Casino Crime Roundup: New York Casino Evacuated

Posted on: February 7, 2024, 05:00h. 

Last updated on: February 7, 2024, 09:38h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

New York’s Saratoga Casino Hotel was evacuated for several hours this week after a bomb threat was phoned in.

New York’s Saratoga Casino Hotel
New York’s Saratoga Casino Hotel, pictured above, was evacuated after a bomb threat was phoned into the property. No bomb was found. (Image: Saratoga.com)

Visitors and workers at the Saratoga Springs gaming property and hotel were ordered to leave on Sunday night as authorities searched for the 10 p.m. call.

Local police equipped with specially trained bomb-sniffing dogs searched the buildings and grounds. No bombs or explosives were located. Guests and workers were then allowed back into the buildings. The casino resumed normal operations on Monday morning.

No suspect has been arrested as of earlier this week.

A bomb threat was also made to the Albany Academies on Sunday. The local school was closed on Monday, according to the Albany Times Union newspaper. The two properties are located approximately 35 miles apart, but there’s been no word on whether the incidents are related.

“We take the safety of our guests and team members very seriously,” Alex Tucker, chief operating officer of Saratoga Casino Hotel, said in a statement.

Bellagio Pedestrian Injured

A person walking in the valet area of the Bellagio was seriously injured after getting struck by a car at the Las Vegas casino last week.

The injuries were described as life-threatening, and the unnamed pedestrian was still at University Medical Center days after Thursday’s accident, according to Las Vegas TV station KLAS.

The 9:33 p.m. crash was investigated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). No arrests were made as of last week.

The motorist was believed to have been cooperating with police. The driver wasn’t intoxicated at the time.

One witness claimed the car was speeding before striking the man, according to Las Vegas TV station KTNV.

South Dakota Casino Robberies

Two small gaming properties were robbed last week in Sioux Falls, SD.

The Sioux Falls Police Department (SFPD) said the two holdups are related, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, a South Dakota news outlet.

The first incident took place at about 7 a.m. Wednesday at Crown Casino, two men attempted to enter the property. One shot a gun twice at a glass back door and tried to kick it in, but the bandits failed to get inside. No one was injured.

Just two hours later, a second robbery occurred at the Silver Dollar Casino, next to Woody’s Pub & Grill.

This time, the two robbers walked inside the Silver Dollar. Each aimed firearms at two employees and a single visitor.

The bandits demanded cash, and an undisclosed amount of money was handed over. The suspects then fled.

“We were able to determine it was the same two guys in both cases,” SFPD spokesman Sam Clemens told the Argus Leader.

The suspects were masked, and complete physical descriptions weren’t released by police. No arrests have been made in connection with the incidents, but one of the guns used in the crimes was located by police.