[Oscar_Binswood]

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/high-price-heist-vegas-gunman-steals-1-5-million-23518823;_ylt=Ar4fhQ0E5XL1RG1pNEG6JVqz174F;_ylu=X3 oDMTE3YTNkNGE4BHBvcwMzBHNlYwNtb3N0LXBvcHVsYXIEc2xr A2hpZ2gtcHJpY2VoZQ--

Just flew home from Vegas, and saw this on their local news.

[gdoh]

he will be caught very quick its almost impossible to steal from casinos in vegas

[br2]

he will be caught very quick its almost impossible to steal from casinos in vegas


http://i51.tinypic.com/jrwl0p.jpg

[InvisibleSoul]

Well, it happened three days ago, and he hasn't been caught... yet... but it won't be easy for him to reap the benefits of the heist though, since he needs to cash in the chips.

[Kaolinite]

mm wouldnt it be kind of easy to cash in the chips? just cash in a little bit at a time?

[b0unce. [?]]

I hate this reporters voice.

[Marioo1991]

The Bellagio Gets Robbed - But the House Doesn't Feel a Thing


At 3:50am this morning, a man in a full-face motorcycle helmet walked up to a craps table at the Bellagio (MGM) hotel-casino in Las Vegas, pulled a gun, and made off with approximately $1.5 million in chips, ranging in value from $100 to $25,000.



However, while the chips were worth seven-figures at 3:50am, at 3:51am they weren’t worth a thing -- and any potential financial damage to the Bellagio is exactly none.

Lt. Clint Nichols of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told reporters at a press conference that, “The industry has some safeguards in place that make [redeeming stolen chips] extremely difficult.”

Actually, converting a stolen chip into cash is far more than extremely difficult, it is, in fact, nothing short of impossible.

John Kendall, president of CHIPCO International, a gaming chip manufacturer with over 100,000,000 chips in use worldwide, says he was “stunned” when he heard about this morning’s theft.{FLIKE}“I have spoken to the people at the Bellagio, whom I know well,” Kendall tells Minyanville. “And those chips became worthless the moment they left the casino. This guy obviously just did not understand the dynamics of the industry he was attacking.”

For starters, immediately after the robbery, every chip in the house was permanently replaced with a “secondary set” which, according to Kendall, would total around a million at a casino the size of the Bellagio. These so-called secondaries utilize an entirely different design scheme, rendering all previous ones obsolete.

But, even if they hadn’t been replaced, the chips still lose their value as soon as they’re deactivated.

Kendall explains that, in 2005, the Wynn Las Vegas (WYNN) was the first casino to begin using chips embedded with RFID tags, electronic devices that assign a unique identification code, or “license plate,” to each one. Today, RFID technology is in use across the entire industry. While individual casinos are loath to discuss details of their security operations, it’s safe to say that players from the Venetian (LVS) to the Fremont (BYD) have RFID-tagged chips stacked in front of them.

“RFID can void the stolen chips, like a registration that’s no longer valid,” Kendall says. “When we manufacture RFID-embedded chips and send them to a casino, they’re not worth anything until they register the codes. Until then, they’re nothing but freight.”

Generally, chips with a face-value of $100 or higher are inlaid with RFID, but Kendall says a $25 RFID chip is not unheard of.

“A casino can buy an RFID gaming chip for $2.50, so you could theoretically go lower, but no one’s stealing $5 chips,” Kendall says.

“The brain of RFID is a regular silicon chip from one of many different companies -- Texas Instruments (TXN), Intel (INTC), AMD (AMD),” Kendall says. “Each casino chip has a coil antenna inside it, tuned to a certain frequency like a radio in your car. A transceiver sends out a signal, which harmonizes with the capacitor, and can tell exactly where it is. It’s a passive device, so the police can’t track them down, but whoever took them might as well bury them. He may try to fence them to somebody at a discount, but they’re now sort of like a disabled cell phone. The Bellagio doesn’t even have the same chips on the table anymore at this point.”

RFID technology is not only used for security purposes -- it has also turned the tracking of customer behavior, once the purview of pit bosses and floor managers, into a science.

“With RFID, casinos know how long someone’s been playing, what their average bet is, what games they like to play, what kind of drinks they like,” Kendall says. “It really has a lot of benefits to the casino, some more subtle than others -- for example, RFID can tell if a dealer has mispaid a player that’s won.”

RFID technology is in use off the casino floor, as well. The Treasure Island hotel and casino uses RFID-enabled spouts at its bars, to track the amount and types of liquors the bartenders pour.

According to Capton, the maker of the Beverage Tracker system, “whenever a bartender pours a drink, the tipping of the bottle turns on both the tag and the measuring device, allowing the spout to measure the volume of liquor poured (in ounces) before the employee tips the bottle back up. The tag then transmits that information to [an] antenna, attached to the ceiling above the bar.”

