Bellagio Bandit: How One Man Robbed Vegas’ Biggest Casino and Almost Got Away

The story of Tony the Bellagio Bandit. Heisted over a million in Bellagio chips and got away with it - clean. Ended up blowing all of the easy and easier to cash denominations on drugs, women and - you guessed it - gambling, but still, he was home free, no one even suspected him, he even ensconced himself in one of Bellagio's suites to gamble off the same chips he had robbed.

But eventually, he got greedy. Knowing full well that the highest denomination chips, the $25,000. "cranberries," (so named for their color) were impossible for the average player to cash, he started exploring options to convert them into cash. And in doing so, fell right into the hands of a police undercover operation that would not have even known that he existed but for his putting himself out there, on the radar, seeking to sell those cranberries.

“Look, I know I should have thrown those $25,000 chips away,” he says at one point. “But who can throw away a million dollars?”



It’s the oldest gambler’s lament: Why didn’t I just walk away when I had the chance?