David Morse Remains Blacklisted

[zengrifter]

CCC keeps card cheater on blacklist

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Staff Writer, (609) 272-7258
pressofatlanticcity.com
June 14, 2006

ATLANTIC CITY — Card counting is allowed at the Atlantic City casinos. Card cheating, of course, is not.

David H. Morse claims he's a card counter, but others have labeled him a cheater.

Facing long odds, Morse had hoped to have his name removed from a blacklist that bans him from stepping inside the casinos. He lost.

The state Casino Control Commission ruled that Morse, who formerly lived in Atlantic City and now resides in Cranston, R.I., failed to show that he deserves a second chance.

Commissioner Ralph G. Frulio, who served as hearing examiner in the case, said he was convinced that Morse would cheat again if given another opportunity, although Morse offered assurances he would not.

“I doubt his sincerity that the only methods he will use to win, or try to win, will be those which are legal,” Frulio wrote in an eight-page ruling, which was unanimously adopted last week by the five-member Casino Control Commission.

Morse, 53, was placed on New Jersey's casino exclusion list in 1995 and sought the commission's approval to be taken off so that he could resume his blackjack career. Calling him a card cheat, not a card counter, the state Division of Gaming Enforcement opposed Morse's petition to be readmitted to the casinos.

Employing mathematical strategies, counters track every card that is dealt to determine the best times to bet. Card counting is legal in New Jersey, but the casinos may use countermeasures — such as frequently reshuffling the deck — to prevent blackjack players from gaining an upper hand.

In Morse's case, authorities said he would cheat by using the yellow “cut card” to pry open the deck far enough to get a peek at the cards. He would then place big bets after allegedly manipulating the cards in his favor.

John M. Donnelly, an Atlantic City attorney who represented Morse, argued that Morse's gambling techniques did not justify banning him from the casinos.

“I really believe, and he believes, that he shouldn't be barred for what he did many years ago,” Donnelly said. “Since that time, he hasn't been barred for any reasons other than being a card counter.”

Morse has the option of challenging the commission's ruling in state appeals court. Donnelly did not know Tuesday whether Morse would appeal.

Morse could not be reached for comment.