Ever since gambling was launched in the state of Colorado in 1991, authorities have never seen such a major casino heist in the Centennial State. A mountain town casino heist of $500,000 in cash is investigated by state authorities.
On March 12, Monarch Casino Resort and Spa, which is located 34 miles away from Denver in Black Hawk, was robbed. The main suspect in the crime is Sabrina Eddy, 44, who worked as a cashier at the casino. She was arrested and was still in jail by Tuesday afternoon.
Casino Cashier Claim She Did Nothing Wrong and Was Following Casino Orders
In a Gilpin County District Court affidavit issued to support the warrantless arrest of Eddy, it was a few minutes after midnight when the cashier received text messages from people who claimed to be her casino bosses. They gave her the instruction to take out the money required to pay a lawyer, said the affidavit.
Thanks to CCTV shots, Eddy was captured using a box to take $50,000 bricks of money, which was then loaded into a gold-colored minivan. Eddy then left the casino, only to return later to take more money from the vault. Following the instructions she was given, she then drove to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Denver and gave the money to a man who was standing near the emergency room, said the affidavit. The cashier then called the casino, informing them she had taken the money and adding she believed she might be arrested. Eddy kept explaining she had done nothing wrong but simply followed the instructions she was given by the casino, said the affidavit.
The Colorado Division of Gaming, which is the body responsible for regulating the gambling industry in the state, refused to discuss any further details but did confirm there is an investigation of the case.
In an email commenting on the heist, Suzanne Karrer, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Revenue, confirmed that the Division of Gaming was investigating this case with the help of local authorities and law enforcement agencies. She also added that the incident would not be discussed further until the investigation is not complete.
This incident marks the biggest casino theft in Colorado ever since gambling was legalized in the mountain towns of Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek in 1990. In 2003, there was a $300,000 casino theft from JP McGills, with a casino security guard being the suspect in the robbery. Other cases include an armed robber who stole $28,000 from Central City’s Famous Bonanza in 2010, and another armed robbery of $8,000 from the Gold Rush Casino and Hotel in Cripple Creek in 1993.
According to Karrer, small thefts and fraudulent acts are common, with the regulatory body dealing with such cases almost every week. The latest case of $500,000 being taken from the Monarch Casino in Black Hawk, however, marks the biggest theft in Colorado since gambling was legalized in the Centennial State.