31-year-old Samuel Stovall has been charged this Saturday with the crime of stealing $16,000 worth of chips from Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore. Mr Stovall remained locked up over the weekend, but was later released on bond.
Baltimore City police did not go into too much detail regarding the incident. In a Facebook post, they confirmed their officers from the Southwest District Action Team and those assigned to the Casino district made the arrest.
It is still unclear if Mr Stovall had acted alone, or if he has prior employment at Caesars Entertainment operated casinos. The company did not issue any comments regarding the alleged theft.
With over 2,200 slot machines, over 150 video poker machines and 153 different table games, Baltimore’s Horseshoe Casino offers a diverse range of fun games. Most notable games include blackjack, craps, roulette, poker and baccarat. The venue is massive, with over 122,000 square feet set aside just for the casino floor!
A Global Problem
Casino chips are favorite prey globally. A rather notable recent case was that of Ding Zhipeng, who worked as a dealer at Resorts World Sentosa. During his tenure as a live dealer, he managed to steal S$77,000 (US$ 56,826) worth of chips.
From May or June 2018 to November 2018, Mr Zhipeng was able to steal and cash in the chips. He then proceeded to spend that money to purchase luxury items for himself and his girlfriend. Among the purchased items were Balenciaga shoes, Chanel earrings, an Apple iPad mini and an iPhone. The high life didn’t last long, as he was forced to spend 10 months in prison, and pay a hefty fine.
In May, up to $400,000 worth of gambling chips were stolen by two masked men from the gaming floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Macau. The chips were taken from a roulette table, after the men sprayed the guard and dealer with pepper spray.
Another interest case appeared in January 2018, where $6 million worth of chips were stolen from the Wynn Macau. A VIP room dealer was charged with the crime, though no new information about the case has surfaced since.
Horseshoe Casino Moves Forward
In an effort to expand their business and earn a little bit of goodwill, the casino has plans to create a pedestrian corridor. The corridor would connect Horseshoe Casino with M&T Bank Stadium, home to the Baltimore Ravens, and Oriole Park, where the city’s MLB team is based.
The investment seeks to improve the area filled with empty buildings and warehouses. So much so that they’re banking $50 million on the concert venue!