Ham it over!
Pig-mask heist at Vegas casino
They wanted to live high on the hog.
A team of burglars wearing fancy duds and animal masks smashed their way inside a highend jewelry store at the Bellagio Resort & Casino during a Hollywood-style heist early Saturday in Las Vegas, authorities and witnesses said.
At least three people wearing suits or tuxedos used sledgehammers to smash their way into the store just before 3 a.m. police said. “It is like a movie, it’s just crazy,” police Lt. Carlos Hank told the Las Vegas ReviewJournal.
At least one suspect was in custody after the robbery, detectives said Saturday, without releasing additional information.
One witness posted to Twitter a picture of a person wearing a pig mask, standing underneath a Rolex sign.
“Literally just witnessed an armed robber in a pig mask at a Rolex store at the Bellagio & then his arrest,” the witness, user Kir_Kamil wrote on Twit- ter. Terrified guests and gamblers fled the highend casino, thinking there was an active shooter.
But initial reports of a shooting proved unfounded, cops said, saying the sound of the sledgehammers cracking into the shop’s jewelry cases were likely mistaken for gunshots.
But Hank said the thieves were armed.
He could not confirm the specifics of the masks, and did not immediately identify which store was hit.
Police said the crooks fled into a nearby parking garage.
They tried to drive off, but when the vehicle didn’t start they tried to carjack someone and then attempted to flee on foot, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
Officials said the store was not open when things got hog wild.
The Bellagio is home to several high-end jewelry and watch stores, including Omega, Tiffany, Tesorini and Harry Winston.