Miami Gambler Helped Steal $68K From Boomtown New Orleans Casino Machine

Michel Francklin, 57, was taken into custody in Miami, and extradited to Jefferson Parish on Sept. 24 for helping 33-year-old Michael Shea of Coral Springs rig one of the roulette games at Boomtown New Orleans Casino, located at 4132 Peters Road, Harvey, according to local authorities.

Video roulette machine was manipulated at Boomtown New Orleans Casino in order to cash in thousands of dollars in tickets

Francklin was jailed just three months after Shea pleaded guilty to tampering with a video roulette machine at the casino. He was booked with three counts of being a principal to altering gaming equipment and three counts of theft, according to jail records. The pair visited the casino three days in a row beginning Aug. 6, 2022.

On the first day, they were seen on surveillance video manipulating the roulette machine, an arrest report said. They spent 11 hours inside the casino and cashed 12 tickets worth $31,500, authorities said.

The men returned on Aug. 7, 2022, and spent another 11 hours in the casino before cashing in $19,038 with nine winning tickets from the machine. On the last day, the pair cashed in $17,850 in tickets, the arrest report said.

Authorities didn’t specify how the men were able to cheat the machine or how they identified the suspects. Shea was the first to be arrested on Feb. 22, 2024. He pleaded guilty May 6 to altering gaming equipment and theft valued over $25,000, Jefferson Parish court records said.

Francklin’s bail was set at $45,000

According to Michelle Hunter of Nola.com, Judge Stephen Enright Jr. of the 24th Judicial District Court suspended a six-year prison sentence and instead ordered that Shea serve three years of active probation.

Shea was also ordered to make restitution in the full amount of the money stolen, court records said. However, an attachment was issued for Shea’s arrest after he missed a July 31 compliance court hearing.

His probation officer filed a motion to revoke his probation for failing to make a restitution payment and moving to California without the court’s permission because he was “stressed,” per court records.

Additionally, Francklin is being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna. Bail is set at $45,000.