We often see directors dedicating their movies to elaborate and daring casino heists involving entire teams of professional thieves and other criminals. There are numerous real-life stories that serve as a source of inspiration for the movie adaptations of such exciting plots. And while these heists do not look as spectacular as their Hollywood counterparts, we have selected five such crimes that will surely amaze you with some fascinating details.
Stardust casino
The Stardust Resort and Casino, which was one of the most iconic venues in Las Vegas, closed almost 16 years ago. In 1992, the casino’s employee Bill Brennan decided that he had a superb chance to change his life for the better by stealing a huge amount of money from the establishment. He worked as a cashier and took advantage of his position to fill a garbage bag with chips and cash worth half a million dollars. After that, Brennan took the bag, walked to the exit unceremoniously, and no one has ever seen him since.
Ritz casino
To rob this UK casino, a team of three criminals decided to rely on modern technology. They attached special lasers to their smartphone cameras to predict winning sectors on the roulette wheel. Even though the robbers were playing such a randomized game like roulette, they won about $1.5 million through this method. The casino uncovered this criminal plan and appealed to the local authorities. But when the police arrested the team, they were unable to bring any significant charges against them and were forced to release all three robbers. Moreover, these savvy players managed to keep all the stolen money even after being arrested.
Crown Perth casino
This Australian gambling venue also became a victim of one of its employees. But in this case, the casino managed to unravel the criminal plan before it lost the lion’s share of its revenue. The employee had access to the casino’s video surveillance system, which allowed him to coordinate his high roller accomplice. He directed the player to the appropriate tables and provided him with betting recommendations. Thanks to effective interaction, this tandem generated $32 million in winnings. However, the casino administration began to investigate the situation in time and prevented this potential robbery. The administration banned the player permanently and fired the employee without any legal proceedings.
London casinos
In this case, there were several London casinos that were targeted by a local gang. These robbers decided to use hidden body cameras to record every card deal. They sent the videos to their accomplice who was waiting for them near the casinos and was watching the footage in slow motion. This method allowed him to find out which cards were dealt in each round and coordinate the actions of his playing accomplices. This approach resulted in $250 000 in total winnings. And although the robbers managed to escape from the police initially, the investigators tracked them down in a fairly short time.
Circus Circus casino
This robbery has become pretty instructive for numerous Las Vegas casinos. In 1993, Circus Circus had to distribute $3.1 million to its ATMs. The money was transported in an armored vehicle which three guards were responsible for. When the two of them entered the casino, the female security guard drove off in an unknown direction and handed over all the cash to her male accomplice. After that, the man changed clothes and left the country by plane to avoid justice. Although the driver confessed to her crime 10 years later, the authorities have not found her associate and most of the money to this day.
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