18 Casino Heists: The Strange, The Surgical, and The Stupid

It is an iconic Hollywood tale.

The impenetrable casino being taken down by a group of lovable criminals. The heist planned with master strategy and execution, the things that go wrong and the eventual getaway make this story so fun.

The problem is the story is untrue.

Each year casino’s around the world are plagued by heists, robberies, and employee’s with sticky fingers. They would like the world to go on believing they cannot be penetrated by the criminal mind, but here are 18 heists that attempted to destroy the odds; some got away, some got caught. Let’s find out which criminals truly destroyed the odds.

1. The Laser Phone Scam
Gamblers using high tech phones win at Roulette

In December of 2004, 2 Hungarian women and 2 Serbian men won just over 1.2 million pounds from the Ritz Casino in London, England. Using a complex system of lasers, cell phones and computers, the 4 scammers were able to determine the speed of the wheel and figure out which numbers were most likely to win. Eventually a Judge decided that this technique was not against the law, leaving the 4 with all 1.2 million pounds.

2. Brown Bagging It
The Bill Brennan, Stardust Heist

In September of 1992, Bill Brennan, a cashier at the Stardust’s sports book, left for lunch with over $500,000 in cash and chips inside of a bag draped over his shoulder — the biggest theft from a Las Vegas casino in history. Even after being on the the FBI’s most wanted list, and appearing on America’s Most Wanted, there have been no signs of Brennan. Police believe he has fled the country. Seventeen years later and still no sign of Bill Brennan.

3. A May/December Heist
Heather Tallchief and Roberto Solis Rob Circus Circus

In October of 1993, Tallchief, 21, and Roberto Solis, 48, made off with a Loomis Armored truck filled with $2.5 million outside of Circus Circus. The two escaped the United States via the Cayman Islands and St. Martin. Solis, a man who Tallchief thought was in love with her, later left, leaving her with only $1,000 and their child. After running from the law for over 12 years, Heather Tallchief finally surrendered in September of 2005.

There’s no running away anymore,” she told MSNBC. “I’ve done enough of that.

4. Anonymity in a Crowd
The 2005 Mandalay Bay Heist

On March 11, 2005 two men approached a casino change booth inside Mandalay Bay at about 4 p.m. and held up the cashier working inside the booth. The men then fled in a vehicle parked near an entrance, making off with an untold amount of money. Neither police nor Mandalay Bay spokesman Gordon Absher would specify which entrance they used or which booth was robbed, leaving the entire event shrouded in mystery.

5. The Ruso-American Gangster
Jose Vigoa Wreaks Havoc on Vegas

At age 13, Jose Vigoa was taken from Cuba to the Soviet Union where he joined the elite Spetsnaz force fighting in Angola and Afghanistan. This would be the training ground for his life as a ruthless criminal on the streets of Las Vegas.

Vigoa enlisted a the help of a group of criminals that, by many accounts, were nothing more than a group of bumbling fools. Even though his team of hoodlums never measured up to his level of skill, Vigoa successfully hit some very difficult targets including armored cars and modern casinos that made him millions of dollars.

Vigoa’s biggest mistake came when he robbed the Bellagio wearing the flimsy disguise of sunglasses and a baseball cap. The Bellagio managed to get extremely detailed shots of Vigoa, which ended up being broadcast for four days on Vegas TV and finally resulted in a 100 mph car chase through the city.

Vigoa’s capture, arrest, and sentencing left him facing more than 500 years in prison with no possibility of parole.

6. Garden State Gambling Hall Thief
Jason Herring Robs Four Gambling Halls in New Jersey

In October of 2007, Jason Herring, 33, of Jersey City, was captured outside the Atlantic City Hilton Casino resort, holding a pellet gun and $10,500 in cash, still wrapped in a Hilton money wrapper, Lt. Bill Carey said.

Herring first tried to stick up a teller at a cash advance window in the former Claridge casino, which is now part of Bally’s Atlantic City, Carey said.

“He shows a handgun and demands money, but the teller refuses, and he bolts out the door,” Carey said.

State Police set up surveillance points at several locations in the casino zone which they had staked out during the summer after nearly identical robberies at the Showboat Casino-Hotel, and Caesars Atlantic City. Police questioned Herring, who admitted robbing all four casinos.

7. Brotherly Love
Reginald and Donell Johnson Make a Repeated Mark of Treasure Island

In 2000, a lone gunman jumped over the main casino cage just after midnight hitting and robbing a cashier, police said. He shot at and missed two security guards as he fled with an undisclosed amount of money, said Alan Feldman, spokesman for MGM Mirage, which owns Treasure Island hotel-casino.

Jurors found Reginals and Donell Johnson guilty of the crime in 2000.

Donell Johnson previously pleaded guilty to a similar robbery in 1997 at Treasure Island.

During Reginald Johnson’s taped confession, he said he struck the cashier with his gun during the July 2000 robbery because his brother had recognized the cashier from the earlier heist.

8. Sioux Falls Mystery
South Dakota Becomes Home to a String of Unsolved Casino Robberies

Sioux Falls has been the target of 5 casino robberies in the last two weeks, in what are the most current heists on our list.

A white man armed with a hand gun demanded money from the till, and then took off with an undisclosed amount of money in each case.

The suspect is described as around five-foot-seven, 145 pounds and was last seen wearing a dark colored stocking cap, a blue bandanna that partially covered his face, a dark colored hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

9. Estonian Crime Spree
Estonian Casinos Suffer 20 Robberies over Several Months

In 2008, about 20 casino robberies were committed in different parts of Estonia, with police having little success in solving them so far. To give reference to this, Estonia is smaller in size than New Hampshire and Vermont combined (roughly 17,500 square miles).

