Olice used a bait room to catch a burglar who stole thousands of dollars from several hotel rooms at Paris Las Vegas early one morning during the WSOP. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Cash is normally in abundance on the Las Vegas Strip, but with the World Series of Poker currently in full swing at Paris Las Vegas and Horseshoe Las Vegas, there is more money than usual floating around the properties. With that in mind, let the arrest of a burglar at Paris this past week serve as a reminder to all of you chasing your poker dreams: keep your cash locked up.
guests were asleep in the rooms when he entered
According to police reports acquired by CLASSRobert Black broke into seven hotel rooms at Paris Las Vegas between about 3am and 4:40am on June 2. The scary part was that guests were asleep in the rooms when he entered, though it appears that Black’s goal was simply to grab money, not to hurt anyone.
He stole cash from five of the first six rooms, with amounts ranging from $244 to $2,400. The seventh room, though, was a bait room staged by the police containing hidden cameras, suitcases, a wallet stuffed with $600, and other “items of value.” When Black broke in and took the wallet, security officers, monitoring from the room next door, rushed in and apprehended him.
Black had US$5,365 and CAD$990 on him, plus someone else’s room key and a flathead screwdriver. He faces five counts of residential burglary and one count of attempted residential burglary.