”Nobody beats the house in Las Vegas” as the old saw goes, whether it’s in the bar or at the craps table.

As John Kendall says, “The casino business has decades of practice on how to stay ahead of people trying to cheat them.”

Source:
http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/bellagio-wynn-casino-rfid-gambling-las/12/15/2010/id/31714

[Gumby]

If Bellagio knows which 25k chips were stolen (report states that they have RFIDs embedded), then expect to get arrested when you cash one in!

[donjalapeno]

A man in black and wearing a helmet stormed the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas.

[flagella]

lol just came back from vegas too. I went to bellagio on 15 and 16 as well and wasn't aware of this at all.

[Presto]

Well, at least the robber has a balling set of real casino chips to host his poker games, now.

[InvisibleSoul]

made off with approximately $1.5 million in chips

every chip in the house was permanently replaced with a “secondary set” which, according to Kendall, would total around a million at a casino the size of the Bellagio

I don't get it. An earlier article says he walked up a craps table and took a box full of chips, which supposedly totalled about $1.5M.

But then this article says they replaced every single chip in the house, which totals a million.

Or do they mean a million chips, not a million dollars worth of chips?

[Dentz]

1 million chips versus $1.5 million

[PuYang]

sorry for the noob question, but im not fully understanding how this worked.

after he stole the chips, the casino brought out a different style chip onto the floor, meaning the other style (the ones stolen) were no longer valid.

what about the people playing at the time? (who were still using old style chips). were they forced to cash them in on the spot? or how did this "change" take place?

never been to a casino, so someone enlighten me please ;D thanks!

[Gumby]

Well, it's a news article, so you can bet that a lot of things are either left out, misrepresented, or just plain wrong. Don't forget - casinos hate discussing their security procedures.

Or do they mean a million chips, not a million dollars worth of chips?
Yeah I think they meant the # of chips was 1 million, not the $ value...

[drunkrussian]

he can sell the chips off bit by bit on the street for less (ie every $1 in chips sold for $0.75). Alternatively he can cash them in in small amounts, not necessarily in the Vegas bellagio, but at other bellagios (isn't there one in ac?)

and yeah he's done it before and hasn't been caught yet...who knew it was that simple lol

[Manic!]

he can sell the chips off bit by bit on the street for less (ie every $1 in chips sold for $0.75). Alternatively he can cash them in in small amounts, not necessarily in the Vegas bellagio, but at other bellagios (isn't there one in ac?)

and yeah he's done it before and hasn't been caught yet...who knew it was that simple lol

I bet they use different chips in the AC Bellagio.

[TheKingdom2000]

don't you wash the chips with strippers?

what movie was that in?

[moomooCow]

^21

[Nssan]

he would have a time period where those old chips would be valid to cash in. But, the chips are not playable on the tables. It can only be exchanged for newer chips at the cash register. Thus, once it is scanned, they can determined if those exact chips were on that same craps table at that night.

[Graeme S]

$1.5m in chip value lost.
1m chips replaced, at about $2.50 each.

...So really, the casino lost $2.5m on a $1.5m theft.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[The_AK]

Well, it's a news article, so you can bet that a lot of things are either left out, misrepresented, or just plain wrong. Don't forget - casinos hate discussing their security procedures.


Yeah I think they meant the # of chips was 1 million, not the $ value...

uh... 1 million chips is easily over 1 million in value, so i'm going to go ahead and assume it was 1.5 million in value

[RCubed]

he can sell the chips off bit by bit on the street for less (ie every $1 in chips sold for $0.75). Alternatively he can cash them in in small amounts, not necessarily in the Vegas bellagio, but at other bellagios (isn't there one in ac?)

and yeah he's done it before and hasn't been caught yet...who knew it was that simple lol

No one is going to buy $25,000 chips off the street.
Lol.
He stole "high denomination" chips.

[KO7]

Am I the only one who thought this was referring to Bellagio Gelato on Main St when I read the title?

[ZenZa]

Am I the only one who thought this was referring to Bellagio Gelato on Main St when I read the title?

Yep

[corollagtSr5]

He didn't go there for the purpose of stealing chips to cash in, he went there because he bet someone he could steal over a million dollars in chips and get away with it. Doesn't necessarily mean he has to cash them in. It is vegas after all. A bet is a bet.

[CanadaGoose]

^ Exactly, maybe it has nothing to do with the chips. Maybe it was a distraction for something else that's really happening... maybe he knows someone on the inside and they needed a way to initiate the secondary set for whatever reason...

