Robbery at New York, New York marks second high-profile Las Vegas casino heist in three months
Las Vegas NV Jan 12 2018 Metro Las Vegas police are searching for a man who robbed the casino cage at the New York-New York early Wednesday morning before fleeing in a cab.
The robbery was reported about 1 a.m. Wednesday after a man walked up to a cashier and demanded money, Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Jay Rivera said.
He was armed with a handgun, Metro Lt. David Gordon said, but he kept it in his waistband during the robbery. After the cashier handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, the man ran through the casino’s south entrance and got in a taxicab. He was at large Wednesday evening.
Police later said the man was last seen wearing a black beanie, black hooded jacket, dark jeans, black shoes, black gloves and black-rimmed glasses.
Metro urged anybody with information on the robbery to contact detectives at 702-828-3591 or 702-385-5555 to remain anonymous.
New York, New York, which is owned by MGM Resorts International, is the second large casino on the Las Vegas Strip to be robbed within the last three months.
On Nov. 28, the Bellagio Hotel and Casino — also an MGM Resorts International property — was robbed by a man who took an undisclosed amount of money from a cash cage in the poker room.
That robbery happened while actor James Woods was playing poker; the actor praised the staff’s response in the midst of the crime.
“So we are playing poker at the @BellagioPoker and a guy walks up with a gun and robs the cage thirty feet from us ten minutes ago,” Woods tweeted. “Bellagio staff were fantastic. They surrendered the money quietly, so no customers would get hurt. Nobody even realized it was happening. Excellent staff, cool under pressure.”
That suspect escaped in a Chevy Cruze with Nevada plates. He has yet to be caught.
Few robberies have been as large and as dramatic, however, as the 2010 incident at the Bellagio in which Anthony Carleo stole $1.5 million in chips from the craps pit. The so-called Biker Bandit fled on Flamingo Road on motorcycle, but he was later caught and pleaded guilty.
After the New York, New York robbery, a casino spokesman issued a statement that said all operations were running normally in the wake of the crime. MGM officials would not disclose how much money was taken in the New York, New York robbery.
