In spite of cameras, guards, man holds up Harrah’s New Orleans

Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2000 | 9:24 a.m.

The holdup was shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday. On Monday, police were still hunting for the robber, a bearded man in his mid 20s.

The man walked up to a teller's window, implied that he had a weapon, demanded and got an undisclosed amount of money, and walked out with it, police and Harrah's officials said.

He was so calm that he raised nobody's suspicion as he strolled out with his buckets of bills, said Lt. Marlon Defillo, a New Orleans Police Department spokesman.

"This was a crime of opportunity," Defillo said. "This person saw an opportunity and carried through with it, but this was not a sophisticated robbery."

Police have not ruled out the possibility that someone who worked in the casino might be involved.

Harrah's officials had little to say except that nobody was hurt, authorities were notified immediately, and both New Orleans and Louisiana State police are at the casino 24 hours a day.

New Orleans police, who are handling the robbery investigation, are stationed outside Harrah's. Plainclothes State Police troopers regulate casino operations and keep an eye on what's going on in general.

The robber is described as about 25 years old, 5-foot-9, and 170 to 190 pounds, with long sideburns merging into a beard and goatee.

He was wearing a tan baseball cap, beige and black shirt and blue cargo pants with side pockets, police said.