Las Vegas Gunman Chased Gambling’s Payouts and Perks
“It was not a good thing because it would make other VIPs in the high-limit area uncomfortable.”
“One of my guests once said to me, ‘He really gives me the creeps.’”
At Mandalay Bay, Mr. Paddock played the video poker machines located in a relatively quiet room
labeled “High Limit Slots,” set aside from the jangly machines on the vast casino floor.
But placing bets of $100 or more in video poker, “this guy was gambling high,” said Anthony Curtis, a former professional gambler
and currently the owner and publisher of Las Vegas Advisor, a website covering the casino business.
“From all of my discussion with my colleagues it appears Paddock existed in our
casino as he did in his neighborhood: as someone not well known by anyone.”
He was better known around a few high-limit rooms of the Las Vegas Strip, including at Mandalay Bay and the Wynn Las Vegas.
“Not a lot of smiles and friendliness,” said John Weinreich, who was an executive casino host at the Atlantis
Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nev., where Mr. Paddock was once a regular and where he met his girlfriend.
“He acted like ‘these machines are for me.’”
Mr. Paddock was also a “starer,” Mr. Weinreich said.
“If you get close to 100 percent — that’s where he gambled,” Eric Paddock said.
