Suspect Nabbed in Bellagio Robbery

By Richard Gibson
Feb 5 2011

Last year a man walked into the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas and walked out with $1.5 million in chips after waving a gun around. Today that man is in custody and business is better for the famed hotel and casino.

Anthony Carleo is now facing charges of armed robbery and aggravated theft for the heist that stunned a nation. Casinos in Las Vegas are notorious for their security but this time they were beat by a single gunman on a motorcycle.

The robbery put a massive dent in the bottom line for the casino and they were concerned about the insurance rate hikes that would come after they reported the theft. However, it was not long before it was discovered that the suspect had not gotten away with anything but chips, which were tracked via microchip.

The other interesting fact about this story is the fact that Carleo is the son of a judge and was once a prominent businessman in Colorado and Arizona. Reports at this point show that Carleo took a wrong turn when things started to run bad for the housing market in which he was involved.

Now Carleo is set for a massive stint in prison and he can thank his mouth for it all. The police were able to track the crime to Carleo because he was talking about it all over the city.

The casino said that the theft was not reported to insurance because the chips have no value unless cashed through the casinos cashier station.