Vegas' Mandalay Bay Casino Hit by Heist

March 12, 2005
Robbery on Friday afternoon included shots fired, thieves escaped to car

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The sound of gunfire sent some people diving for the floor Friday during a daring robbery at a Las Vegas Strip casino resort, authorities said.

No one was hurt, but detectives found a bullet hole in the high ceiling after the 4 p.m. robbery at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino, said Officer Jose Montoya, a Las Vegas police spokesman.

Police were reviewing hotel security videotapes to identify the two robbers.

Witnesses told police one jumped over a counter and looted a casino change booth not far from the House of Blues nightclub and a seafood restaurant in the sprawling resort.

One shot was fired as the robbers ran to a car waiting at a nearby exit, Montoya said.

A hotel spokesman said police were investigating and he had no information about the case.