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Monday, March 22, 2010 | 3:41 p.m.
Map of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas
An insurance company is suing two former Hard Rock hotel-casino employees, charging they were involved in the theft of $831,519 from the Las Vegas resort.
National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania filed suit last week in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas against Jhirmal Earl Winfield and Sammy Sampson II, both of whom were part of the Hard Rock table game count staff and both of whom have been charged in thefts from the resort.
"Defendants committed their illegal activity in a specifically calculated and escalating pattern of fraud and conversion, devised to defraud Hard Rock Hotel and Casino by generating false reports that did not reflect the actual amount of the money that was won by the casino and placed in the locked drop boxes to be counted in the count room," the lawsuit charges.
The insurance company says that on three occasions in March 2009, surveillance video recorded Winfield stealing sums ranging from $1,025 to $10,874 from the drop boxes of various blackjack tables.
The suit says that also in March 2009, video recorded Sampson stealing $9,000 from a blackjack drop box and an unknown amount from a craps table drop box.
A state Gaming Control Board report filed in Sampson’s criminal case indicates the scheme was simple: The defendant simply put stolen money in his work smock.
A video recording showed Sampson standing at his workstation, the report said.
"A few seconds later, he walked over to a table, picked up two large bundles of money and returned to his workstation. Sampson took the first bundle of money and put it in the money counter. Sampson then picked up a portion of the second bundle, folded it and placed the money inside his smock. Sampson took the remaining money and put it in the money counter," the report said.
Sampson was charged in Las Vegas Justice Court in July with three counts of felony theft related to the Hard Rock incidents. Those charges are pending.
Court records show Winfield pleaded guilty last August in District Court for Clark County to attempted theft for his role in the heists.
A Metro Police report on his arrest said Hard Rock officials had detected a low hold percentage on a certain blackjack table and ordered extra surveillance of the table. The table was watched for 24 hours and it was determined that $15,815 in cash had been inserted into the table’s drop box.
After the box was taken to the count room, Winfield "created two piles of money," the Metro report says.
"Winfield put one pile of money in a plastic tray, which was standard protocol. Winfield took the second pile of money with the drop box, placed the drop box back into a cart and then stuffed the money on his person," the report said.
A "game detail report" said $4,941 had been recovered from the drop box at the gaming table in question, a difference of $10,874 from what should have been in the box.
"This is the amount that Winfield placed on his person," the police report says.
Without specifying who took how much money, the insurance company said in its lawsuit: "Because of the losses perpetrated by Jhirmal Earl Winfield and Sammy Sampson II, National Union issued $831,519 in policy proceeds to Hard Rock Hotel and Casino."
Besides the incidents related in the lawsuits and in the criminal cases, "further acts of theft and fraud occurred and were not captured on video but were perpetrated by the defendants in furtherance of their ongoing scheme,'' the suit said.
"Defendants fraudulently and illegally absconded with cash during their shift by placing the cash in their clothing (coveralls) to avoid detection," the lawsuit charges. "Defendants were able to perpetrate their scheme to defraud the Hard Rock hotel and casino because they were trusted employees with an intimate knowledge of policy and and procedure."
The lawsuit, alleging fraud and other counts, seeks unspecified damages from the defendants.
And this is why the drug cartels make their employees work in the nude.
Why would they wait after 3 separate occasions if this was on surveillance showing these thefts? Just wondering...
They probably never viewed the first two until after they watched the third. Just a case of complacency.
Ah hA!!! could this be the beginning of the unraveling a certain mysterious case of executive suicide at The Hard Rock Hotel/Casino???? Or as reported here a case of simple employee theft..Very intrigued..
Will they still be covered by Health Care?
If you didn't know any better, you'd think they worked for the fire dept.
shame they wont honour medical claims for when i slipped on their wet floor, they couldnt even be bothered to place warning signs..
Evidently their soft count department is lacking extra security members to physically watch the soft count staff members like they do at other places.
