Most thieves are small-time crooks—cheaters, really, or low-wagering guests who see opportunities to toss a chip onto a winning hand here and there. According to Benowitz, around 10,000 people pass through the Cosmopolitan’s casino every day and 5 percent to 10 percent of them stop to gamble. How many of them try to cheat? Around one in 200.
High-rollers take this to a whole other level.
“When a guest loses a million dollars in the casino, they want their million dollars back,” explains Mantle, who tallies stolen items every day. Artwork, duvets, even bathroom scales: gone, gone, gone. The oversized Oribe bath amenities? Pilfered by the bagful.
But some guests are especially brazen about their thefts. One requested that the butler team get slippers from a competing casino so he could steal those, instead of the ones by his bed. Several have brought extra suitcases and asked the butlers to fill them with items from their suite—think coffee table books, unopened alcohol, and decorative Hermès knickknacks.
Turns out, even if you lose big at the casino, the hotel has its ways of making you feel like a winner.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.