Arrest Made in Bellagio Casino Chip Heist
Police have arrested a 29-year-old Las Vegas man in the armed robbery of $1.5 million in casino chips from the Bellagio resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
Las Vegas police said Anthony M. Carleo was the motorcycle-helmeted bandit who waved a gun, grabbed high-value casino chips and made off on a motorcycle before dawn on Dec. 14. Carleo allegedly entered a casino entrance from Flamingo Road, went to a craps table, brandished the handgun at the 10 to 12 patrons and three or four dealers with chips piled on the green felt, scooped up the loot and ran.
Casino security officers didn't confront the robber, but a ceiling security video camera followed his path out the door.
Police said then that they thought the same man robbed the Suncoast casino in northwest Las Vegas early Dec. 8. Carleo was arrested at the Bellagio as part of an undercover police investigation, says The Associated Press.
After the heist, Bellagio announced plans to discontinue the casino's $25,000 chips in April, setting a deadline for the thief to try to use them.
The report says that Bellagio officials wouldn't say whether MGM Resorts International properties are among Las Vegas casinos that embed radio frequency devices inside the tokens. It took less than three minutes for the robber to pull off the heist, police say.
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