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Scott Roeben, ‘Vital Vegas’ blog founder, joined ‘Last Call’ and Contessa Brewer to discuss a recent scam that has reportedly caused employees at several Las Vegas casinos to accidentally hand over more than $1 million to con artists.
We reported this week on the Circa Casino being among those hit by one such bizarre scheme.
Erik Gutierrez, 23, has been charged with theft of more than $100,000 from that casino.
He is alleged to have contacted Circa’s casino cage claiming to be the owner of the property and said he needed $320,000 for an emergency payment to the fire department in order to check fire extinguishers and other gear.
Ultimately, a cage supervisor ended up allegedly handing over $1.17 million during off-site exchanges believing they were giving it to Circa’s owner.
While Las Vegas police have recovered $850,000, $314,000 remains missing.
Great chatting with @ContessaBrewer on @CNBC about the year’s most interesting Las Vegas story. https://t.co/7KKQ9e9feI
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) June 29, 2023
Roeben detailed how the schemes are unfolding in Sin City during his sit down interview.
"It's a peculiar situation," Roeben says. "It's not a traditional robbery where someone will walk up to a cage and point a gun. The employees actually delivered the money to the bad guys."
Brewer reports that half a dozen casinos have been hit and police are currently investigating whether the crime crosses state lines. She did confirm that MGM and Caesars were not among the targets.
Roeben says he has been sworn to secrecy over the names of the other properties but pointed out that five were in Vegas and another elsewhere in the state. A seventh incident apparently occurred in Colorado.
Brewer noted that her sources revealed one casino had been duped into believing its owner was kidnapped.
Roeben also reveals that police advised him this scheme has been going on in Vegas for at least five months.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
