A riverboat gambler and magician known as Shaun Mistery appeared in Tahoe Township Justice Court last week in connection with multiple cheating charges.

Shaun Joseph Benward, 39, is facing two warrants in Clark County in addition to one in Douglas County.

“He was brought here on a governor’s warrant,” Prosecutor Bill Murphy told Justice of the Peace Richard Glasson. “He’s accused of being a major gambling cheat with cases in multiple states.”

Because he is on a detainer, he would be returned to Iowa, Murphy said.

Benward was found guilty by a jury in Lyon County, Iowa, of multiple counts of money laundering, cheating and conspiracy to commit a felony on Nov. 6, 2025.

He was sentenced to 10 years in an Iowa prison and was transferred to Douglas County on June 5 on a detainer to faces charges here before he heads to Clark County to deal with charges there.

The Iowa charges stem from a 2018 roulette scam where he asked the dealer to place a $100 roulette bet and then disputed the bet after the result, resulting in $3,500, according to charges filed in Iowa. He and a cohort also broke up transactions worth $12,580 to avoid IRS reporting requirements.

It took Iowa seven years to track him down before he was convicted by a jury.

Benward appears in the Michigan, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Nevada and Missouri Black Books, which exclude individuals from entering casinos.

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Benward was conducting the roulette scheme at a dozen Southern Nevada casinos in 2017 and 2020. At the time of his listing, he’d been trespassed from 17 Nevada casinos.