LAS VEGAS A daring robbery of a type rarely attempted in the highly securitized Las Vegas gaming industry occurred Tuesday at Bellagio, when a masked man drew a gun on the casino floor and demanded gaming chips.
The unidentified robber, wearing a motorcycle mask that obscured his face, stuffed an estimated US$1.5 million worth of chips into a backpack, ran to the door and escaped on a motorcycle.
No shots were fired and no injuries were reported.
An MGM Resorts International spokesman confirms the robbery and says Bellagio will be on the lookout for suspicious chip redemptions. “At some point, they have to be redeemed,” spokesman Gordon Absher tells Las Vegas Sun.
Police believe the suspect is likely the same man who robbed another Las Vegas property, Suncoast Hotel & Casino, last week. Less than US$20,000 was taken in that incident.