[Gh0stRider]

casino security no where to be found...lol

[Qmx323]

its just a part of the grand scheme to pull of the biggest casino heist ever....





that isn't a movie

[The_AK]

wonder how he was able to just walk in wearing all black and a fucking helmet, didn't ANYBODY find this activity suspicious? wtf..

[m4k4v4li]

ttt

[Matsuda]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dn4XSBVgZwQ/TJAQSYX8oPI/AAAAAAAACs0/MNwmZFAiWWo/s1600/Stig-280_727604a.jpg

Black Stig is back...

[BMW135i]

LOL, he got balls. Balls of steel it is :D

[quasi]

I wonder how much was actually stolen? You know the Casino probably made some money from insurance by misrepresenting what was actually lost.

[MindBomber]

They were chips, not currency, so the chips don't have any real value to the casino other than they're replacement cost do they?

They just take those ones out of circulation and have some new ones made.

[AzNightmare]

A man in black and wearing a helmet stormed the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas.

A man in black and wearing a helmet stormed the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas.[/QUOTE]


^ Exactly, maybe it has nothing to do with the chips. Maybe it was a distraction for something else that's really happening... maybe he knows someone on the inside and they needed a way to initiate the secondary set for whatever reason...

lol, cause he's gonna come back next week to steal the second set.

[InvisibleSoul]

http://www.lvrj.com/news/money-gambling-and-the-bellagio-anthony-carleo-this-was-your-life-115205644.html

"Money isn't everything, but it's right up there next to oxygen."

That was a favorite quote listed on the Facebook page of Anthony Michael Carleo, 29, who was arrested Wednesday night by Las Vegas police in connection with the brazen Bellagio armed robbery that netted $1.5 million.

Carleo, also known as Anthony Assad, is the son of Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge George Assad and is a UNLV biology student.

He was arrested after he met undercover officers to sell high-value chips taken in the Dec. 14 heist, law enforcement sources said.

[TRDood]

Wow, guy with a well off family and bright future robbed the casino?

Edit: wait.... 29 and still a biology student? I hope he is doing a second degree or phd. Not so bright if only his BSc.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[Teriyaki]

Wow, guy with a well off family and bright future robbed the casino?

Edit: wait.... 29 and still a biology student? I hope he is doing a second degree or phd. Not so bright if only his BSc.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

Probably there just to meet chicks.:whistle:

[PiuYi]

I don't get it. An earlier article says he walked up a craps table and took a box full of chips, which supposedly totalled about $1.5M.

But then this article says they replaced every single chip in the house, which totals a million.

Or do they mean a million chips, not a million dollars worth of chips?

a million dollars worth of chips.

a million chips?? i dont think he'd be able to run off very fast luggin a million chips :lol

[zulutango]

Ripping off the Mafia is not a good choice if you plan a long and untroubled life. They have a poor sense of humour when you rip them for a mill plus...

[xpl0sive]

lol so he did try selling the chips on the street knowing he couldnt cash them in... what a retard

[Gumby]

Sounds like an ill-conceived plan...

[Jgresch]

So many retards in this thread who can't read. They replaced a million chips on the floor, the guy didn't steal a million chips nor did they replace $1 million worth of chips. Also, they did not lose out on $2.5 million, they only lose out on the cost of the stolen chips to produce. The deactivated chips still at the casino have value, they can be reactivated at a new frequency, or stored as backup chips for the next time something like this happens.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[InvisibleSoul]

This guy is an absolute idiot.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/04/online-biker-bandit-gets-all-chatty/

For the next 20 minutes, Brooks tried to build a rapport with Carleo over the phone. Brooks said Carleo asked him if he wanted to see a picture of the chips. Before he knew it, Brooks had been e-mailed eight images of two $25,000 Bellagio chips. The chips were placed in different positions on a sheet of loose leaf paper as if Carleo was modeling them in a photo shoot.

One picture had a handwritten message from Carleo: “To Provotrout: Good Luck My Friend …” and signed it “Biker Bandit 1/26/11.”

http://gawker.com/#!5752713/what-not-to-do-after-robbing-a-casino

So what would you do if you had just robbed a casino for $1.5 million? Maybe lay low for a while, or even leave the country for a bit? Well, Carleo decided to get a hotel room in the Bellagio, gamble a lot, and then brag and try to sell $25,000 chips on the internet, police told the AP. Carleo had recently been running around Vegas calling himself a "made man" according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Before the heist, Carleo had mentioned to a poker dealer at the Bellagio that to rob the the place, "All you need is a black mask and a motorcycle, and I have a motorcycle." What a fucking idiot.

[Vansterdam]

Hahaha wow epic dumbass of the year?
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[flagella]

Plain sad.

[xilley]

Fail.