Las Vegas police are still searching for a man who robbed the Bellagio poker room cashier cage at gunpoint Tuesday afternoon. In a brief news conference, Las Vegas Metro Police Capt. John Pelletier said that his department is “comfortable and confident” that they have enough information that will eventually lead to the thief’s capture.
Other than the basics, there is not all that much of a story here, as the robbery was not dramatic. The robber simply went up to the cage, showed a small handgun, demanded the money (presumably), and was given the cash. Cashier staff did not try to resist or stop the man, but instead handed over the money in order to avoid escalating the situation.
Poker aficionado and not-retired actor James Woods was playing poker at the Bellagio at the time and was impressed with how everything was handled.
Bellagio Poker Room Robbery Suspect
Source: Las Vegas Metro PD
“@Bellagio staff were fantastic. They surrendered the money quietly, so no customers would get hurt. Nobody even realized it was happening. Excellent staff, cool under pressure,” Woods tweeted.
After receiving the money, the robber left through the north valet, where he had a silver Chevrolet Cruz parked and waiting. Poker legend Doyle Brunson was playing at the Bellagio’s high stakes “Bobby’s Room,” posting on Twitter that the crook would’ve been smart to hit the game:
“The guy that robbed the cashier cage at the Bellagio should have walked south 10 yards and took our money in Bobby’s Room. He got 35k and we had about 200k in cash waiting to put it on deposit. Waitress said she could have hit the guy as he slowly left.”
Las Vegas Metro has since issued a press release with two pictures of the robber taken from security camera footage. He is described as a white male, 30 to 40 years old, between 5’ 7” and 5’ 9” tall, and weighing 160 to 170 pounds. He appeared to be wearing a disguise of black rimmed glasses, a blonde wig, and some sort of partial bandage or mask on his face.
Bellagio Poker Room Robbery Suspect
Source: Las Vegas Metro PD
A man was in the silver Chevy sedan (Nevada plates 37D147) during the robbery, but Capt. Pelletier told the press that it is believed that the man was being held against his will and was not an accomplice. The unidentified man was able to leave the car before the suspect drove away and is safe. Capt. Pelletier was not willing to classify his presence as a kidnapping yet, as police are still figuring out exactly what happened.
As mentioned, Capt. Pelletier said that he is confident that investigators have enough clues when combining security video, eye witness accounts, the information about the car, and more, that the suspect will be apprehended.
“Those that would commit crimes like this on the Strip will be hunted down and whatever amount of cash he got is not enough to face a lifetime in prison,” Capt. Pelletier said.
Anyone with information that could be helpful is encouraged to call the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Robbery Section at 702-828-3591.
