Bellagio Casino Bandit Caught
The case of the Bellagio chip bandit has been solved. As we previously reported, back in December an armed man wearing a jumpsuit and a bike helmet, took $1.5 million in casino chips, then took off on a motorcycle.
Now, the robber has been identified as the son of Las Vegas Municipal Judge Anthony M. Assad.
Twenty-nine-year-old Anthony M. Carleo was arrested early Thursday morning on the Bellagio casino floor after police were led to him via a poker forum. Carleo was attempting to sell the casino chips in the poker forum TwoPlusTwo, when, using the name “Oceanspray 25″ he sent messages to other forum members in an attempt to sell the stolen chips.
After the robbery, the Bellagio had changed out the colors of their chips, and even discontinued their large-denomination chips, rendering a large portion of the chips Carleo had stolen, worthless.
Carleo, either trying to test the value of his large-denomination chips or perhaps considered himself a modern day Robin Hood, when he dropped a $25,000 chip in the pocket of a Salvation Army bell ringer. The bell ringer was questioned and released after he had attempted to cash the chip not long after the robbery.
Reportedly, Carleo was having financial trouble, with hundreds of thousands in gambling debts which included money he owed to the mob. He had also filed for bankruptcy in 2009. After the robbery, Carleo brazenly spent weeks living above his means as a high roller. With his stolen goods, Carleo gambled, peddled chips and even enjoyed stays at very casino he robbed.
Carleo seemed to become comfortable with his stolen chips, at one point even bragging to a Bellagio poker dealer, “Man, how easy would it be to rob a casino?”
The dealer told the police Carleo had also said, “All you need is a black mask and a motorcycle, and I have a motorcycle.”
After his arrest, Carleo’s father issued a statement saying he and his family were “devastated and heartbroken to see my son arrested under these circumstances,” adding, “I can say that as a prosecutor and a judge, I have always felt people who break the law need to be held accountable.”
A poker buddy of Carleo told police he had confessed to him about robbing the Bellagio and had also said he might need to do “something drastic in the next several days,” which prompted the man to go to the authorities.
When police searched Carleo’s home, they found $900,000 in Bellagio casino chips. He is currently being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on counts of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon and burglary with use of a deadly weapon.
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Posted by Senior Editor on Feb 4 2011. Filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
