Most people could never watch too many movies on heists. It’s a thing of wonder and beauty that has people glued to their screens, most of the time rooting for the looters. The biggest casino heists have the same effect on almost anyone that watches their depictions in movies or reads about them. Casino robberies are not necessarily the kind we regularly see, with guns blazing and getaway cars. Some of the largest are orchestrated by expert players who work with IT experts to try and get away with a load of cash.
Here are some of the most elaborate casino heists of all time.
Most Popular Casino Heists
Interestingly, enough games have elaborated on thieving as one of their themes. When you register an account at low minimum $5 deposit online casino, after checking some reliable options on a reviewing website. Some of the gaming options include slots with theft themes. And by the way, one of the events we will cover here was inspired by a movie that has casino games with similar themes.
Crown Casino – 2013 (Perth, Australia)
This $32 million job is a significant casino heist in history. It involved millionaire James Manning and a staff member, but the casino kept the whole thing hushed to prevent public backlash. Manning, who was a high-roller regular, was playing blackjack when he triggered the systems after eight consecutive winning hands.
When the biggest heist in gambling in Australia was being investigated, it turned out that one of the casino’s VIP services’ manager had organized for Manning to play that week and make a historic killing. This story is reminiscent of how the mafia & casinos were connected since it involves an inside person. Manning was scheduled to buy “The Winston,” the most expensive cocktail then, and reps from the Guinness Book of World Records would be at the casino’s Club 23 to record the whole thing. The VIP section manager was launching this drink, so the public would be great for the establishment.
How did they pull it out? The manager hacked the cameras and gave Manning all the signals he needed to make the right move. As for the success rate, the player had yet to transfer the ‘winnings’ into his account, so management decided not to report it to the authorities. Manning didn’t walk away with a ton of money, but he managed to pull out a proper scam with an insider’s help.
Soboba Casino – 2007 (Las Vegas)
This $1.58 million theft involved Rolando Luda Ramos, 27, and some casino staff members. He was accompanied by perceived violence as he is said to have held some casino employees at gunpoint before taking off with the day’s loot. He would later blame it on cocaine and the manipulation of a colleague, Eric Alan Aguilera, 23, who manned the cameras.
The judge heard that on a fateful day, Ramos, a surveillance technician, went into the surveillance room with a BB gun and moved staff from it before accessing the safe and taking the money. Aguilera, the designated getaway driver, helped him complete his mission. When the accused was caught, his only concern was whether or not he had topped Ocean’s 11.
Ritz Casino – 2004 (London)
The game: roulette. Culprits: Eastern European bet gamblers, two men and one woman. How did they go about it? Through “sector targeting,” as the Scotland Yard would explain during their investigations. It involves a player’s ability to predict the point where the ball starts, approximate how it will move after one or two spins, and where it will finally land. This is almost impossible without manipulation, which is how the three almost made away with £1.2m. The total amount already paid out was £300,000, as the rest was to be paid through checks.
A gaming expert, Scott Lang, had written in a book that estimating a ball’s decaying orbit was possible using a stopwatch. Casinos banned stopwatches, but that didn’t stop would-be frauds from using online computers for these calculations. The Ritz trio is thought to have used a laser scanner for a heist of this magnitude. The scanner would be hidden in a mobile phone and is aimed at the wheel to calculate the speed at which it starts when spun. The data is relayed to a computer that would calculate the decaying orbit almost accurately but not perfectly.
Circus Circus – 1993 (Las Vegas)
The Circus heist was one for the books. Heather Tallchief, a 21-year-old ex-nursing assistant, and her boyfriend, Roberto Solis, scammed a Vegas casino out of $3.1 million. She was at large for 12 years until she turned herself in in 2005. Tallchief’s nursing job left her drained and almost addicted to drugs, so she quit to start over. Solis, a man several years her senior with a criminal record, showed her a world she hadn’t ever experienced, including a new job at Loomis, a security firm.
While her colleagues were loading up ATMs, Tallchief drove off the company truck with the $3.1 million under Solis’ instructions, and together they lived a carefree life abroad after successfully evading the authorities. Her accomplice never surrendered to the police, which means he executed his plan very well.
Stardust Casino – 1992 (Las Vegas)
Compared to the others, this $500K heist is milder. The casino’s cashier, Bill Brenna, who was in charge of counting the sportsbook’s monies, simply walked out with this loot. Brenna took half in cash and the rest in casino slots like the ones you win at the best online casinos NJ if the odds favor you. Stardust let the whole thing go after it folded in 1996. What makes this one quite intriguing is that neither the monies nor the culprit was ever located. Good ol’ Brenna varnished in thin air.
Conclusion: What We Should Know More About Gaming Heists
Gaming house fraudsters are not your usual robbers. They do not pose any threat, and mostly, they simply outsmart the systems set in place to keep them at bay, which is why they impress readers.
The Ritz Casino – 2004 (London) heist stands out because the culprits went to lengths to execute it. The use of technology that wasn’t within the establishment to accomplish this speaks of good planning, and the audacity to steal as much as £1.2m shows some confidence we don’t get to see often.
How the cashier in the Stardust Casino – 1992 (Las Vegas) deal disappeared, never to be seen again after collecting half a million dollars in cash and coins, is still intriguing. Where could old Brenna be?