Bellagio Robbery Foiled At Blackjack Table

A not-so-elaborate heist was broken up at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas over the weekend shortly after it began. Michael Belton, 24, was tackled by two casino employees moments after he grabbed a stack of chips from the Blackjack table.

The plan, according to Fox 19, was for Belton to steal as many $5000 chips from the high-rollers table as possible. A man, identified only as Carlos, would distract the dealer by spraying pepper-spray in his face. Belton was then to bring the chips to Carlos Rodriguez, the mastermind behind the scheme, who would then cash in the chips.

Well, shortly after Carlos #1 sprayed the dealer with pepper spray, both men were tackled by security guards.

Belton managed to grab 23 $5000 chips. But he was only able to make it a few steps away from the Blackjack table.

The 24-year-old told police that he had met Carlos Rodriguez through Craigslist and had agreed to the heist because he was broke and unemployed. Police said that a Carlos Rodriguez was checked into the Mandalay Bay hotel but police have not been able to track him down yet.

David Schwartz, director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research, said that the scheme was doomed from the get go.

Schwartz said:

“If you’re doing this with chips, you’re always going to have to get those chips back to the casino, and there’s really only one place where you can cash them in – which is a casino. So, that’s usually what prevents most of these from working.”

But the bigger issue with the Bellagio robbery plan was that it only involved 3 people. Everyone knows that it takes 11 well dressed men to rob a Las Vegas casino.