Caesars Strikes Deal With Culinary Union. They Had No Choice.

Timing is everything. It's true when it comes to locking down a great interest rate on that new house. True, also, when it comes to finding the right person in your life. And it is certainly true when your five year contract with one of the largest casino operators in Las Vegas comes up mere weeks before a major event. That's right, Caesars Entertainment has struck a tentative five year agreement with the Culinary Union Local 226.

It all comes down to timing. When the Culinary Union's agreements with Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts lapsed in September, the city held its breath. A potential strike of 35,000 employees could be crippling to the state's largest financial sector. Not to mention to the workers themselves who could potentially go without a paycheck for weeks if not months if it went on long enough.

But the union pressed on, approving a strike by an overwhelming margin and amping up the pressure on the properties. Why? F1.

The Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix has the potential to be a massive moneymaker for Strip properties and the state's economy, and it just so happens to be taking place in a matter of days (beginning November 16th to be exact). This has been circled on the calendar for a year. Stock prices will hinge on its success.

Where the track goes, the importance of a new deal goes. Looking at the route for the race, it is evident that Caesars had a lot to lose. Every one of Caesars nine Las Vegas properties line the track. Losing nearly 10,000 workers and leaving high rollers in the dust (literally) would be potentially devastating to the bottom line - not only this year, but for the years of F1 to follow. It certainly doesn't help Caesars case that the Las Vegas Convention And Visitors Authority and Caesars own calls on Wall Street have lauded record high gaming wins month after month. The money was there.

So with that in mind, the Culinary Union set a deadline of this Friday, November 10th at 5am. And like a perfectly planned UFC takedown, the Culinary Union got what they wanted. Caesars had no choice. The Culinary Union had the winning hand.

Now that Caesars is out of the way, it comes down to the other two of the big three. Wynn Resorts has been fortunate by not being visited by protestors during the Union's several marches and displays of civil disobedience. Their only location, Wynn/Encore, is right along the route and Wynn does run the risk of losing out. They have had a pretty decent tone in statements about the Union, however. So a deal may get struck before strike day. They have a final negotiation with the Union on Thursday.

MGM Resorts International, on the other hand, is not nearly as affected by the race. While some properties do run along the route, several do not. They have already been getting non-Union staff members trained to fill in on positions that would be left vacant with a Culinary Union strike. Caesars couldn't bluff. MGM may.

Casino robberies in Las Vegas happen. But sometimes, they almost seem unreal.

Imagine trying to swindle nearly $770,000 from your job to ride private jets for no reason. Or, posing as a fake casino owner and managing to steal about $100,000 as a 23-year-old.

Well, these are real-life events that have occurred in the crazy environment of Las Vegas casinos.

The lucrative nature of a casino inspires movies, TV shows and sometimes crime. And at times, it can be a crime that almost seems like a thriller movie.

Yes. Crime can find its ways through casino doors. But, I guess this is what makes the whole culture of gaming more exciting in comparison to an insurance office.

From illicit meet-ups, drug trafficking and plain old robbery, the casino can be a magnet to those who are looking for some quick cash.

This past week, officials charged a former employee at the ARIA Resort & Casino for allegedly stealing more than $770,000, according to 8 News Now.

According to the 8 News Now Article, a 38-year-old employee named Brandon Rashaad Johnson was a hotel operations manager since 2013. He would create fraudulent room reservation, charge his credit card then refund the money back on to the same card. So, he allegedly created this convoluted system that allowed him to afford luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, he flew on private jets, and seemed to enjoy having spa visits, attending shows, and he even purchased a home.

Channel 3 reports that he's facing at least 13 charges and, "Court records indicate Johnson is being held at Clark County Detention Center on $100,000 bail. If he posts bond, he would be released on high-level electronic monitoring."

And this story is pretty tame compared to the other ones in casino history. Plus, let's not forget the time when a former Las Vegas Metro Officer robbed Red Rock, Aliante and the sportsbook at The Rio, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

We may not understand why people decide to rob casinos with -- what seems like -- half-baked plans or ridiculous plots. But, they make for great stories. Scroll down below for some of the wildest casino and hotel robberies in Las Vegas.

Would you believe us if we told you that a 23-year-old basically used social engineering to fool casino employees that HE was the actual owner? Well, this actually happened on June 17, 2023. Erik Gutierrez, now 24 posed as a casino owner by calling the Circa Hotel & Casino's cage. According to 8 News Now, Gutierrez basically lied to the casino workers and said he needed payment after the "fire department" did an inspection of the fire extinguishers.

"The payments totaled $314,000, $350,000, and $500,000, plus three smaller deposits, resulting in a loss of $1,170,000 to the hotel," the article from 8 News Now states. Police were able to track down Gutierrez and caught him red-handed. What's miraculous is that he was only 23 years old when he pulled off this heist. We still love the Circa, and we feel bad that this happened to them and to the employee!

We imagine that robbing a casino would take more than just a "simple plan." It probably requires many different solutions, possibilities and thinking. But, one 25-year-old man decided to rob the casino cages at Resorts World Las Vegas and The Venetian Las Vegas, according to Casino.org. Zubaid Ibrahim Al Jarmi robbed Resorts World in November of 2022, and he robbed The Venetian Las Vegas in January 2020. He used the same tactic both times, which involved a note. 

Essentially, he went to the casinos' cages and handed the teller a note with most likely a threatening message, according to KTNV. He was serving probation for the robbery that happened in 2020. But according to the Nevada Department of Corrections inamte search, it looks like he's serving prison time in High Desert State Prison.

"Give me the stacks or I will shoot you," an alleged robber told a worker, Fox 5 reported.

In April 2023, six casinos were robbed: Gold Coast, Green Valley Ranch, Silverton, Rampart, Palace Station and the M Resort. Fox 5 reported that police ended up arresting D’Shante Styles, 33 for these robberies. Like the one stated before, this man also used a note with threating language to coax casino cage workers to give him money. One note from a robbery said, “Put the 10 stacks in the bag or I will shoot!” What a great use of language. How did he get caught? Well, DNA evidence ultimately linked the suspect with the string of robberies.

In 2017, a group of "well-dressed" men burglarized Tēsorīni jewelry store in the luxurious Bellagio Las Vegas, CNN reported. At least one of the assailants was wearing a pig mask while robbing the jewelry store. This scene seems almost "Purge" like. The pig mask adds another layer of horror to this incident.

Channel 3 reported that the man who allegedly donned the pig mask was a 21-year-old named Sebastian Gonzalez. But in a twist of events, the alleged suspect said that he was forced to partake in the robbery after, "He said people in Mexico threatened to hurt his family if he didn't follow their instructions to be the group's lookout." 

This is absolutely despicable. A 26-year-old man named Cameron James Kennedy robbed the New York-New York in 2018, the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote. However, he painted his face black and robbed the casino cage, which has many media outlets saying he used "blackface."

He allegedly robbed the casino out of $23,000 at gunpoint. The Daily Mail further reported that Kennedy was under federal supervision for previous bank robberies. And in fact, he cut his GPS ankle monitor just hours before committing his New York-New York robbery.