A posse of bad actors is taking bygone advice from ace bank robber Willie Sutton while busting up gaming machines across the region: “Go where the money is … and go there often.”
Which is the case at a number of locations from Lake County south to Will County, and places in between. Dozens — one estimate is into the hundreds — of restaurants, bars, and gas stations have been hit by thieves wielding sledgehammers and crowbars looking for loot inside video gaming machines.
At the same time, these masked-and-gloved 21st-century safecrackers destroy doorways and entries to gain access to the gaming machines which, depending on the location, have thousands of dollars inside each terminal. Across Chicagoland, the smash-and-grab pirates are creating havoc among those involved in the lucrative gaming industry.
But like Sutton, a master at his thieving craft, these current yeggs — a term used early last century for safecrackers — eventually will be caught and sent to prison. The Brooklyn, New York, native, who died in 1980 at age 79, spent much of his life behind bars.
“I rob banks because that’s where the money is,” he often said when asked why he chose holding up banks as a life of crime.
Area lawmen believe those responsible for the destructive break-ins are a hardcore wrecking crew of about a dozen Chicago-based bandits who quickly hit businesses with the popular gaming machines inside and make a fast getaway in usually stolen vehicles.
A Green Oaks gas station in the 14000 block of West Rockland Road was hit early in the morning by five raiders last week, the second time in about a month. A family-owned bar and restaurant in south suburban Frankfort in Will County was invaded this week for the second time in just over a month.
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Besides Green Oaks, gaming places in Mundelein and unincorporated Gurnee are among those who have had their livelihoods broken into and machines ruined. Fatman’s, at routes 21 and 41, just outside Gurnee, suffered damage from a 4 a.m. break-in last month by crooks armed with sledges and hammers who also attacked an ATM.
For business owners, losses include repairing damage done to buildings during the break-ins. Also lost is revenue from the gambling machines while they are replaced by gaming companies.
The terminals are owned and maintained by the companies, which receive a third of the profits earned. They normally aid local businesses with state and local licensing help, equipment installation, marketing, and service, such as emptying machines of cash and installing money for winners. Another third of the net goes to Illinois coffers. Businesses reap the last third.
An owner of one restaurant/bar with gambling machines linked to the stable of Hoffman Estates-based Gold Rush Gaming — whose terminals occupy some 700 sites in Illinois — told me his break-in was accomplished by nine culprits within a mere three minutes. The robbers escaped in a stolen SUV just before responding police squads arrived on scene.
The eatery is now considering installing interior pull-down steel shutters as a security measure. All the locations have closed-circuit videotape systems which can film the robberies. The CCTV cameras are aimed at the usual five to six machines inside the businesses.
Because of the widespread criminal activity across county lines, more than 50 investigators from law enforcement in the region, including the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, have formed a task force to probe the thefts, share intelligence, and work on ongoing cases in attempts to solve the gaming-machine crime wave.
One way to do that is to offer a rich reward from the gaming companies to bring the suspects to justice. Another is increased and costly security measures, which for some include foggers. Those fill gaming arcades with heavy white mists, bewildering those trying to break into the machines, who also can’t see to smash into them. But foggers also obscure would-be robbers from CCTV.
Emptying the terminals of players’ money daily is impractical, and normally the local businesses have no access to them. That is left to the gambling machine owners. Few of the gaming parlors employ on-site security.
Someone who comes up with a solid way to stymie would-be gaming machine thieves can retire comfortably. Until then, the lounges remain targets of roaming bands of efficient brigands who are in the sights of authorities betting they can corral them.
When they are captured, the thieves should also remember what Willie Sutton said about going to prison: “Do not serve time, let time serve you.”
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor, and editor. [email protected]. X @sellenews
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