Bellagio Bandit Profiled in Rolling Stone

Five years ago, Tony Carleo, a.k.a. the “Bellagio Bandit,” was sentenced to 3-11 years in prison for stealing $1.5 million worth of chips. Now, Rolling Stone has revisited the Bellagio Bandit story by speaking with Carleo himself.

In December 2010, Carleo parked his Suzuki motorcycle outside the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. Dressed in dark coveralls, rubber gloves, and a motorcycle helmet, the Bellagio Bandit strolled into the casino with a gun.

“I didn’t intend to use it for anything other than deterrence,” Carleo said. “But you have to have bullets in it. Otherwise a gun is just a paperweight.”

High on cocaine and OxyContin, Carleo walked past an elderly security guard by keeping his gun concealed and waving. Here’s a description from Rolling Stone on exactly how the $1.5 million robbery played out:

“Quickly, he closed the last 20 yards to the table and pulled out his gun. He could hear his voice shouting at everyone: “Move! Move!”

“The stickman and dealers and players lurched back. One man dove to the side like a stuntman in an action film. There were millions of dollars worth of purple and yellow and red-white-and-blue chips arrayed in front of the dealer, and tonight Carleo could take as many as he could grab. He shoveled handful after handful into a backpack he wore backwards across his chest. Stacks of $1,000 and $5,000 chips spilled across the table’s green felt. After 15 seconds that could have been 15 days, something inside of him screamed out in alarm.

“I had big plans for that night,” Carleo re. “I was going to rob the poker room. I was going to smash and grab at the Cartier shop. But then fight or flight kicked in. And I flew.”

16 months prior to the big heist, Carleo dove deeply in dept by purchasing rental properties and g up for high-interest loans. When the US economy crashed in 2008, he declared bankruptcy and took his remaining possessions to Las Vegas.

Carleo’s life further spiraled downward as he lost his remaining money through gambling. This is what ultimately convinced him to steal $15,000 from the Suncoast casino, then make the ultimate heist at the Bellagio.

It turns out that Carleo had no idea how much he’d netted from the Bellagio robbery. Even he was shocked to count out $1.5 million worth of chips in his backpack.

Eventually, after setting up an undercover sting to purchase $25,000 chips from Carleo, officers were able to nab him.

You can read the entire story at Rolling Stone, which details every defining moment before and after the Bellagio Bandit’s $1.5 million caper.