When an unsuspecting blackjack casino player won more than one and a half thousand pounds at a casino near Philadelphia at the weekend, he must have thought that his luck had finally turned. Imagine his surprise when doing so led indirectly to his arrest a few hours later!

Authorities moved in on 34-year old Mateen Johnson after he was required to produce identification for his winnings of $2,500 at the Park Racetrack & Casino in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When running his name through the computer, casino staff became concerned that Johnson was the subject of a warrant issued by local police in the town of Altoona, in connection with pending drug charges. The police were called in, and Johnson was apprehended a short time after.

The Altoona Mirror newspaper reports that there was a specific reason for Johnson’s presence at the casino – fearing an arrest for other criminal charges, he was there to try to win the bail money at the blackjack table before turning himself in.

Johnson is currently locked down at Blair County prison awaiting trial, after his bail was set by a Magisterial District Judge at a total of $100,000 for both cases – meaning his big win makes up only one-fortieth of the money he would have needed. Ironically, it’s not certain that he’d be in jail right now if he hadn’t taken steps to try and avoid it.

Remember kids, crime doesn’t pay – even if casinos do.