UK Game Nation Casino Thieves Brandish Knife to Steal £10K

Posted on: August 25, 2022, 11:44h. 

Last updated on: August 25, 2022, 01:55h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Police in the UK are on the hunt for two thieves who carried out a brazen daytime assault. In less than five minutes, they were able to steal £10,000 (US$11,800) from the Game Nation casino in Bearwood, Smethwick, using only a knife.

Game Nation casino
A Game Nation casino in Dover, England. A sister property in Smethwick recently became the target of thieves, and police are asking for help in locating them. (Image: Kent Live)

The pair entered the casino around 7:30 p.m. last Friday dressed in clothes that allowed them to conceal their identities. At the time, activity in the casino was light. Media outlet Express & Star quoted an employee as stating that there were only two employees and one patron present.

The crooks immediately took control of the casino and forced the three into an office. There, they threatened one of the employees with a knife, ordering her to open the safe. After she complied, the duo made their escape.

Cold Trail

After the theft, the employees called the police, who launched an investigation. For the past week, they haven’t been able to track down the crooks.

The only information police have to go on are descriptions putting the two in their mid-20s. One stands around 5’8” tall, while the other is around 6’. Despite accessing surveillance cameras in the area, investigators lost their trail and weren’t able to determine where they went.

Without much else to go on, the police have turned to the public for assistance. The West Midlands Police Department is leading the investigation. It is asking the public for any information that might lead to the capture of the two suspects.

“Game Nation” is the trading name City Gaming Limited uses for its gaming operations. The company has dealt with attacks before, and this one was tame compared to others.

In July 2020, Abel Berhany attacked a patron at City Gaming’s City Slots arcade in Camden. The unprovoked attack led to Berhany’s arrest and subsequent diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. He still had to pay for his crime, and this past June, was sentenced to life in prison.

Easy Money

A couple of weeks ago, a different casino became an easy target for a thief. A man walked into a Merkur Slots shop in Luton, barely at the break of dawn, and walked out with a large amount of cash.

When he entered the shop, an employee was reportedly performing maintenance on a gaming machine. The individual also had in his possession an envelope stuffed with an unspecified wad of money.

The thief approached the employee, grabbed the envelope, and took off. He escaped through a fire exit and disappeared. As in the Game Nation theft, police were unable to follow the trail and the suspect remains at large.