$30,000 winner robbed after leaving Hard Rock
By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune
Published: September 02, 2011
TAMPA --
When Jana Rajchl won a $30,000 jackpot at Tampa's Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, she had the option of taking her winnings in cash or check.
She chose cash.
Hours later outside the Miromar Outlets in Estero, someone swiped the Plantation woman's purse. Her $30,000 is gone, along with credit and debit cards, her driver's license and other personal items.
Lee County sheriff's spokesman David Velez says it is "very possible" she had been followed from the casino; she told investigators she didn't feel that was the case.
Casino spokesman Gary Bitner said taking a check is an option for anybody who wins a jackpot.
"When someone wins a jackpot, a large jackpot, it's one way that they can take the money," he said. "And we certainly don't discourage it."
Authorities believe a "good Samaritan" took Rajchl's purse Tuesday afternoon.
Rajchl told Lee County deputies that she and a friend were returning to her car after stopping at the outlet mall when they noticed a flat tire, a sheriff's office report states. As they waited for a AAA truck, a man approached them and offered assistance more than once.
After AAA arrived and the tire was being changed, the man who had offered help went inside the car and took the purse, the report states.
Investigators say the car's door lock had been tampered with and the tire was slashed.
The suspect is 5 feet, 10 inches tall with a thin build, dark hair and braces, a Lee County Sheriff's Office report states. He and an accomplice fled in a white Nissan Altima.
Rajchl said she's upset that the shopping center didn't have cameras in its parking to record the incident and provide video of the suspect.
Bitner said the casino and Seminole police are working closely with the Lee County Sheriff's Office on the investigation.
Bitner said casino patrons should always pay attention to their surroundings and report any unusual behavior to any of the casino's hundreds of security staffers.
Bitner said it's uncommon for people to have their winnings stolen after they leave the casino.
"We may get a case like this once a year at any of the seven casinos (we have), so it's not constant," he said.
But several patrons were robbed in January in a casino parking garage, including a 67-year-old Clearwater man who had $1,100 taken from him, investigators said. The suspects beat him and one suspect shot him with a stun gun, landing one shot in the face and one in the shoulder.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune
Published: September 02, 2011
TAMPA --
When Jana Rajchl won a $30,000 jackpot at Tampa's Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, she had the option of taking her winnings in cash or check.
She chose cash.
Hours later outside the Miromar Outlets in Estero, someone swiped the Plantation woman's purse. Her $30,000 is gone, along with credit and debit cards, her driver's license and other personal items.
Lee County sheriff's spokesman David Velez says it is "very possible" she had been followed from the casino; she told investigators she didn't feel that was the case.
Casino spokesman Gary Bitner said taking a check is an option for anybody who wins a jackpot.
"When someone wins a jackpot, a large jackpot, it's one way that they can take the money," he said. "And we certainly don't discourage it."
Authorities believe a "good Samaritan" took Rajchl's purse Tuesday afternoon.
Rajchl told Lee County deputies that she and a friend were returning to her car after stopping at the outlet mall when they noticed a flat tire, a sheriff's office report states. As they waited for a AAA truck, a man approached them and offered assistance more than once.
After AAA arrived and the tire was being changed, the man who had offered help went inside the car and took the purse, the report states.
Investigators say the car's door lock had been tampered with and the tire was slashed.
The suspect is 5 feet, 10 inches tall with a thin build, dark hair and braces, a Lee County Sheriff's Office report states. He and an accomplice fled in a white Nissan Altima.
Rajchl said she's upset that the shopping center didn't have cameras in its parking to record the incident and provide video of the suspect.
Bitner said the casino and Seminole police are working closely with the Lee County Sheriff's Office on the investigation.
Bitner said casino patrons should always pay attention to their surroundings and report any unusual behavior to any of the casino's hundreds of security staffers.
Bitner said it's uncommon for people to have their winnings stolen after they leave the casino.
"We may get a case like this once a year at any of the seven casinos (we have), so it's not constant," he said.
But several patrons were robbed in January in a casino parking garage, including a 67-year-old Clearwater man who had $1,100 taken from him, investigators said. The suspects beat him and one suspect shot him with a stun gun, landing one shot in the face and one in the shoulder.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
hno:
