An unidentified Queens man was robbed of more than $10,000 at the Resorts World Casino early Wednesday morning, The Forum has learned. Police sources say this is the first robbery at the casino since it opened five months ago.
According to the police, a black man in his twenties approached a man described to be in his fifties, playing at a slot machine, and sprayed mace into his face and eyes. The victim was blinded and the suspect grabbed a bag he was carrying. The suspect then fled the casino unscathed, making off with the man’s money. Sources say the bag contained more than $10,000 in cash.
The victim was treated by EMS at the scene but declined to be taken to an area hospital.
There is video surveillance of the occurrence yet there was no reported security action by the casino’s private force. There are nearly 1,400 cameras in the casino.
A police source said, “This is the type of robbery that would normally take place outside the casino. The same source says there is an average of three arrests in the casino each week for breaking machines, fighting and other minor offenses. These are the kinds of occurrences to be expected in places where crowds gather.” However, the source said “The fact that it happened inside the casino and the suspect was able to escape, is an area of major concern.”
Stefan Friedman, a spokesman for Resorts World New York, issued the following statement on Wednesday evening, “Our first priority is the safety of our patrons, and we are doing everything — including providing video footage from our state-of-the-art security system to the NYPD — to help apprehend the perpetrator and help ensure this never happens again.”
Calls to the Queens District Attorney’s office were not returned as of press time.
We wish to note that both entities had limited time to respond on Wednesday afternoon.
By Patricia Adams
