Gambler Tries to Rob Craps Game at El Cortez in Las Vegas

There are many ways to win at the game of craps. If none of them happen to be working for you, a little creativity might work. Or it might land you in jail like it did one man in Las Vegas. On September 6, 2022, one gambler at the El Cortez in Las Vegas jumped on a craps table and managed to steal $19,000 in chips.

His bold act actually saw the man exit the casino the chips. At the time this article was written he was still at large. Here’s more about this story.

Labor Day Craps Excitement at the El Cortez

Labor Day is a holiday weekend like any other in Sin City. It brings tourists from all over the world. Americans flock to Las Vegas to on Labor Day to bid summer a fond farewell. Many of them also take a turn at the gambling tables.

The unknown man must have been having a rough run of luck. Without warning he made a belly flop on the craps table and scooped up a handful of chips believed to be valued at around $19,000. The El Cortex craps heist is nothing new. Similar things have been attempted before.

Once the man obtained his chips he made a break for the exit of the casino. Casino employees are told not to engage thieves of this nature. Only security personnel can attempt to stop them. Somehow the thief evaded the security and escaped to disappear outside.

It may sound like the perfect crime but the thief is probably in for a lot of trouble.

Cashing in Stolen Craps Chips

The chips that were stolen from the El Cortez are not worth anything themselves. They have to be exchanged at a cage in the El Cortez for cash. This may proved to be a difficult job for the thief. There are many things which are working against him at this point.

First, the camera technology used in the casino has recorded some good images of the man. He will likely be spotted as soon as he attempts to enter any live casino in the state. The casinos all share information with one another, including facial recognition scans. As soon as he is spotted an arrest will be attempted.

Some have said that he will use a friend or an accomplice to cash in the chips. This very thing was popularized in the move 21 about professional card counters. In that case the counters used a bevvy of strippers to cash in the chips. This is not possible in Vegas today, if it ever was.

Today the casinos track the play of all their whales. If someone that is not a whale attempts to cash in a large number of chips, it is likely the player will be questioned and tapes observed.

Some live casinos have also made the switch to chips which possess an RFID tag. This tag can be deactivated by the casino and render the stolen chips unable to be cashed. The problem is that the El Cortez does not have such a system in place.

As brazen as the move was, it will not hold up. At some point the thief will be caught and punished for his actions. The casino always wins. We invite you to visit some safe online casinos such as Sunpalace, Casino Max, Lucky Red Casino or slotsplus.