Vegas Man Robs Slot Machines with Crowbar

slot-machines-video-pokerLas Vegas police are currently looking for a man who was involved in a string of slot machine robberies throughout northwest Las Vegas.

The crimes have been occurring since May, with at least eight slot machines at convenience stores being hit. According to the Vegas P.D, a man used a crowbar to rip off the slot machines’ front panels so that he could steal the cashbox.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, the man is described as being white and 6 feet tall. Cameras caught the thief, but he wore a mask to disguise his identity each time.

He was also seen driving a dark sedan, possibly a Toyota Corolla, and one hubcap is missing from the car. Police also warn that the man could have a gun since he was seen brandishing one in a recent slot machine robbery.

Crimes involving slot machines have gotten more and more sophisticated over the years, with Vegas casinos finding many ways to catch thieves.

crowbarOne popular way to rob Vegas casino slots was the monkey’s claw, which was invented by famed slots thief Tommy Carmichael. However, with better security safeguards and most machines operating on ticket systems, methods like the monkey’s claw don’t work today.

But convenience store slot machines are a different story because some of them don’t operate through advanced ticket systems. This allowed the man with a crowbar to recently rob slot machines through a much-less sophisticated method.

The Vegas P.D. is particularly skilled at catching cheats and thieves. And it sounds like they have some good details on this criminal. But the thief also has a chance at getting away with the crimes because he stole cash – not tickets or casino tokens – meaning he doesn’t have to cash anything in.