It seemed like a crime that was executed to perfection. The robber was dressed to obscure his identity, and was in and out of the casino, in less time than it takes to complete a hand of live poker. The only problem is, the stolen casino chips will be very difficult to cash in.
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| Photo source: Las Vegas Metro Police |
At 3.50 am on December 14, a man wearing a full faced motorcycle helmet parked his motorcycle outside Bellagio Las Vegas, went straight to the craps table, pulled out a gun, and grabbed $1.5 million worth of chips from the table before running out and speeding off on his motorcycle.
According to the details released by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, “The suspect is described as a white male adult, 5’10″-6′, 220 lbs. He was carrying a handgun and was last seen wearing a white motorcycle helmet, black down jacket, black pants and black gloves. The motorcycle is described as a 2009-2010 black sport bike.”
Chips will be very difficult to cash in
The chips that he got away with have printed values ranging from $100 to $25,000 but they probably cost less than $1 each for the casino to produce. The chips do not have any real value off the casino floor, so the robber would need to return at some point to the Bellagio, to exchange those chips for cash.
Other than the fact that the police are currently on the lookout for anyone attempting to make such a transaction, the chips themselves (especially the $25,000) also contain security features like serial numbers and RFID chips that will make them even more difficult to cash in without him being caught.
In the mean time, if someone tries to sell you Bellagio chips for a big discount, it will probably be a really bad idea to buy them.
Source: Pokerstrategy.com
