Casino owners criticize police after robbery

Casino owners criticize police after robbery
Holly Meyer Journal staff
Rapid City Journal

Joker's Casino general manager Corey McLaughlin scrolls through surveillance footage of a robber cleaning out the Mount Rushmore Road casino's cash register on Tuesday night.

Jokers Casino at 1320 Mount Rushmore Road was robbed Tuesday night. Police are asking that anyone who can help identify the suspect in this video contact them.

• Robberies in Rapid City, Sioux Falls
  
  2009: 41, 47
  
  2008: 50, 46
  
  2007: 34, 44
  
  2006: 38, 34
  
  2005: 38, 71*
  
  2004: 45, 43
  
  Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports
  
  *FBI indicated city changed its criteria this year
  

After being robbed three times in the past six months, the owners of Jokers Casino say they are fed up with the Rapid City Police Department’s response to casino robberies.

The company criticized the police department for not taking a proactive approach and only addressing the issue when a robbery occurs, according to Rich Dunkelberger, the chief executive officer of ISIS Hospitality. The Rapid City-based management company owns Jokers Casino.

“Why can’t they prevent the armed robberies in this area of town?” Dunkelberger said. “When they have a priority, they can accomplish it. When they want more DUI arrests, they get them.”

The Mount Rushmore Road casino was most recently robbed at about 10 p.m. Tuesday making it the second casino robbery in two days. Prior to that, Jokers Casino was hit in April and again in November 2010 during a week-long spree of casino robberies.

“It’s frustrating. We don’t live in Watts, L.A., or Harlem, New York; this is Rapid City. It’s crazy,” Dunkelberger said.

After the April robbery, Dunkelberger said he sat down with Police Chief Steve Allender to discuss the issue and requested extra patrols, but the casino owner was dissatisfied with the response he received.

“I don’t think the Rapid City cops are bad. I don’t want to demean them in anyway shape or form,” Dunkelberger said. “But, we need more assistance in this area, and the guy at the top needs to make sure this happens.”

But the guy at the top does not see it that way. In fact, Allender said preventing crimes from occurring inside a business is an unachievable expectation of a police force. Add in the fact that officers typically spend their shifts driving across neighborhoods to address the next issue, preventing a casino robbery is impossible, Allender said.

“We can no more prevent a robbery from occurring at a casino or anywhere else than we can prevent some family member from assaulting another family member behind a closed door,” Allender said. “Every homeowner and every business has some obligation to prevent crime in those areas that the police have no control preventing it.”

Allender said the key to preventing casino robberies is relying on a partnership between the police department and the business owners.

“We can’t purchase the video cameras. We can’t dictate the amount of lighting. We can’t dictate the number of employees or security guards on duty. We can’t choose the perfect locations for casinos,” Allender said. “That is all out of our hands.”

After the April robbery at Jokers Casino, the company did fulfill its end of the partnership by purchasing new video surveillance equipment, lowering the amount of cash on the property and installing a buzzer system allowing clerks to decide whether to let someone inside the casino, according to Dunkelberger.

“We did what (Allender) requested, but that doesn’t deter crimes,” Dunkelberger said.

The suspect in the most recent incident even played video lottery for about an hour, waiting for the other customers to leave, before demanding money from the clerk, Dunkelberger said.

The company will now be hiring an armed, uniformed security to work at the casino during its hours of operation, according to Caleb Arceneaux, director of gaming operations for ISIS Hospitality. They are also planning to increase the wattage of the lighting in the business’ parking lot, Arceneaux said.

“Is it us tomorrow? That needs to go away,” Arceneaux said. “It’s not good for our industry and our business, and it just gives us a black eye.”

Another prominent casino owner in town, M.G. Oil, is frustrated by the reoccurring crime, but does not share ISIS Hospitality’s criticisms of the police department, according to Troy Erickson, vice president of M.G. Oil.

An M.G. Oil casino, Happy Jacks on East St. Patrick Street, was robbed early Monday morning, the day before the Jokers Casino robbery.

“I’m sure they’re kind of slapped in the face seeing it, too. I’m sure they’re doing everything they can to get them.” Erickson said. “We have a pretty good rapport with the local officials. They do everything they can to protect everyone.”

Casino robberies are not unique to Rapid City. Across the state, Sioux Falls Police Department has handled a few since the beginning of the year; one suspect was apprehended at the scene and others remain under investigation, according to Det. Sgt. Matt Burns, of the Sioux Falls Police Department’s property crimes division.

The Sioux Falls police encourage casino owners to install quality surveillance equipment, report suspicious activity and utilize a buzzer system, Burns said.

Officers are expected to stop in at casinos in their district when time allows during the hours robberies typically occur, Burns said.

The sheer number of casinos in every quadrant of Sioux Falls creates certain impediments to being proactive, Burns said.

“Any business that has a significant amount of funds that are a part of their normal business cycle has a certain amount of risk,” Burns said. “It’s no secret that casinos have been and likely will continue to be a target.”