Las Vegas’ Vdara Hotel Sees $1M In Jewels, Fancy Watches Stolen

Posted on: May 23, 2023, 03:59h. 

Last updated on: May 25, 2023, 05:47h.

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

One million dollars worth of luxury jewelry, including two Rolexes and an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch, were stolen this month from a guest room at the Las Vegas Strip’s Vdara Hotel.

Vdara Hotel
Vdara Hotel, pictured above. Luxury watches and jewels were stolen from a room at the Las Vegas hotel earlier this month. (Image: Kiwi Collection)

Each of the three watches was valued at $100K or more. Rings, bracelets, and necklaces were among the other missing items. Each was valued between $10 and $60K.

Housekeeper Nabbed

A housekeeper, Amanda Melendez, 27, was arrested following the May 7 heist. Melendez was charged with grand larceny, residential burglary, and conspiracy to commit burglary.

Melendez appeared in court Tuesday on the charges and was later released from custody. She is scheduled to appear again in court on June 20.

Melendez provided details about the heist to her boyfriend during a phone call while he was incarcerated in the Clark County Detention Center, and later in a prison, Las Vegas TV station KLAS reported on Tuesday. She allegedly stole the items after three guests asked that their room get cleaned.

When the guests returned to the room, “Their bags were inside out, beds were half made, and cleaning supplies were left behind,” according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) arrest report.

A key that provided access to guest rooms also was missing. Melendez allegedly used the key “to gain unauthorized access to rooms,” according to the police report.

Initially, Melendez denied any involvement with the theft. But then authorities discovered she spoke via phone with her boyfriend. She called him “daddy,” “master” and “king,” police revealed.

Amanda Melendez
Amanda Melendez in a mug shot, pictured above. (Image: LVMPD)

Police said that between May 5 and 11, the inmate called Melendez 62 times from the jail or prison. In one of the calls, she described the burglary and said she would make the room “look like a tornado,” according to the police report.

She also revealed in the call there were jewelry and watches in the room.

Should I take them all?” Melendez asked the man during the phone conversation, according to Las Vegas TV station KVVU.

“Yeah, yeah,” the man responded.

She then left the room door open and made the incident look like “something else,” police said.

Melendez began working at the MGM Resorts hotel in November 2022.

Prostitution Allegations

Previously, Melendez was charged with soliciting and engaging in prostitution in unrelated incidents, police said. Details on the incidents were not released by authorities.

The Clark County District Attorney’s Office chose not to pursue the charges in court, KLAS reported.