A self-proclaimed illusionist from Mississippi who spent years working casino floors under false names, including “Shaun Mistery,” will now serve a decade in prison.
On Tuesday (February 10), Judge Carl Petersen sentenced 38-year-old Shaun Joseph Benward to 10 years in prison concurrently. The Lyon County sentence includes credit for nearly a year in detention while the case was pending.
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In November 2025, a jury found Benward guilty of a range of felony gaming offenses stemming from his activities at Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood. Prosecutors claimed the case revolved around a deliberate attempt to manipulate casino procedures for personal gain.
He manipulated casino staff to secure over $10,000 in improper payouts and avoided IRS reporting requirements by breaking up over $12,000 in transactions, changing his outfit multiple times, and using different tellers to stay undetected. Benward has been arrested for similar scams throughout the country.
Iowa Department of Public Safety
According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, jurors convicted him of “five counts of money laundering, five counts of cheating at gambling games, and one count of conspiracy to commit a felony.”
In December 2018, agents witnessed Benward cheating at the Larchwood casino, prompting state officials to look into his behavior. Officials said they discovered a premeditated attempt to circumvent both casino staff and federal reporting standards.
“He manipulated casino staff to secure over $10,000 in improper payouts and avoided IRS reporting requirements by breaking up over $12,000 in transactions, changing his outfit multiple times, and using different tellers to stay undetected,” the department stated in its press release.
Mississippi self-proclaimed illusionist had history of casino bans and allegations
The Iowa conviction was not Benward’s first encounter with gambling officials. Other states’ records show a pattern of similar behavior dating back more than ten years.
In October 2015, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board placed him on its involuntary exclusion list after deciding that he and another individual had engaged in a cheating scheme. The same month, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in Monroe County, Pennsylvania.
Missouri regulators eventually compiled their own conclusions. The Missouri Gaming Commission’s 2019 resolution describes problems at various Kansas City-area casinos. Surveillance footage from the Isle of Capri Casino Benward allegedly adjusted his wager in Kansas City after determining the outcome of a game. In another case, detectives determined that he removed a $500 chip from the table while a cashier was distracted, then walked away with $2,750 in cash despite only providing $2,250 in chips.
These incidents resulted in his expulsion from various venues, including Lumière Place, Isle of Capri locations, Harrah’s North Kansas City, and several Boyd Gaming casinos. Finally, Missouri regulators permanently blacklisted him from all riverboat gaming operations in the state.
Benward stayed free for several years following the Iowa event in 2018. Authorities apprehended him in Mississippi in April 2025 on outstanding charges related to the Iowa case.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety stated that the probe highlights the efforts of the Division of Criminal Probe’s Special Enforcement Operations Bureau, which is “the primary criminal investigative and enforcement agency for the Iowa gaming industry.”
