Poker player Christian Lusardi's flush lands him in jail

POKER player Christian Lusardi opted for a different type of flush when police closed in on his hotel where he had $2.7 million of counterfeit poker chips.

Lusardi, 42, of North Carolina, flushed the chips down the toilet in a room at Harrah's Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He was arrested over the weekend.

The discovery in clogged sewer pipes prompted Harrah's to notify Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, where Lusardi used the fake chips during the Winter Poker Open's "Big Stack, No Limit Hold 'Em" event.

Police said touament officials found 160 of the counterfeit poker chips - each with a value of $5000, for a total of $800,000 - among the genuine casino chips.

The event had to be cancelled.

"This was a very unusual occurrence. It's the first time in Borgata's 10 years that anything like this has happened," Joe Lupo, senior vice president of operations at Borgata, told CNN.

"We are very pleased that the New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau has apprehended a suspect," Mr Lupo said. "While this is a very positive development, the investigation by the Division of Gaming Enforcement and the State Police is ongoing."

Lusardi was charged with rigging a publicly exhibited contest, criminal attempt, and theft by deception. He was being held on $300,000 bail, with no option to pay 10 per cent, at the Atlantic City Jail, police said.

The poker touament began in mid-January with more than 4800 people enrolled. When it was cancelled on Friday, just 27 people remained in the touament.