The heist
A man who robbed the home of the World Series of Poker in 2011 has been arrested by the FBI’s L.A. Fugitive Task Force. FBI Los Angeles tweeted the news on Monday, saying that Steven Gao is now awaiting extradition to Las Vegas.
Gao was a problem gambler and owed his friend Edward Land $15,000. When Land drove Gao to the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, Land’s attorney Louis Schneider said he thought Gao was going to get him his money.
And in a sense, he was.
Upon arrival, Gao took out a revolver and a mask. According to Schneider, Land figured out what was up, got scared, and fled.
Gao robbed a Pai Gow table of $33,200 in chips and escaped with the help of Hiroyuki Yamaguchi, who drove a getaway taxi. Yamaguchi drove Gao to Terrible’s Casino to meet back up with Land. Police later found $1,000 in chips and an unloaded revolver in Yamaguchi’s taxi.
The aftermath
Searching Land’s home, police found $17,000 in Rio chips as well as a wig and shoulder bag they think Gao may have used in the robbery. Authorities did not believe Land’s story that he didn’t know Gao was going to rob the Rio. In his arrest report, Land did say he knew what he was doing was wrong, but wanted the money.
I mean, yeah, that’s how robberies work. You know it’s wrong but you do it because you want money.
Yamaguchi ended up pleading guilty to robbery and conspiracy with an Alford plea in 2013, which means he didn’t actually admit he was guilty, but acknowledged that there was enough evidence to convict him should he go to trial. He received two to six years in prison.
Land pleaded guilty to the same charges went free on $125,000 bail, but ended up skipping his sentencing hearing. The Las Vegas Review-Journal, which reported on the case, was unable to determine what his sentencing situation turned out to be.
The phone call
As for Gao, the man who actually went up to a Pai Gow table and stole over $30,000 in casino chips, he fled to China before he could be apprehended. Police figured out where he was because he called Land in early 2013 from China. According to Schneider, Gao was sorry that he put his friend in the situation and wanted to apologize.
Land, hoping to get on the good side of the law to perhaps lessen his sentence, called authorities to tell him where Gao was. Because China does not have an extradition agreement with the U.S., nobody could just go over there and get him. There has been no information reported as to how Gao was ultimately apprehended, but he was in Los Angeles when he was caught. It sounds like he may have gotten comfortable and decided to fly back to the States (why he would do that during the pandemic, I don’t know). Wrong move.
