Las Vegas Strip Security: Alleged Thief’s Unchecked Back Door Access Hotel Crime Spree Unveils Shocking Lack of Precautions

Posted on: June 25, 2018, 03:00h. 

Last updated on: June 26, 2018, 01:53h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Head-scratching questions about Las Vegas Strip security have reemerged this week, after Danny Roy Salazar was charged recently with six counts each of burglary and grand larceny of property worth more than $21,000 total in a series of unusual weapon-less hits on numerous Strip venues.

Las Vegas casino security
Danny Roy Salazar’s alleged crime spree has once again drawn attention to major missing pieces when it comes to Las Vegas Strip casino security failings. Salazar posed as a delivery driver, which allowed him to walk in and out of restricted areas with impunity. (Image: Las Vegas Metro Police)

Salazar’s spate of crimes have exposed glaring holes in casino hotel security at major Las Vegas properties, all of which had such lax protocols for vetting vendors and others with employee back door access that he was permitted to stroll in through the back entrance armed with just a lanyard and a clipboard, according to police.

No Shame in His Game

Between August 2017 and June of this year, Salazar burglarized 11 properties, including Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, Caesars Palace, the Hard Rock Hotel, and the Rio, police allege.

Each time, he arrived in a stolen (and previously reported as such) $86,000 Penske refrigerated box truck that Salazar had lifted from an actual delivery driver to pose as a worker with a valid reason to be on the premises, and each time his presence went unchallenged and seemingly, unnoticed.

“The suspect’s modus operandi is to drive onto a hotel property in the box truck and gain access into restricted employee doorways and hallways,” according to a police report seen by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The report claims he left the Rio, Westgate, and Caesars Palace with electronics, furniture (including items as large as mattresses), light fixtures, and even a photo booth. Salazar simply loaded the loot into his stolen Penske truck and drove off, no questions asked.

Salazar was apprehended when a Metro officer tried to pull him over on June 10, but he failed to stop, and a chase ensued. The truck eventually rolled over and skidded several hundred feet before coming to a halt several blocks away. Salazar was treated for minor injuries before he was taken into custody.

Hotel Guestroom Doors, Employee Entrances Vulnerable

While casinos are covered with “eye-in-the-sky” surveillance cams all over gaming floors and main hotel entrances, there are still major holes when it comes to protecting guests and employees. The murder earlier this month of two Vietnamese tourists in their rooms at Circus-Circus highlighted the lack of security in hotel corridors, which has enabled so-called “door pushers” to roam the premises looking for unlocked doors and easy targets to rob within.

Las Vegas was even identified as a “soft target” by terror experts long before the October 1, 2017 mass shooting from Mandalay Bay that killed 58 and wounded more than 500 others. But nine months on from that tragedy — and despite adding bollards along the Strip and more metal detectors in entertainment venues, including those aimed at locals — security experts continue to beg city officials to up their game.

Salazar’s extended and unchecked alleged crime spree is just the latest example that Sin City is not focused enough on the lurking underbelly of true sin that could cause mass harm. He is currently booked into Clark County Detention Center (CCDC) where he remains on $120,000 bail, and will face a judge on Wednesday for his preliminary hearing.

A string of prior convictions — including grand larceny, possession of a stolen vehicle, and possession of stolen property — have come to light via court records.