After hearing of a recent heist in which a bandit wearing a
motorcycle helmet robbed the Bellagio of $1.5 million in chips (the 10th Vegas casino robbery this year), I remembered the scene from Ocean's 11 where
Reuben expounds upon why it is nigh impossible to steal from a Las Vegas casino. But that simply isn't true. Granted, no one has infiltrated a casino for a massive $160 million haul, but sizable losses have occurred over the years:
18 Casino Heists: The Strange, The Surgical, and The Stupid;
5 Most Famous Casino Heists in History,
Top 10: Epic Las Vegas Heists;
13 Real Heists from Around the World (there is duplication of mentioned events on these sites, as well as non-casino-related crimes).
Casino Security (Wiki) may be
high tech (Google .pdf quickview), but it's not
unbeatable (Casino insider tells (almost) all about security). Of course, there are
other ways to steal from a casino, but you might still
get caught. And it's hard to find much lore about successful robberies, mostly because casinos don't want that kind of publicity.
[more inside]
posted by bwg
on Dec 15, 2010 -
37 comments
"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world." This story's making the rounds today, for a very, very good reason:
A Victim Treats His Mugger Right
posted by chinese_fashion
on Mar 28, 2008 -
203 comments
Juststolen.net "was created by police officers to provide the best possible asset tracking and property recovery services in the world. JustStolen.net is an innovative tool designed to easily register assets in order to facilitate their recovery if they are lost or stolen. JustStolen.net joins forces with
online auctions to help identify stolen property."
posted by tristeza
on Dec 6, 2007 -
7 comments
Gun crime on the streets of London? It's not new. Here's a tale of robbery, murder, revolution, and
Churchill in a topper. First, the
Tottenham Outrage, a factory robbery resulting in two murders, 27 injuries, and a bizarre chase. The villains are Latvian anarchists, a group who are trying to finance their revolutionary aims through crime. The next year, a plan to
tunnel into a jewelers is botched, and attempted burglary becomes the
Houndsditch Murders . The police investigate, and on locating the gang,
The Siege of Sidney Street begins. The army is called in, and the
Home Secretary pops by and assumes control.
After much shooting, a fire breaks out, and two men burn to death. But neither of them is the mysterious gang leader, Peter the Painter, and the five later tried are all acquitted. Churchill, however, is guilty of
showing off a bit.
posted by liquidindian
on Jun 18, 2007 -
19 comments
In 1977 Chris Haynes, a set decorator for The Six Million Dollar Man was setting up a scene to be filmed on location in the spookhouse ride of a Long Beach, CA amusement park called The Pike. While moving the various interior props around, Haynes discovered that the paper mache "mummy" hanging in the corner of the ride
was in fact a homicide victim, a fact that had gone unnoticed by years of amusement park visitors.
The story of how Elmer McCurdy's body was shot to death in 1911, only to be re-discovered &
buried over six decades later, makes for an interesting read.
posted by jonson
on Mar 29, 2007 -
26 comments
Hopkins, wearing a black ski mask and latex gloves, allegedly walked up to the casino's cashier and pointed a shotgun at her, robbing her of $336, according to court records...At about that moment, a man named Tyrone, whose last name no one seems to know, charged Hopkins and grabbed the shotgun, pointing it into the air. With the robber pinned, Ren, 30, grabbed a full roll of duct tape and went to work.
"I wrapped his hands, legs, whatever," Ren recalled Friday, as he smoked a cigarette, sipped a Budweiser and held the duct tape in his hand. "He ain't moving. He ain't going nowhere." At that point, the men, feeling bad for the woman who had been robbed, decided to make Hopkins apologize to her. When he was placed in front of the cashier, Hopkins apologized and "cried like a baby," Kleppen said.
Hopkins and Caward were scheduled to appear in Gallatin County Justice Court Friday morning, although they were "too high" and instead will make their initial appearances on Monday, Judge G.L. Smith said.
posted by 445supermag
on Mar 3, 2007 -
50 comments
Ram Ayala - owner of the famed Tacoland nightclub in beautiful downtown San Antonio, Texas - was
shot and
killed during a robbery at his bar last Thursday.
The world-famous club has been a favorite dive for bands and locals alike since 1969, forever immortalized in
the Dead Milkmen song
"Tacoland".
R.I.P.
posted by item
on Jun 27, 2005 -
3 comments
The strangest robbery. A pizza delivery man delivers a pizza to a "remote location." Later he's found robbing a bank, claiming someone else is making him do this and that person put a remote controlled bomb around his neck. The pizza man gets caught and his head shortly explodes in front of the police. Now one of his friends and co-worker is found dead. It doesn't get much weirder than this. Semi-graphic video in story.
posted by skallas
on Sep 2, 2003 -
86 comments
Robbers escape with $3m (£2.1m) in cash after hijacking a van at Heathrow Airport, London, the second such raid there in recent weeks. Nice to see that security has improved then, at the worlds busiest
airport after 9/11.
via BBC
posted by MintSauce
on Mar 19, 2002 -
12 comments
Bank robbery in progress: You can probably watch it live on TV right now. Six schools close to the bank have been shut down, and the FBI is negotiating for the hostages to be released.
posted by ktheory
on Sep 4, 2001 -
4 comments
This proves my theory that in reality
Fargo is much stranger than the Coen Brothers movie. This is the new way to get people to come to North Dakota: Drive from Florida to knock-over a Super8 motel using, as your threat, an imaginary bomb in a Winnie the Pooh backpack---do all of this to fufill your request to spend the remainder of your life in the country's safest jail.
posted by nathan_teske
on Jul 22, 2001 -
13 comments
World's biggest diamond robbery foiled. Yeah, this could have been serious, but it's straight out of
The Thomas Crown Affair. Break through the Dome's gates with a JCB, sneak into the vault, escape on a powerboat. It's almost a pity that the Sweeney was there to foil it.
posted by holgate
on Nov 7, 2000 -
6 comments
