Temples of light where money flows freely, casinos have regularly given rise to robberies as sudden as they are spectacular, not necessarily in the sense that we imagine them, but very often using carefully elaborated cheating techniques. In 2017, 3 men robbed the Vittel casino and managed to escape (very briefly) with 23,000 dollars. A plump sum, far despite all the colossal loot that other burglars have managed to get around the world. If their flight does not generally last long, their attempts endure in the collective imagination, just like the greatest Hollywood films. Shall we tell you?
Bill Brennan: The Invisible Man
The simplest stories are sometimes the most amazing. In September 1992, Bill Brennan, an employee at the Stardust Casino in Las Vegas, left the establishment after his service with a bag containing $ 500,000 in cash and tokens. Even today, no one has managed to understand how Bill did it, but there is more surprising. The man vanished without a trace and is still on the FBI’s most-wanted list today.
A Laser To Anticipate Roulette
In 2004, a trio of European players developed one of the most sophisticated techniques in terms of a casino robbery. A laser was hidden in their mobile phones, capable of calculating the speed of the roulette wheel in order to predict the square on which the ball will stop. After pocketing 100,000 pounds at the Ritz Casino in London, they tried their luck in the same place the next day when they finally got attention by winning 1.2 million pounds. Convinced of the hoax, the management of the establishment demanded their arrest. Like Ben Affleck’s well-known card counting, the judge decreed that the technique was not illegal, and the three fraudsters went free with their spoils!
A technique that is reminiscent of the small computers developed in the 1970s by a group of students in Santa Cruz. Hidden in their shoes, they were also able to calculate the speed of the roulette wheel in order to anticipate its movements. They ended up being sentenced after several months of cheating.
2.5 Million Dollar Couple Robbery
A Bonnie and Clyde story that also goes awry. In 1993, Heather Tallchief was 21 and worked for the Casino Circus Circus in Las Vegas. His mission? Fill the vending machines in the establishment every day. That morning, however, she did not stop and continued driving behind the wheel of her van containing $ 2.5 million in cash. By the time management is aware of the theft, it is already too late. Heather and her companion Roberto Solis have disappeared. Not very fair play, Roberto will run away along with the loot, leaving only 1000 dollars for Heather to raise her child. It will be found 12 years later. The millions, they remain untraceable.