Lone gunman robs Treasure Island, injures cashier

Lisa Snedeker

Monday, Oct. 30, 2000 | 11:48 a.m.

Authorities are searching for a lone gunman in a daring early morning robbery at the Treasure Island hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

A man with a gun jumped over the main casino cage about 12:30 a.m. Monday, Las Vegas police said, and made off an undisclosed amount of money.

The robber struck a casino cashier in the head with the gun, said Alan Feldman, spokesman for MGM Mirage, which owns Treasure Island.

"It was over in a matter of seconds," Feldman said.

Security guards chased the robber, who fired a shot at them outside the casino, said police Lt. John Alamshaw of Metro's robbery unit.

"None of the guards was hit," he said.

The casino cage employee who was struck with the gun was treated at a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

Monday's robbery is the latest in a string of brazen armed robberies of Strip casinos and the second robbery at Treasure Island in less than four months. Police are investigating similarities in the two Treasure Island holdups.

Two armed men robbed the casino's main cashier cage July 13, injuring two employees before escaping with an undisclosed amount of money.

"One of the suspects is in custody in Florida," said Alamshaw, who added that charges likely will be filed in the July robbery.

Treasure Island's casino cage also was robbed in April 1997.

Police don't believe the Treasure Island robberies are connected to the June 3 robbery at the Bellagio hotel-casino or a series of other Strip casino robberies over the past two years despite similarities.

In the June 3 Bellagio casino cage robbery, two men jumped over the casino cage and took about $160,000 in cash and casino chips while a third stood lookout.

Prosecutors and attorneys for two of the suspects in the Bellagio robbery - Jose Vigoa and Luis Suarez - return to court Wednesday when District Judge Kathy Hardcastle will set a trial date for the pair. The third suspect, Oscar Cisneros Sanchez, hanged himself in his cell earlier this month.

Henderson Police last week turned over more evidence linking the trio with the ambush slayings of two armored car guards in March 3 outside a discount department store. Gunmen opened fire on the guards with automatic weapons as they made a delivery to the store.

Suarez and Vigoa are also suspects in robberies at the New York-New York, Mandalay Bay, Desert Inn and MGM Grand hotels.