The insurance company wants paid based on what the cameras did not detect? Strong!
acebest They will not now nor will they ever have health insurance as good as the tax payers pay for the members of Congress health insurance while our elected officials take payoffs from insurance lobbyists to make sure Americans don't have the same oportunity as they do. Remember insurance companies are exempt from anti trust laws so there is no oversight just the good ol' boys and girls in Washington who are for sale.Think first!
Hmmmm..."They detected a low hold percentage on a certain blackjack table". Question: How did they know in advance how much money they were going to win? Answer: Easy, the odds are such that the players don't have a chance. So, why would anyone want to gamble at the Hard Rock, knowing they are going to lose? Never could figure that one out.
Unless there were confessions, that number is grossly inflated. But guessing those slow days had to be made up for somehow
Mike123..LOL that's funny..but not too far off from the real truth
It appears to me that management is scamming the insurance company.
WHOA! Excuse me, I don't understand what kind of casino leaves money laying around in piles so some one can just walk over and pick it up - and go back to his table. Nor do I understand how two guys can be left alone in a count room with no supervision, or how they could possibly steal form a table drop-boxe - which should have been locked.
And... do this all in plain sight of players and dealers?
Don't casino procedures require someone else to be WORKING IN the count room besides these two crooks? Are there no TV surveillence cameras in the count room? Is this the only place in the that has NO TV cameras?
I guess the BUFFET area has more TV survellience cameras than the count-room!
Further, drop boxes cannot be opened at tables. They are locked. When big security guards change out drop boxes at the tables, it is very obvious. So stealing from a box at the table (as this article suggests) would be quite a trick.
When these crooks had to count the money in the count-room later, they had to be able to write count slips AFTER stealing their " bundle/part of a stack of money." Was no one was watching during the time it took to do all this, and stick it in their pockets, either?
Some of the above posts also question this theft; some suggest who may be culpable - or even a conspirator. You may also agree that something is wrong with this picture.
If any of our collective comments are even partially accurate, I suggest that the reason these MULTIPLE thefts could have happened rests at the feet, or the hands, of Hard Rock Casino MANAGEMENT.
In the past, casinos have been very good at protecting their money - and we don't have to go back to the days of the Mob to see that. So how is it possible, in this age of electronics and communications, that NO ONE saw, or was watching - two guys "playing" with money, and writing drop box slips that no supervisor ever verified as accurate?
THAT IS WHAT THE COUNT ROOM IS FOR!
Casinos count money every day! Every Shift change! How can you steal 3/4 of a million dollars - and when someone finally notices (3 time +), allows it to continue? Where were the "alarms" that should have been triggered by casino security management - or even pit bosses?
The fact that the INSURANCE company paid the claim and is now filing suit against these guys for $831,519 claim, suggest to me that the Hard Rock didn't even have a clue!
Why isn't the Hard Rock the initiator of this prosecution?
I guess the Hard Rock has not learned any lessons from past events in the gaming gusiness. Obviously, the Hard Rock does NOT KNOW what their employees are doing.
I smell a "Rat" ("Danny Ocean"), and but he/she may be an employee - other than the two that were caught.
I can't wait for the book.
What article did you read? The article clearly states that this happened in the count room. Why in the world would you imagine this happened on the casino floor. As for supervision, do you think it is possible to cover every single angle in a room with cameras and officers?
Maybe you should try reading the artcle again.
The book's gonna be good, too. I'm gonna preface it here. It starts with the new management, or should I say lack thereof?
THESE TWO ARE NOW *TOTALLY* ELECTABLE IN NEVADA.
I disagree By Wizard of Oz. They got caught so they are not qualified to run for office. Our politicians have expertise in pilfering the unsuspecting public, all they while their net worth grows dramatically..
Big_John:
You are right. I mistook the word "workstation" to mean "gaming table." But I believe the rest of my questions, and comments about security and management are still valid.
