Strange incident

A high roller gambler has claimed that almost $21,000 in cash went missing during his recent visit to the MGM Springfield casino resort in Massachusetts. Richard Angelica said he was at Gillette Stadium to watch the New England Patriots and upon his return to MGM Springfield, his key card was no longer working.

of the $30,000 in cash he had in the hotel room safe, $20,900 of it was missing

Despite having checked in less than 12 hours earlier, hotel staff told Angelica that he had already been checked out of his room and that the contents of the room had been emptied. The hotel held onto Angelica’s belongings, but he claims that of the $30,000 in cash he had in the hotel room safe, $20,900 of it was missing.

Angelica is a semi-professional poker player and blackjack player who has reportedly been touring around casinos for about a decade. Casino staff at the MGM Springfield had invited him to play at the property on December 26. He was supposed to stay for two days in what is originally his home city. The casino had organized the trip to watch the NFL game between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium.

An unfortunate first

Speaking about the missing cash, Angelica said “nothing like this has ever happened before.” He stated that he regularly visits casinos as often as five days per week, dealing with about 20 to 30 different casino reps and hosts across the US during the course of a year. Angelica said that carrying $30,000 was not uncommon for him when visiting casinos.

Angelica arrived at the casino at about 9:30am, checking into the room before getting on an organized bus to the football game. He returned to the property at about 7pm. He planned to unpack his belongings and get ready for a night of gambling at the casino when he found that the key card was not working for either the elevator or hotel room.

After going to the front desk, Angelica was told that he had been checked out and his belongings removed. The head of security had not been working at the time, so Angelica spoke to the property’s assistant manager of security. After discovering that $20,900 was missing, the conversation grew heated.

No explanation

Speaking to local media, Angelica explained the protocol of checking a high roller out of a room is to call either the gambler or the host before doing so. He said the reservation had been made well in advance and was for a two-night stay. He was also not given an explanation for the check-out or any details about who checked him out of the room.

MGM Springfield has confirmed that the Massachusetts State Police’s Gaming Enforcement Unit is currently investigating the issue. It did not comment any further on the matter.