A high roller who's on a losing streak pleaded guilty yesterday to blatantly stealing $125,000 worth of gambling chips from Crown Casino's exclusive Maple Room and quickly ran off.
Gunawan Akay, age 38, a casino regular, had pleaded guilty to one charge of theft (from the casino which occurred last December) at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
Akay, who is in Australia on a visa, refused to make a comment after he made the guilty plea, and his lawyer is trying to ensure that detailed portions of the prosecution case are withheld from the public eye.
The theft was captured via CCTV footage, which a court has previously heard is of ‘high quality'.
Akay was brought to court in December, when documents released by the court stated he stole 25 pieces of $5,000 chips.
Some of these chips may have been dropped as Akay bolted towards the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on his way to his house located at Caroline Springs. A baccarat dealer quickly noticed the brazen theft and attempted to alert security, but Akay managed to evade casino staff and left with his haul.
Insider source says Akay is a gold-class member at the said casino, but unfortunately lost thousands of dollars in the exclusive Maple Room prior to the alleged theft incident.
The casino immediately identified him via CCTV surveillance footage and his membership. He was arrested and charged four days later, when he agreed to meet a detective from the Melbourne Criminal Investigation Unit.
Akay was banned from the casino.
He will reappear for a plea hearing at the County Court scheduled in July.
source: https://au.news.yahoo.com/vic/a/34745327/man-admits-stealing-125k-of-casino-chips/#page1