Virtually every corporation in America uses some level of live survellience. More than 10 years ago, I was told that "Video" tapes were being replaced with new technology that was more flexible, could capture clearer images, record longer, and had other needed capabilities.
Now, most casinos use live-streaming, digital, DVD-recording, zoom, facial- and voice-recognition imagery. (Of course, I don't know what technology Hard Rock is using.)
And yes, casinos/hotels can, and do, cover every corner of a casino/hotel - with ceiling cameras to wall cameras, at the swimming pool, in the garage, on the public grounds - and in other public and private office spaces. This has been especially important for saftey, security, liability, risk management, and other since 9/11.
I will eagerly await the testimony from the court case to see what enabled them to steal 3/4 million dollars - a few $thousand dollars at a time.
This might be the basis for a new (Upscaled) movie: Ocean's Eleven III.
How do these people get away with such blatent theft, I guess they thought it was thier God given right to use the company as thier personal ATM machine. Line up folks we have 2 for 1 drink specials, maybe if you are drunk with power you are delusional enough to think the party will never end. I'm sure there were many red flags, much like a cape a matador uses in a bull fight, does anyone besides Flava Flave know What time it is?
Why I am glad that the casino's won't hire me!
This again is one more sign of the lack of competent, professional Security Management. Security is to check and monitor all outer garments ( coveralls ) going in and out of Soft Count.
I think these guys got a first draft, and not the final, for "Ocean's 11."
The name of the insurance company says it all..
National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
Its a theft not a fire.
It wasn't lack of competent Security Mgmt. It was due to the reluctance of the powers that be (or were, in one case) to listen to people with actual gaming experience. Too many people in positions they have zero to minimal experience, couple that with massive egos, and you get the new Hard Rock.
I bet there is more to come. I don't like to jump to conclusions like the afternoon host on a local talk station who said "The Gilchrist bird sanctuary fire was arson." Fire department determined the fire to be caused by old ceiling wiring.
However, given the tragic suicide and this situation, I hope they bring in forensic accountants to assure investor confidence.
@mred..I'm almost certain there's more to come. I just wonder just how deep the rabbit hole goes. Hmmmmm...DB?
Blame Bush. Everyone else does.
How did they come up with $831,519?
The article says on three occasions Winfield stole sums ranging from $1,025 to $10,874 and Sampson stole $9,000. Assuming the 3rd Winfield theft was also $10,000 that equals $30,000 they know of.
What's the other $800,000 for?
It sounds like the insurance company is trying to recoup every penny they've paid out to the HR in the last 15 years on these 2 individuals.
Ahh...the benevolent powers that be. Pehaps if their intellect matched thier greed they could have prevented this gross misconduct and hopefully an eyeopenr to the rest of the gaming community. I think dogday afternoon and Socratic-inkwell should stand by in case a meeting of the mind -opps I meant minds should happen to pay attention I mean what is $831,519 between friends. Got to hand it to them they have HUGE BALLS but I guess when you are embezzling such a nominal ammount it just happpens to go unnoticed. Perhaps everyone was so mezermized by the size of the aforementioned balls that they didn't mind the overwhelming stench. Perhaps if someone within corporate would pay attention when a rank and file employee points out unethical activity they may want to follow up on it. I guess when the BALLS become that enormous people are just trying to get a piece of that. HMMMMMM...I wonder if investors are that impressed with this brilliant but yet so simple concept. I bet the wealthy (wonder if Madoff is getting room service)? ones are used to being the BELLE of the ball.
Rumor has it it was known (and "shhhh'ed") throughout HR upper mgmt that they were going to inflate the amount taken to compensate for some losses. If that insurance company was smart, they'd do some more asking of questions to determine how they came up with that number. Stayed tuned I'm hearing it's going to get better.
I was told that on the first of the month when Eureka Casino in Mesquite, Nevada makes a told drop on all the slot machines they count over two million dollars in currency. So there is alot of currency available in the count room.