From Ocean's Eleven to Reality: The Greatest Casino Heists in History
Like the slots at 7Slots, casino heist movies always gain millions of fans for several reasons. They’re full of intense action, drama, and exciting twists and turns and promise plenty of luxury for characters that pull them off successfully. But did you know that real-life casino robberies actually happen more often? Of course, many culprits don’t get away with it, so there’s almost always no luxury lifestyle to look forward to. When you think about a casino heist, it probably reminds you of George Clooney’s 2001 movie Ocean’s 11. Even though Dan Ocean is a fictional character in the movie, casinos often get scammed. No, we’re not talking about $100m+ heists, but smaller heists, which occasionally occur. Here are some of the greatest casino robberies of all time.
MIT Blackjack Team: $22-$57 Million (1990s)
Plenty has been written about a certain bunch of graduates from Princeton, Harvard, and MIT who perfected card counting and made away with millions of dollars from US casinos throughout the 1990s. The MIT Blackjack Team mastered blackjack strategy and card counting and ran rings around punters with sneaky codewords. Their exploits inspired the casino heist movie “21,” which was based on real-life events and starred Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess.
Although this team was never brought to book for cheating because it’s not illegal to count cards, the casinos they frequented fought back, banning many of the players in the team and effectively bringing their run to an end. Reports vary on the amount they won together, but it’s estimated that they took home around $22 to $57 million from multiple casinos.
Crown Casino: $33 Million (2013)
In 2013, a corrupt manager and a man named James Manning colluded to steal $33 million from Crown Casino in Perth, Australia. The duo bypassed casino cameras to gesture winning blackjack strategies, raising suspicion when James won eight hands. Crown Casino recovered most of the loot and discreetly kicked out James without suing him to avoid a scandal.
In the aftermath of the heist, the casino replaced high roller James, who was slated to do a PR event to promote the most expensive cocktail in the world. Another high roller took his place. Despite the plot, neither the manager nor James faced imprisonment. Instead, Crown Casino decided to deal with the scandal quietly.
Circus Circus Casino: $3.1 Million (1993)
Not all casino heists involve an elaborate scheme, camera breaches, or cheating, as Heather Tallchief proved back in 1993. Acting on the advice of her beau Roberto Solis, Tallchief started driving armored vehicles in Vegas for Loomis, transporting cash loaded into casino ATMs. One day, she made a random stop at Circus Circus Casino and drove off with approximately $3 million while the transport guards were still inside. Tallchief and her boyfriend fled the US until she finally turned herself in 2005. She claims she and Solis broke up, and she only ended up with just $1,000 out of the loot. To date, authorities haven’t been able to catch Solis.
Ritz Casino: $1.7 Million (2004)
While probabilities and statistics can’t give you the upper hand in roulette, three international visitors to one of the UK’s most famous casinos proved that physics definitely can. In 2004, a trio of bettors at London’s Ritz Casino used microcomputers and scanners to work out where the roulette ball would land or its orbital decay. This move is called sector targeting. Police launched a nine-month investigation and concluded that the players hadn’t committed any crime, so their winnings were returned. Smartphones make it easier to pull off this kind of cheating with hardly any detection.
Bellagio Casino: $1.5 Million (2010)
In 2010, Antonio Carleo cheated the world-famous Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas out of $1.5 million. Just five days after pulling off a $19,000 heist at the Suncoast Casino, a losing Carleo popped into Bellagio, targeting a craps table. Wearing a helmet and motorcycle gear, he made his way to a craps table early in the morning and took as many chips as possible. Armed with a firearm, Carleo managed to leave with a cool $1.5 million worth of casino chips. He jumped on his motorbike and fled without being caught. His mode of operation earned him the nickname “Biker Bandit.” Carleo quickly gambled all his loot away, and authorities eventually caught him and brought him to book.
Summing up the Great Casino Heists in History
All the greatest casino heists capture people's imagination about the risk and reward principle. From Carleo’s bold escapes at the Bellagio to the sophisticated schemes used at the Ritz Casino, these tales illustrate the fine margins between fortune and poverty. While casinos usually implement tight security measures, spirited and daring folks have occasionally been able to exploit vulnerabilities or outsmart the system. Ultimately, what drives these individuals is the sheer excitement and reward of getting away with it.
