Amarillo, Texas – Texas poker great Amarillo Slim was beaten and robbed while trying to take collateral on a USD 3,000 gambling debt he was owed, police said Thursday. Amarillo Police Lt. Jim McKenny said the 80-year-old former world champion poker player, whose real name is Thomas Preston, was beaten after being lured to a field Tuesday night expecting to receiver a four-wheeler as collateral. Preston went to the hospital with a broken jaw, hand and thumb, he told the Amarillo Globe-News.

A gang of robbers who stole an estimated ZAR 250 000 from the Boardwalk casino in Port Elizabeth at the weekend may also be responsible for several brazen heists at casinos in Gauteng. Police are investigating a possible link because the modus operandi used in robberies at Monte Casino and Carnival City in Johannesburg last year closely matches that used in Sunday‘s dramatic heist.

Port Elizabeth - The Boardwalk Casino complex erupted in chaos shortly after midnight on Sunday morning after about 14 armed men robbed it of more than ZAR 250 000. Frantic casino visitors ran for cover after a group of six robbers walked out of the casino with the money, firing shots. While three of the armed robbers covered the entrances to the complex and another two waited in the getaway cars, about six stormed into the complex shortly after 01:00.

Chadron, Nebraska (AP) -- Police in Nebraska arrested five suspects Thursday in a South Dakota casino robbery, and officials say three of the men may have been involved in similar crimes in Montana and Wyoming. While police searched for the suspects, roads leading in and out of Chadron were blocked all morning Thursday, and snipers were positioned atop buildings at Chadron State College. The college, public schools and many businesses closed as the Chadron Police chief urged people to stay off the streets.

Detectives were reviewing surveillance footage and Golden West Casino management was preparing a statement regarding a robbery in which men armed with assault rifles and handguns stormed the operation early Thursday morning and got away with an undisclosed amount of money. Witnesses reported that four men with some sort of clothing partially covering their faces entered the casino, 1001 S. Union Ave., at about 4 a.m., sheriff's Senior Deputy Vincent Martinez said.

Gauteng police are hunting for a gang of heavily-armed men who opened fire at the Carnival City Casino in Brakpan on the East Rand early this morning. At least three people have been wounded in the shooting. Thousands of people were at Carnival City for the Air Supply concert at the time. Two policewomen on patrol in the area happened to spot the armed men.

Six armed men held staff at a Newcastle casino at gunpoint and made off with ZAR 1,5-million in cash, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Monday. Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said the men entered the casino at around 11pm on Sunday night, held staff at gunpoint and demanded cash from the tills. They then ran away with an estimated ZAR 1,5-million in cash.

San Jacinto, California - A man suspected of masterminding the USD 1.5 million Soboba Indian Casino robbery was arrested over the weekend near Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said Monday. Rolando Luda Ramos, 25, was booked into the Southwest Detention Center Saturday on suspicion of strong armed robbery, false imprisonment, battery with injury and kidnapping. According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Ramos was picked up at a hotel near LAX at 3 a.m. Saturday.

A huge police contingent has been stationed at the Wild Coast Sun Casino after a robbery at the resort over the weekend. Private security has also been stepped up after a gang terrorised staff and patrons during the early hours of Sunday morning. The robbery is one of many incidents that have plagued the well known resort, which attracts thousands of tourists each year. Last year, 20 armed men forced their way into the Wild Coast Sun Casino and escaped with an undisclosed amount of money.