RW gunman behind murder of cop-turned-casino financier?
Police investigators are looking into the possibility that Resorts World (RW) gunman Jessie Javier Carlos was the one who killed a lawyer and former policeman turned casino financier in Paco, Manila on June 1.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed Carlos along with Elmer Mitra Jr., 38, and Alvin Cruzin, 43, in a gray BMW (XDX-993) at the corner
A known gambling addict, Jessie Javier Carlos had also tried his luck at Solaire Resort and Casino months before he went on a rampage at the Resorts World Manila, killing dozens in an ensuing fire that he set off.
This was according to Solaire chairman Enrique Razon who added Carlos may have lost badly at Solaire as there was no record of him returning to its casino.
“He did gamble here in May of last year. I’m not sure if he won or lost. We just know he was in the property. We have his picture. He probably lost because if he won, he would have played here again,” Razon told reporters yesterday after the annual stockholders’ meeting of Solaire operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp.
“People who win here usually come back but that was the last time (he was seen here),” he said.
Carlos, said to be heavily in debt from gambling, was the lone gunman who stormed Resorts World Manila in Pasay Friday last week, setting casino tables and equipment on fire and triggering panic among guests and employees. Police found 38 dead – including Carlos – after the incident. Authorities said he killed himself in one of the hotel rooms.
Razon said there are thousands like Carlos who still try to sneak into casinos despite being banned by management.
“Gaming addiction is a serious issue. We have an extended list of banned players. There are thousands of players in this list. We also have self-banning. Some people are really addicted that they ban themselves. They still try to sneak in the casino but we catch them all the time. They are really addicts,” Razon said.
In Solaire, he said, they have put in place anti-gambling programs such as counseling through a hotline and strict implementation of casino ban upon request from families.
Furthermore, security measures in Solaire Resort are adequate. “We’re very conscientious on our security. We’re continuously testing our systems. We spend a lot of money on security. We have a security force of close to 400 people. We have perimeter security, we have internal security, we have security that watches the security, we have surveillance, etc,” Razon said.
He expressed belief the Resorts World incident was an isolated case and unlikely to affect the gaming industry’s growth, which was 48 percent in the first quarter of the year in terms of gross gaming revenues.
Solaire alone had 40 booking cancellations from individual and junket players during the weekend following the June 2 tragedy, but Razon said there were no other cancellations after that. “Since then we haven’t gotten any cancellation,” he said.
No prompt action
In an interview, House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said Resorts World could have prevented the loss of 37 lives had it immediately assembled guests and employees for evacuation upon discovery of Carlos’ harmful intent.
He said hotel officers and personnel apparently forgot there were guests and employees at the second floor where Carlos torched gaming tables and machines.
“After hearing gunfire and perhaps thinking that there were terrorists, the 37 moved to a small room near the gaming area that was burning. That’s where they were trapped, that’s where they died due to suffocation,” he said.
Fariñas, who conducted an ocular inspection of the site of the rampage along with other congressmen on Wednesday, revealed that they found a fire exit just meters away from the room where the 37 died. .