Michael Adkins 
Casinos are full of heists and scams aplenty. Some are as daring as the Ocean’s movies, while others are far more mundane yet equally daring.
One of the most infamous casino heists ever occurred at Circus Circus in 1993. A woman and her boyfriend channeled Bonnie and Clyde to steal an armored truck and make off with around $3 million worth of cash.
1. Soboba Casino Heist
The Soboba Casino Heist is one of the most infamous robberies in casino history. Rolando Luda Ramos, a surveillance technician for the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians, tied up three employees and took them hostage at gunpoint in 2007.
Authorities believe Ramos used pepper spray on one victim and pointed a plastic gun at seven others before fleeing with more than $1 million cash. He put the cash into a duffel bag before getting in a car driven by his girlfriend.
On August 2, 2007, at Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, about 85 miles east of Los Angeles, Ramos and Eric Allen Magdaleno Aguilera from Hemet were arrested for the robbery and charged with false imprisonment, burglary and kidnapping.
2. Circus Circus Heist
One of the largest casino heists ever witnessed occurred at Circus Circus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. A 21 year old employee named Heather Tallchief stole a truck filled with cash worth $3 million from the casino.
She worked for Loomis, a company that transports cash to casinos throughout Las Vegas. As the driver of an armored vehicle for Loomis, her job required her to drive around town in order to drop off coworkers and continue onwards.
On October 1, 1993, she drove away from the casino with $3.1 million in her vehicle – an astronomical gamble that never materialized. It remains a mystery why this huge sum of money was never recovered by the casino.
She and her partner Roberto Solis pulled off the heist with ease. They transferred the money into their getaway car before driving to Miami and taking a chartered flight to St. Maarten – all while dodging authorities. Ultimately, they were caught and sentenced to five years in prison for their crimes.
3. Crown Casino Heist
A high-rolling gambler collaborated with someone working at the casino and managed to scoop $32 million in an unsolved heist. Thankfully, most of the money was returned to the casino; however, the perpetrator was ultimately caught red-handed.
The Crown Casino Heist was one of the most shocking gambling scams ever, leaving many feeling uneasy. It was an intricate scheme, but unfortunately for one high-roller involved, they were caught red-handed and now Crown Casino is trying to get their money back.
In 2013, a casino employee began spying on security cameras and passing along the information to an anonymous high-roller at the tables. After winning an impressive amount of money, they carried out the heist; however, in the end he was caught and banned from the establishment for life.
4. Caesars Palace Heist
Caesars Palace has a legendary history of being the site of some of the world’s biggest casino heists and scams, including an unforgettable cameo in Ocean’s Eleven where George Clooney stars as Danny Ocean at one of their many casino tables.
As with any major Las Vegas casino, Caesars employs a team of security guards to keep the premises secure. Their primary focus is preventing robberies by using 360-degree cameras for criminal detection, facial-recognition technology and other technological tools that make robbers think twice before breaking in.
However, this method isn’t always successful. There have been several instances of armed robbery, such as the 2000 Bellagio heist which involved three men wearing body armor jumping over a cashier cage counter to steal $160,000 worth of cash and chips. Luckily, footage captured this incident and led to their arrest after an intense chase ensued.
