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Dec
22
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Recently a man ran out of the Bellagio with $1.5 million in casino chips, though they won’t do much good, as they are of no value until he cashes them in, and it is likely that he will be able to do that. Some of the chips were $25K chips, which are rare and are always closely monitored. These will be extremely difficult to cash in.
Director of Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, David Schwartz, says of cashing the chips in, “I can’t think of any way you could. It’s not like they’re currency that you can use anywhere. If you steal so many chips, in such a big, dramatic way, there’s going to be a lot of scrutiny at the casino, and that makes it very difficult to cash in.”
The unknown assailant robbed the Bellagio at 3:50 a.m. Tuesday of last week. He fled the scene on his black late-model sports motorcycle that he had parked at the north valet entrance of the casino. He was wearing a leather jacket and a white full-face helmet when he entered the casino, walked up to a craps table, and demanded the money. Once he received the chips, he simply left on his motorcycle and headed west on Flamingo Road, according to police.
He was carrying a handgun, but fortunately no one was injured and no shots were fired. He did not steal money from the patrons, just the casino, and was in and out within three minutes. Lt. Nichols says, “He parked, walked in, committed the robbery and left.” An employee of the casino had already called 911 though before the man walked out of the casino.
The chips ranged in value from $100 up to $25K. The suspect is a white male about 5’-10” and around 220 pounds. He is also suspected of burglarizing the Suncoast casino in a similar manner last week.
Now an anonymous citizen who goes by Robin Hood 702, who donates his Blackjack winnings to people in need, has placed a $50K bounty on the head of the thief.
In the Youtube clip below you can see actual footage of the robbery.