Cosmo robber’s note read ‘Give me 10k purple or Boom,’ police say
A man accused of robbing at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas casino cage early Tuesday gave a teller a note threatening violence while demanding $10,000 in casino chips, police said.
Las Vegas police arrested Ronald Allison, 51, of Las Vegas on suspicion of robbery with a deadly weapon and burglary with a firearm in the 6:36 a.m. heist at the Strip resort, 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. South.
Allison’s arrest report states a man was observed standing in line at the casino cage, writing in a notebook, shortly before the robbery. The man then approached a teller’s window and put some loose change and a duffel bag on the counter.
“He showed (the teller) a note from his notebook that read ‘Give me 10k purple or Boom,’” police said.
The teller complied, then hit a panic button as he handed over the chips, police said. The robber fled on foot.
Police said video surveillance allowed them to track the man as he walked through casino valet. There, he put on an Indiana Pacers basketball jersey. Other surveillance footage showed the man walking south on pedestrian bridges toward the Waldorf Astoria, where he was located on the third floor and arrested.
Police identified the man as Allison, saying he still had a duffel bag in hand and tattoos that were visible on the robber in video surveillance.
“He was wearing two sets of shorts,” police said in the report. “The outer shorts had two $500 Cosmopolitan casino chips in his right pocket and another eight $500 Cosmopolitan chips in the right pocket of his inner shorts. (An officer) searched the black duffel bag Allison was carrying. He found a notebook and loose notebook paper that showed letters to various casinos of his dislike toward them.”
Police said in the report that Allison confessed to the crime.
“Allison stated that he burned the page that he used for the robbery while walking south toward the Waldorf,” police said.
Allison is described by police as a transient. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 14 in Las Vegas Justice Court.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.