Criminals sometimes spend months or even years devising elaborate schemes to rob casinos. While some of these heists go off without incident, others require more preparation and coordination.
Some individuals engage in casino heists without showing any prior evidence of engaging in illegal activity, like Jose Vigoa, an ex-Cuban born Soviet commando who murdered two armored car drivers before being caught.
Ocean’s Eleven
Once released from prison, master con man Danny Ocean and his team convene to plan an ambitious casino heist in order to wreak havoc and make money while rekindling their romance with Tess Benedict, Terry Benedict’s ex-wife who owns one of the casinos Danny plans on raiding.
The gang practices their heist in a mock vault and uses an imitation casino as an additional practice space. They hire contortionist Yen to help infiltrate casinos more easily.
This heist is complicated by several factors, including Heather Tallchief’s departure with money intended for Circus Circus casino; later she died from drug overdose. Additionally, former mobster Duke Santos offers to recover stolen funds in exchange for a substantial commission; this adds another level of complexity as it could expose their plan and expose crew members to mobster influence.
Stardust Resort & Casino Heist
Bill Brennan vanished during his shift at Stardust Resort and Casino with an estimated half-million in cash and chips in 1992 and remains missing to this day; authorities never discovered his whereabouts.
One of the more remarkable elements of this heist was that its perpetrator had worked at the casino previously and thus knew which cameras were best placed to detect any suspicious activity. By reporting a fight at the pool and diverting security’s attention with an incident report, they managed to get away with their money without getting caught by security – although even after this heist many casinos now employ more advanced surveillance systems which make stealing difficult; thousands try their luck daily but most end up serving time behind bars.
Circus Circus Casino Robbery
Circus Circus, one of Las Vegas’s oldest casinos, has long been associated with murder and paranormal activity. Although renowned as an inviting family-friendly destination, its murderous reputation includes killing guests and haunted rooms.
Robbery of casinos requires great courage. Most criminals would shy away from such an endeavor due to high risks of arrest and punishment; yet some brave thieve, cheat and robbers take the risk.
Heather Tallchief and Laura Solis collaborated in 1993 to rob the world-famous Circus Circus Casino for over $3 Million. Tallchief met Solis at a nightclub and recruited her for the task; upon accepting, Solis memorized an exact map of the casino before they fled with the money in an armored truck together – but later vanished into thin air; 12 years later Tallchief came forward and admitted her part; Solis remains unknown.
Roulette Heist
People often associate casino heists with Hollywood films. While these types of heists don’t tend to make headlines as often, they still happen frequently enough that people need to know they exist.
In 2004, a group of advantage players from London conducted an extraordinary heist at the Ritz Casino. Utilizing laser scanners, cell phones and math, they were able to manipulate roulette wheel using laser scanning technologies while using mathematical strategies to win them millions even though casino officials considered their theft illegal.
Vigoa was responsible for one of the heists’ members stealing over $160,000 worth of chips from the casino and making off quickly with them with his two armed accomplices before eventually being caught and sentenced to 500 years of prison time – but what about everyone else involved in the scheme? Read on!
