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A heist at a Las Vegas casino is something right out of a Hollywood flick. Ocean’s Eleven, Reindeer Games and the aptly-named 2015 film – Heist, all have one theme in common – robbing a casino. As they say, fiction is often based in fact, and the truth is casinos, specifically Las Vegas casinos, have often been the target for robbers and swindlers.
Proving this fact, on the night of March 15, an unnamed man attempted to rob the Bellagio poker room which ended in a shootout between the robber and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The Robbery of the Bellagio on March 15
Last Friday at about 9.45pm, an armed man entered a packed Bellagio Hotel and Casino and demanded money from a caged poker area.
Recounting the events of the night, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Capt. Nichole Splinter said, “He then fled and tried to steal a vehicle that had just pulled into the valet lot, but he was immediately confronted by four police officers.”
The anonymous man then fired his weapon which hit the protective vest of one of the police officers. That prompted the officers to retaliate which ended up critically injuring the suspect.
Both the officer and robber were then transported to a local hospital where the officer was released after being treated, but the suspect was listed to be in critical condition.
The Aftermath of the Robbery & Possible Identity of the Robber
According to the latest updated, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed on March 16 that the suspect had passed away as a result of the injuries that he had sustained. The identity of both the robber and the officer who was injured has not yet been released by the police as per their policy. The officer’s identity may be revealed soon, but the suspect will remain anonymous until his family can be notified of his demise.
However, a bizarre twist to the tale, the investigators tasked with the case are now trying to ascertain if the robber who died is the same man who had successfully robbed the Bellagio back in November 2017.
Similar to this robbery, in 2017 a white adult male had entered the Bellagio and walked up to the poker cage deep inside the casino and demanded money. According to police reports, the man was armed with a handgun and wore a mask. He fled in a Chevrolet Cruze with an undisclosed amount of cash, which has been recovered by police. No one was injured.
You can watch footage of the November 2017 robbery right here.
The second heist may have been a success had there not already been a heavy police presence at Bellagio at the time. Undersheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters that officers were already on site trying to locate a missing child when they saw the theft taking place on surveillance video.
The startlingly similar modus operandi of both the robberies begs the question if it was done by the same culprit or was it a copycat. Detectives assigned to the case are also trying to work that out. But with the man responsible for the crime now dead, will the investigators find any other leads to tie the two crimes together? We can only wait to find out.