If you are someone who sees a lot of movies, you would have come across a movie depicting casino heists at some point.
And if, like many, you think it’s only in movies that these heists happen, let me tell you otherwise. Some of these films are based on true-life experiences while others are fictional. Some popular casino heists movies include:
- Casino Royale
- The Good Thief
- The Gambler
Even though nowadays most people play on online casino sites, where you can’t “break the bank”, in this article, we will discuss some real-life casino heists that made their mark in history as the biggest.
Crown Casino – 2013
For the biggest casino heist on this list, the Crown Casino heist was discovered to be an insider job just like with most other heists. However, the insider was an employee in charge of the CCTV camera who was delivering top-security information to a high-stakes player at the card tables.
An incredulous $32 million was involved in this pinch but the two-member gang was unable to transfer all of the money out of the casino as they got caught. However, their punishment was more or less a slap on the wrist. The employee simply got laid off while the high roller returned to his home country with no legal penance.
Soboba Casino – 2007
This story is shocking and amusing because the perpetrators confessed they were inspired by the “Oceans 11” movie. A heist executed by two considerably insignificant security workers, Rolando Ramos and Eric Aguilera of the Soboba casino led to the theft of $1.5 million.
Rolando used his technical knowledge of the CCTV cameras to access stacks of cash while Eric acted as the driver of the getaway car. Rolando got the cash by holding his fellow employees at gunpoint, and this is where it gets amusing – he used a BB gun and not a real gun.
Although they succeeded in getting away from the crime scene with the cash, they got caught after a short car chase with the police. After they got caught, Rolando asked the police if their heist was good enough to rival that of Oceans 11. They were taken to court on multiple charges with bail set at $250,000 each.
Circus Circus Casino – 1993
In October 1993, a female armored car driver for the Circus Circus Casino, Heather Tallchief carted away with $2.5 million cash that was meant for the casino’s ATM. Unknown to the casino, they initially assumed she got stuck in traffic. but after a while, they initiated a search, by which time she was long gone. She planned and successfully carried out this heist alongside her lover who was also an ex-convict.
After this theft, Heather and her ex-convict lover were never found, at least not until over a decade after when Heather surrendered to law enforcement. According to her, her lover, Roberto Solis left her with nothing but $1000 and their son and fled with the remaining money. Ever since, she had been living in hiding. But for the sake of her son whom she said she wanted to have a normal life, she decided to surrender.
Heather claimed she had no idea where the money was. Many conspiracy theorists believe that she hid the money secretly somewhere.
From the above stories, you can see that while Hollywood does its best to depict casino heists as well as possible, the reality is a lot more dramatic. And it becomes even more impressive when you consider how little the possibility of success is.
