couple of years.

Full Tilt Poker had a similar setup when it came to player withdrawals and that is the reason why a number of online poker players still have their winnings locked away and have had to wait for a lengthy period of time to start a claim reimbursement process.

Lock Poker is another online poker company who has had its fair share of cash out problems and hence has an F grade in the PAS US Online Poker Payment Processing Report. Issues like this have stopped former online poker players from revisiting and playing at the Lock Poker website.

However, one such high profile poker player who prefers to be anonymous recently confirmed that he had a Skype conversation with a senior official from Lock Poker who offered him the privilege of a preferred cash out policy, provided he could rake in more than $10,000 per month.

This anonymous poker player released a Skype conversation and published the same on ProfessionalRakeback.com. The Skype conversation is said to have taken place with Lock Poker’s Shane Bridges. The anonymous poker player told Shane

I really don’t know how it works, but if u sat here and told me i would get 1-2 month [cashouts] if i raked 6k next month … im snap putting 5k-10k on lock.

In response to this, Shane Bridges is alleged to have replied by saying

Stefano Ampollini Poker Games

Ive been told that with your VIP status and playing history with our site if you can hit 10K a month I can guarantee a monthly payout for you.

However when contacted to confirm if there is indeed a privileged policy extended by Lock Poker to its VIP players, Shane Bridges refused to confirm the same.

Stefano Ampollini Poker Table

The damage that Lock Poker has suffered during the last 12 months has caused enormous concern in the online poker community and unless and until further information is officially provided by Lock Poker, the online poker community will continue to play elsewhere.