"Don't stand so close" (I can't believe I said it

[DaBurglar]

Did anyone else first think of the Police Song from 1981 when they first saw the title to this thread topic??  just wondering.....  I had a $514.50 ticket stolen out of a Bar poker machine at the Plaza in Downtown Vegas back in 2006.  I had gone to go to the bathroom and normally the barkeep will throw a napkin over your machine while you go take care of nature.....well I was gone for about 20 minutes because I got stuck in the handicap stall in the old decrepit Plaza Bathroom because the door became jammed against my wheelchair and a protruding Waste receptacle and I had to yell for help which took about 5 minutes to come in the form of a janitor who spoke only Mandarin (he looked like Hop Sing from Bonanza, you know the cartwright's chinese cook who used to fry Hoss' eggs for him)    Anyhoo, when I got back to the bar, the napkin and my ticket was gone!   Apparently another barkeep had relieved my original barkeep and didnt realize or care what the hell he was doing and removed the napkin.   Sure enough, surveilance showed not less than 30 seconds later some homeless dirty guy comes along and pops the ticket , took it to the Cashier cage and was paid, all in about 2 minutes time (apparently he couldnt negotiate the cash machine ticket process, which clued us in later that he probably was hispanic and didnt understand english.)   Basically, after much arguing, the casino told me there was nothing they could do about the money and just offered me a bunch of free food and 1 nights room.  I said no thanks and left.... Now get this.....2 days later, I was wheeling outside the plaza going to fremont street when security comes bolting out the door right past me yelling "Hey there's the guy who got your ticket!"   I turned around and the three of them had tackled the guy who stole my ticket.....apparently the Plaza has surveilance along the stretch outside their property on Main street, and the security caught me wheeling along the building and saw this guy FOLLOWING ME!   They recognized him and came rushing out....so apprently, this homeless scrub was "shadowing me" probably hoping I would leave him another chance to rob me, or maybe he thought my disability was mental which is why I left my ticket in a machine so he was hoping I'd do it again.... Anyhow, the Vegas cops were called (Vegas metro, not sheriff since this is Downtown) and I knew two of the three cops who showed, so we all had a good pow wow in the Plaza parking lot while the perp sat and stewed inside the squad car.  After much deliberation, I chose not to press charges because both I and my cop buddies realized the liklihood of this guy actually getting prosecuted by an overworked DA's office on such a marginal case and doing jail time was slim, since the evidence wasnt convincing enough that he committed anything more than a misdemeanor (apparently taking or using unused credits in game machines you find is not considered felony in Nevada, and the surveilance they had didnt capture him shadowing me before he took the ticket.  In fact it is the casinos fault and MINE more than the guy simply because of how it happened.)  Plus, it turns out the guy blew all the money and that was the only thing I wanted, i didnt want this pathetic slob locked up, he clearly had enough problems.   But I did tell the cop buddies of mine to give him a good warning to NEVER follow me again or else I would run him down with my super mag wheelchair all terrain tires! 

[BillyJoe]

Note to Self: Don't go downtown when in Vegas..

[marie meijer]

Great story DaBurglar. TY! In MI, it's a felony to write a bad check over $100. I wonder if that amount carries over to theft and is the same throughout the US.Tks for the POLICE reference number "Don't Stand So Close to Me". I just checked it out on the net but that was before my time. "Don't stand so close" is what automatically popped out when I became unhappy with three peeps hounding me at once, at a Canadian currency exchange machine.  I am convinced they were innocent but three peeps could work together to distract, interfere and grab $ as it was dispensed. I automatically moved over to block the $ dispensing slot.In Vegas, before TITO, someone swiped my bucket containing a $20 and round hair brush as I watched my machine with tunnel vision.Did I learn from that sad experience - oh no! At Windsor Casino, a guy snatched a bengie out of my bucket as I focused on my VP screen. I made it easy for him and blamed myself, mostly. Are there songs titled "Young and Foolish" or "Older and Wiser Now"?

[BillyJoe]

Great story DaBurglar. TY!
In MI, it's a felony to write a bad check over $100. I wonder if that amount carries over to theft and is the same throughout the US.
Tks for the POLICE reference number "Don't Stand So Close to Me". I just checked it out on the net but that was before my time. "Don't stand so close" is what automatically popped out when I became unhappy with three peeps hounding me at once, at a Canadian currency exchange machine.  I am convinced they were innocent but three peeps could work together to distract, interfere and grab $ as it was dispensed. I automatically moved over to block the $ dispensing slot.
In Vegas, before TITO, someone swiped my bucket containing a $20 and round hair brush as I watched my machine with tunnel vision.
Did I learn from that sad experience - oh no! At Windsor Casino, a guy snatched a bengie out of my bucket as I focused on my VP screen. I made it easy for him and blamed myself, mostly. Are there songs titled "Young and Foolish" or "Older and Wiser Now"?

Wait, MM. You played in casinos with coin buckets, but The Police were before your time? That dog won't hunt..

[marie meijer]

In MI, stolen property under $200 can result in guilty of misdemeanor w prison time of 93 days or less and fine of $500 or less or 3 X value of property stolen, whichever is greater.If OVER $200 but less than $1000, can be misdemeanor: less than one year in prison and/or fine of $2000 or less or 3X value of property stolen, whichever is greater.IF over $1000 a charge would be grand theft or larceny and might be burglary rather than theft.

[DaBurglar]

Hell, coin buckets were in use in Vegas downtown casinos and Reno as late as 2003, some people just loved the sound and feel of the jingle jangle cacophony of coins rattling and falling.    In fact, I believe Fitzgeralds Las Vegas (now called something else) still had a number of coin in coin out machines over by the area in front of the checkout desk in 2009 the last time I was in that joint. The Police were big from 1980 thru 1985 so I guess I could see how MM was able to experience Coin Buckets but was still too young to remember when MTV was launched!   I remember my first trip to Vegas in 1992, the limit on 25 cent machines was the machine would pay the first 1000 coins on a jackpot, and then you had to be handpaid the rest, but back then they had numerous change ladies walking around so you never had to wait more than a minute or two.  Those were the days!   I remember walking into a Mcdonalds at 2 am with my bucket of coins from Four Queens, and paying for my Big mac with quarters right out of my bucket!!!  One, two, three, four, *burp*  oops I lost count sorry, once again, ONE ...TWO ...THREE.... FOUR

[marie meijer]

TY DaBurglar, I owe you one!We once dropped our son off on Mackinac Island to seek work for the summer. The hall way where he was staying was FULL of uniformed guys carrying guns. SCARY! We soon learned there was a POLICE look alike contest that day. Whew!Little River casino at Manistee just switched from coin to TITO a couple years ago.

[BillyJoe]

coin buckets were in use in Vegas downtown casinos and Reno as late as 2003
 
The Police were big from 1980 thru 1985 so I guess I could see how MM was able to experience Coin Buckets but was still too young to remember when MTV was launched!    
Hmmm - if my math is right, that would mean that MM was gambling in casinos under the age of 21.... Shame, shame MM..