Keno-Playing Indiana Couple Who Beat Cheating Charges Now Suing Harrah's, State Cops

JOLIET, IL — An Indiana couple jailed two years ago on charges they cheated at a keno game only to beat the case in court have sued Harrah’s Casino and eight state cops.

Rande Thorpe, 59, and his 60-year-old wife, Virginia Thorpe, filed their lawsuit in Will County court.

The Thorpes were arrested and booked into the Will County jail in March 2014 on charges of burglary, the unlawful structuring of a currency transaction, computer fraud, cheating at a gambling game and computer tampering.

Rande Thorpe, the former superintendent of La Porte, Indiana schools, and his wife were supposedly part of a band of gambling cheats charged with manipulating Harrah's video keno machines. All five keno players were charged in connection with the alleged cheating and all were cleared in court.

In their lawsuit, the Thorpes claim they were merely playing keno when they “discovered that the machine had very favorable pay tables.”

The state cops, who were working for the Illinois Gaming Board, noticed that the Thorpes were winning, the lawsuit said, so they “collaborated and conspired to arrest and criminally charge” them.