$500,000 Stolen from Monarch in Largest Colorado Casino Heist Ever

A Colorado casino employee stole $500,000 from her job the morning of March 12, marking the largest casino heist in the state’s history.

Sabrina Eddy, 44, could be seen on video grabbing stacks of $50,000 cash from the casino’s vault on a video recording, an investigator from the Division of Gaming said in an arrest affidavit. She was seen on the video at roughly 12:45 a.m. local time. 

After retrieving the blocks of cash from the safe, Eddy put them into a box she covered with rags and strolled over to the parking garage, hopped in a minivan, and left the scene. She returned a half-hour later to sneak four more bricks of cash out of the casino.

The theft occurred at Monarch Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado, a little less than an hour west of Denver. The 24-hour facility expanded in 2020 and is one of many prominent casinos in Black Hawk. 

In total, Eddy made out with 10 stacks of cash and at least $500,000. According to Ron Kammerzell, an industry consultant that spent seven years working for the Colorado Division of Gaming and has been in gaming since 1991, said that this is the largest heist that he has ever heard of. 

“For something like that to happen, it would've had to defeat a number of different levels of casino controls within the property,” said Kammerzell.

Eddy was arrested and brought in for an interview. Much to the investigators’ surprise, she believed that she did nothing wrong and said that she had been instructed to fetch the money. She alleged that she received a call on the casino’s phone from a person claiming to be Monarch’s head of operations.

Eddy also said that she spoke to another man, whom she believed was a cage manager, via text. She says they informed her that the casino was having trouble with UPS and needed the money to be delivered or the casino would be in violation of a contract, according to the affidavit.

The woman then claims to have met a man outside St. Anthony’s Hospital at 4:36 a.m. and given him the money, which she believed was on its way to a lawyer. She later tried to call back the number that had contacted her but could not get an answer.

The affidavit revealed that Eddy called the casino to share that she was on her way back to the property. She “thought she might be arrested” and knew that she violated casino procedures regarding taking money off of property grounds but thought it was acceptable since she was directed by a supposed casino official.

“Eddy continued to state she did nothing wrong, but she was just following orders she believed had [been] put out by the casino,” reads the affidavit. 

Eddy was booked in the Gilpin County jail later on March 12 for theft. She has not posted bond.

Monarch Casino has not responded to requests for interviews but said that it is aware of and cooperating with a police investigation. Kamerzell said that the Division of Gaming will investigate the incident as well as the protocols that were breached and allowed her to walk away with over half-a-billion dollars undetected.

Needless to say, this is an unprecedented situation in Colorado, a state that embraces gambling and houses over 40 casinos and 25 online sportsbooks. The previous record for the largest heist happened in 2003 when a security guard was suspected of running off with roughly $300,000 from JP McGills casino in Cripple Creek.

Another Black Hawk gambling hub, known as The Famous Bonanza Casino, fell victim to a $28,000 theft in 2019, now the third-largest incident in Colorado casino history. 

According to federal law, a class one non-probational felony for theft of $500,000-$1,000,000 carries a 4-15-year prison sentence and fine of up to $25,000.

The investigation is still ongoing.