Lumiere Place Fails to Protect Patrons From Violent Crimes

75-year-old man robbed at gunpoint at downtown St. Louis casino

(KMOV) – St. Louis police are investigating after a 75-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint during a trip to a downtown casino.

The incident happened in the garage at the Lumiere Place casino around 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The man was getting out of his car inside the Lumiere garage and was headed to the elevator when he felt a gun in his back.

He was robbed of his cash and valuables and pushed out of the elevator. The victim was not seriously injured and police are now questioning two persons of interest in this case.

Casino officials say they're cooperating with police, but News 4 has been investigating police calls to the facility, and this is no isolated incident.

News 4 gave casino managers every chance to tell us why these problems continue to plague customers, but they declined our request.

This is the eighth armed robbery at Lumiere since January. Since January 1, 2011, St. Louis police have been called to the casino for six assaults, eight hold-ups, two strong-armed robberies, six auto thefts and two carjackings.

Security guards can be seen patrolling the grounds, but the crimes continue to add up at the casino.

News 4 compared the number of police calls at Lumiere Place to a similar venue, River City casino. St. Louis County police responded to 453 calls there so far this year, while St. Louis police have only received 232 calls at Lumiere Place. One major difference though, none of the calls to River City were calls for violence.