An armed robbery committed concealing one’s face carries 15 years in jail as maximum punishment in Estonia.

10. Giving Herself a Bonus
Elizabeth Williams Pockets $50,000 from her Casino Cashier Job

Elizabeth Williams, 24-year-old LaPlace woman, was arrested by St. John the Baptist Sheriff’s Office for allegedly stealing more than $50,000 from a Reserve casino where she was employed.

Deputy U.S. marshals from the Eastern District of Tennessee captured Elizabeth Williams of 508 C Revere Drive inside an apartment she rented in the 800 block of Portsmouth Avenue in Bristol, Va.

Williams, a cashier at the Riverbend Palace Casino on Airline Highway, was wanted by authorities for allegedly stealing $52,283 and documents concerning the money from the business on Oct. 21, 2006.

11. Playing the Slots
Adam Thomas, a Slot Floor Person, Steals $644,422 from the Desert Diamond

Adam Thomas Vega, 31, of Tucson, pleaded guilty in Tucson federal court to the largest casino related theft by an employee in Arizona casino history. In doing so, he admitted to stealing $644,422 from the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson where he worked as a slot floor person.

Vega fraudulently obtained various supervisors’ passwords allowing him to generate fraudulent Jackpot Override Tickets in various amounts. Between October 1, 2005 through July 9,2007, Vega generated 585 fraudulent Jackpot Override Tickets for amounts ranging from $100 to $1199. All of the false jackpot tickets were for amounts under $1,200 to avoid generating a W-2G federal tax withholding form. Vega submitted the jackpot tickets to the casino cage cashier; a total of $664,422 was taken from the casino.

12. Teamwork Pays Off
Orchestrated Team Makes Off with $10,000

A team of five people unload a patron of $10,000 through sophisticated hand gestures, diversions, and a quick grab.

13. Stupid is as Stupid Does
Jason Cody Spends $35,000 of Stolen Money on Flash while Earning $6,400 a Year

Jason Cody Jones, 27, was arrested in Florence, Colo., and charged with suspicion of theft in connection with $110,000 missing in 2004 from J.P. McGill’s casino, where Jones was a security guard. Jones called attention to himself by purchasing a motorcycle with 300 $20 bills and a pickup truck with a similar array of small bills, and for spending $35,000 during a six-month period this year while having earned only $6,400.

14. Mr.Casino
Richard Taylor Uses Craps to Rob Foxwoods

Richard Taylor, 43, also known as “Mr. Casino,” or simply “Mr. C,” used serveral dealers and associates to organize a lucrative craps hustle in the Foxwoods Casino. Taylor was found guilty of first-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny, cheating and other charges.

Prosecutors Stephen M. Carney and David J. Smith had called upon several Foxwoods dealers to testify to allowing late bets at the craps table for Taylor or others who prosecutors said were Taylor’s associates.

The fast-moving game of craps relies on dealers to take bets before the dice are thrown. Dealers said they used code words “hot chocolate” or “strawberry daiquiri” to identify cheating players. They later were paid a cut of their winnings.

15. Heist on the Bayou
Richard Owens and Randy J. Girouard Take $100,000 from the Cypress Bayou Casino

In 2008, Richard W. Owens, 48, of Basile, was charged with the armed robbery of the Cypress Bayou Casino. His alleged accomplice, Randy J. Girouard, of New Iberia, was charged as an accessory.

Patrick Darden, executive director of the Chitimacha Tribal Gaming Commission, said a gunman entered the casino around 5 a.m. and demanded money from a cashier. The suspect jumped across the counter, removed about $100,000 in cash and exited the casino.

16. Socks Full of Money
Thailand Casino Worker Walks out with $17,000 in his Socks

A casino worker in Thailand walked out of work with his socks stuffed with the equivalent of roughly $17,000 to pay off a poker debt. He pled guilty after being arrested in the UK.

17. 72 Hour Millionaires
Three People Pull Off Biggest Indian Casino Heist at $1.58 million

In 2007, Rolando Luda Ramos, 25, of San Jacinto, pulled off the largest Indian casino heist to date in the nation at $1.58 million.

However, it was less than 72 hours from heist to arrests.

Ramos and the suspected getaway driver, Eric Allen Magdaleno Aguilera, 23, of Hemet, were charged with three counts of kidnapping to commit robbery, three counts of robbery and unlawful use of tear gas. Aguilera’s girlfriend, Sonya Marie Boyorquez, 23, of San Jacinto, was charged with helping both men evade capture after the robbery.

Ramos disabled several security cameras before pulling off the heist about 5 a.m. He allegedly had an unarmed security guard and a security guard trainee escort him into a surveillance room where he tied up and gagged two men and a woman, pepper-spraying one of the men. Ramos then allegedly went into the vault and forced seven other male and female workers to stand in a corner facing the wall while he loaded a duffel bag with the money.

18. Motorcycle Marauders
Two men Wearing Motorcycle Helmets Raid the Hilton Las Vegas sportsbook

In 2008, the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and Casino was subject to a heist , as two robbers took bags of money from the sportsbook and fled, presumably with a third person as a getaway driver.

The robbers were wearing motorcycle helmets and drew handguns.

Officials said the operation took less than a minute, and the thieves escaped with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

Investigators have no leads. The investigation should have started with how the personnel operating the omnipresent camera system carried by all Vegas casinos didn’t find patrons walking through the casino wearing helmets to be suspicious.