A millionaire, gambler, mass murderer . . .
Paddock the casino player: ‘He’s the small end of the big fish’
He liked to bet big, wagering tens of thousands of dollars in a sitting. He owned homes in four states but preferred staying in casino hotels, sometimes for weeks at a time, as he worked the gambling machines.
He grew up the son of a convicted bank robber who was constantly running from the law. But in his own life, Stephen Paddock, 64, had kept his nose clean until Monday, when he suddenly unleashed a firestorm of bullets from his casino hotel room, killing at least 59 people and injuring more than 500 more on the Las Vegas Strip.
“If you told me an asteroid fell into Earth, it would mean the same to me. There’s absolutely no sense, no reason he did this,” his brother Eric Paddock said outside his home in Orlando, Florida. “He’s just a guy who played video poker and took cruises and ate burritos at Taco Bell. There’s no political affiliation that we know of. There’s no religious affiliation that we know of.”
After the shooting, officers found Stephen Paddock dead with 17 guns on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where he had arrived last Friday.
Police believe Paddock acted alone in executing the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
Eric Paddock said he knew of five guns his brother kept in his safe but was shocked that a rapid-fire weapon was used in Monday’s shooting. He said Stephen Paddock didn’t hunt and barely shot his guns.
In the final years of his life, Stephen Paddock was living out his retirement in quiet obscurity. He liked country music, relatives said, and went to concerts like the Route 91 Harvest festival where he killed so many.
He was worth more than US$2 million, relatives said. Before retiring, he made a small fortune from real estate deals and a business that he and Eric Paddock sold off. He travelled a lot.
At various points of his life, Stephen Paddock worked for defence contractor Lockheed Martin and as an accountant and property mana- ger. As a retiree, he had no children and plenty of money to play with. So he took up gambling.
“It’s like a job for him. It’s a job where you make money,” said Eric Paddock, adding that his brother could lose US$1 million and still have enough to live on. “He was at the hotel for four months one time. It was like a second home.”
One time the entire family took over the top floor of the Atlantis at the casino’s expense. His brother was particular about the games he played. “It had to be the right machine with double points, and there has to be a contest going on. He won a car one time. He’s known. He’s a top player. He’s the small end of the big fish.”
Over the past two decades, Stephen Paddock had bought and sold properties in California, Nevada, Florida and Texas. Paddock at one point owned two planes and was a licensed pilot.
He appeared to favour buying homes in retirement communities. At one point, he and his longtime girlfriend, Marilou Danley, were living in at least three retirement communities. Neighbours said the couple seemed almost itinerant, leaving the properties empty for long stretches as Paddock visited his casinos.
Donald Judy, who was his nextdoor neighbour in Florida until two years ago, said in Paddock’s home there was no art on the walls and no car in the driveway. Just a dining chair, a bed and two recliners. Paddock was constantly on the move, carrying a suitcase and driving a rental car whenever he stayed. “It looked like he’d be ready to move at a moment’s notice,” Judy said.
“They did seem to always stay up till midnight and sleep in till noon. They always seemed to stay on Vegas time.”
Paddock’s father, Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, described on a 1969 wanted poster as “psychopathic” with suicidal tendencies. He escaped from prison that year and was not captured until 1978, when he was nabbed while running a bingo parlour in Oregon.
Stephen Paddock was the oldest of four boys. Eric, eight years his junior, was the youngest, with two in between: Bruce and Patrick. Their father died a few years ago. “We didn’t grow up under his influence,” Eric Paddock said. “I was born on the run in Tucson. My dad was about to be arrested for robbing banks.”
Eric Paddock said he did not know of any mental illness, alcohol or drug problems in his brother’s life. He said he had no clue whether Stephen had gambling debts or was financially troubled.
“When we talked about a month ago, I can’t believe he was planning this,” he said, squeezing his eyes closed. “But he must have. It takes time.”