A former Gun Lake Casino employee confessed to stealing more than $84,000 from the tribal casino over a year span.
Jordan Lewis Cook was responsible for unclogging jams in cash-out machines. During a 14-month span he would also steal currency while performing his job.
Cook was indicted on federal theft charges last March and his written plea was accepted last week by U.S. Magistrate Judge Ray Kent in Grand Rapids.
Cook stole from Gun Lake 32 different times
According to WOOD TV 8 in Grand Rapids, Cook’s written plea admitted to these thefts, which totaled $84,564 over 32 separate incidents.
Cook would go to the cash-out machines on the casino floors, using a key card to open them. He would remove the cassettes holding the money and remove any crinkled or misfed currency from the machines.
After placing the jammed currency back into the cassettes he would steal some of the cash from the machine for himself. The court records say Cook admitted that he used the funds for his own personal use.
Gun Lake Casino is located in Wayland and owned and operated by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians.
The charge of theft from an Indian Tribal Organization can carry up to a five-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.
Cook’s sentencing has been scheduled for January.
Gun Lake’s newsworthy month
This latest news is part of a busy month for the casino, which just recently won a notable poll and also handed out its biggest progressive jackpot.
Last month, Gun Lake Casino was named Best Casino by Revue Magazine as part of its Best of the West readers’ poll.
On Aug. 25, a Grandville man won a progressive jackpot of $727,270 playing Ultimate Fire Link Explosion at Gun Lake. The prize was the largest single jackpot given out since the casino opened in 2011.
On top of all that, Gun Lake is also in the second year of its renovation project that will see a 252-room hotel and an aquadome added to the resort.
Specifically, the indoor pool complex will be 32,000 square feet, containing three pools. In the evening, the pools can be transformed into a concert venue.
The project broke ground in May of 2022 and is targeted to be finished in early 2025.
