MGM Springfield High Roller Says $20k Stolen from Casino Hotel

A high roller at the MGM Springfield casino says that more than $20,000 was stolen from his hotel room safe.

When staying at a casino hotel, one expects that their belongings will be safe and the experience will be enjoyable. For the most part this is true. However, there are rare occurrences when things go wrong. Take a recent incident out of Massachusetts for example. Richard Angelica was staying at the MGM Springfield and traveled to the nearby Gillette Stadium to watch the Patriots in action. After returning to the hotel, his key card did not work. Apparently, staff members said that he had checked out and all the items in his room had been removed. Lost in the shuffle was several thousands of dollars.

What Happened?

Angelica is no stranger to the casino scene and knows how things work. He is an avid poker and blackjack player, enjoying the games on a semi-professional level. He has been traveling to casinos for more than 10 years and was at the MGM Casino after being invited by the brand to play as a high roller.

While playing as a high roller, Angelica has been able to travel around the world to various venues. It is not uncommon for him to carry large amounts of cash and be invited by operators to play at their tables. This trip to MGM was nothing new. Angelica is from New Jersey and has family in Springfield, so he is in the area often.

The player said that nothing like this has ever happened to him before and he deals with dozens of different casinos on a yearly basis. He had checked in to the MGM venue and in less than 12 hours, was told he had checked out and his items removed from the hotel room. In his possession was $30,000 in cash and just over $20,000 of the amount was missing. The decrease in funds was noticed by the player once he released staff had removed his items from the hotel room.

Angelica says he was contacted by an individual named Justin who invited him to play at the casino. He was given transportation and tickets to go watch the Patriots and Bills play as part of the invite. A casino host is an individual who will assist VIP players in accessing entertainment along with other needs. Justin played this role, providing a bus for Angelica and his brother-in-law to travel from the casino to the stadium.

Locked Out

Angelica arrived at the casino and immediately took a bus to the game, leaving his luggage with the hotel. He was gone for the majority of the day and wanted to unpack when he arrived back after the game and get ready for casino gaming.

After getting off the elevator at the casino, he went to the room, and tried to go inside. His key card did not work. He went down to the front desk, seemingly thinking it was only a card issue. The casino employees then told him that he had checked out. All of his items had been removed from the room due to check-out, including the cash in the safe.

This seems odd in general because if an individual were to check out of a hotel, why would they leave behind luggage and so much cash. It seems that hotel staff should have caught on that something was amiss once they went to clear out the room, especially after finding the cash.

Angelica pointed out that the protocol for a person checking out when not at the casino was not followed by MGM. He said that he should have been contacted or the host that was representing him should have been called. His room was reserved for two nights, which also should have been a red flag to the casino.

The casino is now working with law enforcement on the claim by Angelica that the $20,000 is missing from the safe.