Crime & Scandals

Casino Worker & Husband Accused of Embezzling

Posted on: June 4, 2025, 03:18h.

Last updated on: June 4, 2025, 03:26h.

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Corey Levitan Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas...
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A husband and wife team were arrested in San Jose for embezzling from a casino
The casino was identified by chips seized from the couple as the Casino M8trix card room
Ellen and Mark Mangundayao face charges of felony embezzlement and conspiracy

Police in the Bay Area have arrested a casino worker and her husband on suspicion of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years.

Ellen Mangundayao, 38, and her husband, Mark Mangundayao, 41, pose for their mug shots. (Image: San Jose Police Department)

This photo of gaming chips seized by police was identified as belonging to Casino M8trix card room by local media outlets. (Image: San Jose Police Department)

San Jose police said that the casino — identified by photographs of chips seized from the couple as the Casino M8trix card room — notified them on May 23 that their employee, Ellen Mangundayao, had been stealing chips since at least the beginning of May.

Finally Busted

Detectives confirmed the casino’s suspicions, identifying a years-long scheme in which the 38-year-old gave the chips to her husband, 41-year-old Mark Mangundayao, who cashed them out at the casino.

After obtaining arrest and search warrants, police arrested and booked the couple into the Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of felony embezzlement and conspiracy.

Police said they seized $75K in cash and $10K in chips from their two homes, and found $4,750 in chips on Ellen’s person.

Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas.

Corey spent six years covering the Vegas Strip for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he also wrote the most popular humor column in the city’s history. (For “Fear and Loafing,” he tried out 176 Vegas jobs, including poker player, blackjack dealer and Follie Bergere dancer.)

Corey has won more than 100 local, state and national awards for his journalism, which has also appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and the New York Post.

Corey is a New York native whose hobbies include playing guitar, trying to be a better husband, and arguing with strangers on Facebook.

Contact Corey at corey@casino.org.