Gambler used dodgy $1000 casino chips at The Star Sydney before fleeing Australia

This is the moment a gambler ran from Sydney’s Star casino — later fleeing the country — after he was busted using $34,000 worth of counterfeit chips.

The situation played out at The Star in January.

This is the moment a gambler ran from Sydney’s Star casino — later fleeing the country — after he was busted using $34,000 worth of counterfeit chips.

Police say the Chinese man left $10,000 worth of fake chips at the cashiers’ counter after staff became suspicious when he requested a colour change, before sprinting from the premises.

CCTV shows the man, in a black outfit and white sneakers, running from the Pyrmont venue and dodging a security guard’s attempts to grab him before hurrying away up the street.

Ten minutes after fleeing the casino and eluding security, investigators allege the man checked out of his room at The Oaks Goldsbrough Suites before catching a flight back to China before he could be arrested.

“He left the casino at 11.31pm, went to his hotel room, changed his shirt, grabbed his suitcase and exited at 11.41pm ... by 8am, he was on a flight back to China,” said Detective Superintendent Peter Faux, head of the NSW Organised Crime Squad.

CCTV of the man running from Sydney’s Star Casino. Picture: NSW Police

Investigators allege the man checked out of his hotel and caught a flight to China shortly after he ran from security.

Police claim the man earlier came to Sydney for a whirlwind trip on January 7, heading straight to The Star from the airport and signing up for a membership deal which would give him access to different gaming rooms where he could bet larger sums.

“He was here for a total of 18 hours on January 7 then pre-booked three days for his visit in March. It’s possible this was a test and he was going to bet larger sums but was caught before he could do so,’’ Superintendent Faux said.

The counterfeit $1000 chips. Picture: NSW Police

On the night he allegedly used the fake chips in March, investigators say the man checked into his hotel at 2.30 and walked to the casino within an hour of arriving.

Police do not know where the counterfeits were made or how much he may have had but believe a chip may have been taken in January and used to make the fake chips.

“In total, $34,000 worth of compromised chips were recovered. They were exceptionally high grade counterfeits. Star reported the discovery within minutes of being aware of them and have been of great assistance to our investigation,‘’ Supt Faux said.

The man tried to flee Star Casino security.

Apart from the $10,000 worth of chips left at the counter, the casino detected another 14 $1000 chips from tables where the fakes had made it into the float and table.

Another nine counterfeit chips were retrieved from six players who had received them in payouts while playing the same tables and two more were handed to Star Casino last month by a patron who realised something was wrong.

They will be reimbursed, and police are confident the man was acting alone.

Supt Faux said investigators have no idea how many counterfeits the man may have had on him or at the hotel, but believe this may have been a test run before trying to defraud the casino of a much larger sum.

“The man was here on a temporary visa and used his real name and travelled on a genuine passport. He had pre-booked the hotel room for three days from March 29, but left on March 30,‘’ he said.

NSW Police are now liaising with Interpol and Chinese authorities.

In 2009, Melbourne’s Crown Casino had to check $13.7 million in $1000 chips after some fake chips were detected. In 2010 a Sydney woman was arrested with thousands of dollars in fake chips.

Since then casinos around the world use a variety of different security measures in an attempt to prevent counterfeiters from using holograms, built in GPS and ultraviolet stamping.

Both Star and the police would not reveal how the dealer was to detect the fake chips.

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Originally published as Gambler used dodgy $1000 casino chips at The Star Sydney before fleeing Australia