Table of Contents
Casinos rake hundreds of millions in money. These all came from lucky and unlucky gamblers who have spent quite a fortune playing games like slots, table games, and more.
Many believe that gambling venues, both online and brick-and-mortar, are rigged. However, that is only a myth. Like all businesses, casinos like OKBET are built to earn and not act like charity institutions.
Nevertheless, losers felt they had been cheated. But how can they get the money they lost?
By gambling? No. By stealing? Probably. By cheating? Could be. So here are casino heists that are most likely taken from a movie.
1. Crown Casino Heist
In 2013, millionaire businessman James Manning was invited by Crown Casino’s VIP services manager to play in their high rollers’ room. That night, Manning was extremely lucky, winning eight hands of blackjack for a total of $33 million.
However, it was not just because of fate he won such an amount. Apparently, he had some help. Manning was able to win because of security camera breaches and card signaling from the same guy who invited him to play—the manager. Luckily for the casino, the businessman did not cash out his winnings, and Crown Casino was able to boot him out of the establishment without losing a huge chunk of money.
2. MIT Blackjack Team
According to MIT, blackjack is the only casino game that is not a game of chance. To support their claim, they created a blackjack team whose objective was to show that they could win using statistical analysis.
The team, founded by Bill Kaplan, comprised students from prestigious universities like Harvard, the University of Chicago, Princeton, and MIT. He taught them how to apply strategies and count cards.
For 20 years, Kaplan’s Blackjack team acquired between $22 million and $57 million. Although not considered illegal, it is still impressive that a team could pull off a heist without getting arrested.
3. Casino ATM Heist
This heist did not involve cheating or strategy but simple employment. In 1993, Heather Tallchief was advised by her then-boyfriend, released convicted murderer Roberto Solis, to apply as a driver for Loomis.
This company is responsible for resupplying casino ATMs all around Las Vegas. Tallchief was tasked to drive the delivery car to different machines. But while the transport guards are inside Circus Circus Casino, she drives away, stealing roughly three million dollars.
For 12 years, Tallchief and Solis were never heard from until 2005, when the former turned herself in. Apparently, her ex only gave her a cut of $1000 and took off with the rest of the money. Up until now, authorities have yet to catch Solis.
4. Ritz Casino Heist
Back in 2004, the Ritz Casino lost 1.7 million dollars from three physicians. Similar to the MIT Blackjack team, these three people used their intelligence to beat the roulette game. They predicted where the ball would land using laser scanners and microcomputers.
Although the Ritz Casino was duped with almost two million dollars, the police decided that no crime was committed, and the players got their winnings back.
5. Soboba Casino Heist
Heists are often inside jobs, and the Soboba Casino incident was no different. In 2007, Rolando Luda Ramos, a surveillance technician at the casino, shackled his coworkers and stole $1.5 million. Unfortunately, his millionaire status did not last long. After two days, he and his getaway driver, Eric Aguilera, were caught by authorities.
6. Biker Bandit in Bellagio
In 2010, a son of a Las Vegas judge robbed the Bellagio Casino while wearing a motorcycle helmet. Anthony Michael Carleo took off chips estimated to be $1.5 million. But before making a million dollars, he also stole chips amounting to $20,000.
Unfortunately, he was so proud of his crime that he bragged it to his high school friends. Carleo was arrested days after.
7. Stardust Casino Heist
Two robberies happened in this casino. One is mysterious, and the other is more like a movie plot.
In 1991, Stardust was robbed. It involved an inside job, a family-orchestrated crime, and smoke grenades.
The mastermind was Royal Hopper, a security guard. He employed his two sons as robbers while stealing $150,000. Six months later, the three attacked an armored truck carrying 1.1 million dollars. For their escape, they used smoke bombs.
Royal was arrested together with William Culverson and Terry Maloney.
The most mysterious heist happened a year later because the culprit was never found. Bill Brennan, a cashier at the casino, had one simple task—to count the money from the sportsbook.
The total was $500,000, and after counting the cash, it took a weird turn. Brennan walked out of the establishment with the money (half were chips). Despite being put on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, he was never found. Brennan has not reappeared even though Stardust closed and his case was dismissed.
8. The Bellagio (Again)
In 2000, Jose Vigoa, with bulletproof gear, robbed the Bellagio, taking chips worth $160,000. However, it seemed that he was only thinking of getting out of the casino alive rather than preventing cameras see his face. Hence, the authorities easily apprehended Vigoa, a former Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces commando.
9. Treasure Island
It seemed like Reginald Johnson fell in love with robbing Treasure Island because he did it thrice in the same year!
In 2000, Johnson first robbed the casino in July. Three months later, he returned and was again successful.
However, he lucked out with his third attempt when Vegas police captured him. He made a quick $30,000 or more during his first two robberies.
Conclusion
Stealing or cheating in a casino can be a terrible idea. Trying to get the money you purposely lost through illegal means will only lead to nowhere.
Chips are tracked, and thus there is no way for a thief to cash them out without getting caught. Moreso, cheating in a casino and getting caught may also get you permanently banned.
Instead of figuring out whether casinos have swindled you, play at trusted gambling locations. For online gambling, better choose accredited operators, for the government regulates them.