Man arrested after thousands in chips stolen from casino

Associated Press

RIDGEFIELD, Wash. – A Kelso, Washington, man who is banned from a casino in southwest Washington is accused of stealing $12,500 in chips after a casino break-in.

Police said Lucas Bunn entered the ilani Casino Resort Tuesday morning while disguised in a gray wig and construction vest, the Columbian reported.

Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency advised authorities at about 7:50 a.m. that a man was in the casino’s high-limits area using a drill to break into the chips table, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The man, thought to be Bunn, ran when security approached him, the affidavit says. A responding Clark County sheriff’s deputy advised he was chasing the man near a gas station and he was detained shortly after, according to the affidavit.

Officers found a grinder and extra grinding wheels, a construction vest and 25 $500 chips in his possession, court documents said. A gray wig was found nearby, the affidavit says.

Court records show police used a stun gun on him before his arrest.

The 25-year-old appeared Wednesday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of burglary and theft. Judge Emily Sheldrick set Bunn’s bail at $15,000. It wasn’t immediately known if he has a lawyer.

Bunn was trespassed from ilani on Dec. 15, but he has been back to the casino at least twice, court documents said.