Casino heists aren’t your typical casino crime story. They can be quite daring and intriguing to read about.
Often, it takes someone on the inside to pull off the largest casino heists. Heather Tallchief and Roberto Solis are two people that come to mind when thinking of these stories.
1. The El Dorado Casino Heist
The stories of casino heists inspire Hollywood movies watched with huge interest by the gambling community. The thrill of breaching high levels of security and running away with unimaginable wads of cash makes for an engaging story.
Despite appearing out of a Hollywood script, these remarkable heists are real and happened more frequently than you might think. Read on to learn about some of the most amazing and successful casino heists that took place in real life.
One of the most well-known heists was carried out by Heather Tallchief and her boyfriend Roberto Solis. The duo channeled Bonnie and Clyde and managed to rob the Circus Circus casino in Las Vegas for millions of dollars in cash and chips. Tallchief worked for Loomis, a company that delivered armored vehicles to casinos to transport their cash.
2. The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Heist
Taking something from someone by force or the threat of it is what makes a robbery. A heist, on the other hand, involves breaking into a casino without using any violence and simply taking cash or assets from employees or guests.
It’s important to distinguish between these two types of crime as they are treated differently by the law. The difference is that a heist refers to any sort of illegal activity while a robbery only applies to taking property through physical force or the threat of it.
There are many famous heists that ended up going wrong for the criminals behind them. One example is the notorious attempt by Jose Vigoa to rob casinos like the Bellagio Resort and Casino. This is a story that has inspired the movies Storming Las Vegas and Ocean’s 13. This crime also shocked Las Vegas as it happened in broad daylight with shots fired.
3. The Circus Circus Heist
Unlike the Ocean’s Eleven franchise this is a real-life story where one of the alleged thieves turned herself in. Heather Tallchief worked for the armored vehicle company Loomis Armor Inc and on October 1, 1993 channelled her inner Bonnie and Clyde when she stole an armored truck containing around $3 million and drove it off to Circus Circus.
She was accompanied by her co-worker Carol and the two employed a trapeze artist with vertigo to help them escape after they helped themselves to all that cash. Stella Stevens and Stuart Whitman star in this crime caper which is surprisingly low on tension and could have done with a few more heist scenes. The movie was a hit anyway though and earned Tallchief an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
4. The Crown Casino Heist
There is something about casino heist stories that makes them seem almost like blockbuster movies. They are thrilling to read about and can give you an idea of just how daring and impressive criminals really are.
The Crown Casino Heist was one such incident that caught the attention of many people around the world. The Australian casino scammed out of a reported $32 million in an Ocean’s Eleven-style heist.
This deceptively simple heist involved a casino employee who was able to access the Crown’s security cameras remotely and relay insights to a high roller playing at a table. The tips he received were used to manipulate the game and win a substantial amount of money.
These men are credited with pulling off one of the most impressive gambling heists in history.
5. The Bellagio Biker Bandit Heist
The Bellagio Casino is one of the most prestigious and lavish casinos in the world. It is also one of the most well-guarded casinos in Las Vegas. That’s why it’s so surprising that a brazen casino heist took place there in 2010.
Anthony Carleo, 29, became known as the “Biker Bandit” after he stole $1.5 million worth of chips from the Bellagio casino. The heist was almost like a scene from Ocean’s 11. Carleo rode up to the casino entrance on his motorcycle, walked right past the security guards and demanded the chips from the craps tables.
He was in and out of the casino before anyone could call the police. But he had one problem with his haul. The high denominations of the Bellagio chips made them untraceable and impossible to cash.