Washington State Casino Elderly Winner Followed, Beaten, Robbed

An 81-year-old woman was tailed home last week after an evening of gambling at Muckleshoot Casino. Once there, a robber struck her in the head and stole her purse. Inside was $1,200.

As the sole robber approached her, the victim fell to the ground outside of her house. That s when the bandit began to assault her. She suffered several bruises and cuts from the attack, according to KIRO, a local TV station. The victim required treatment at a local hospital, but is likely to recover.

The bandit initially began following her at the casino located in Auburn, Wash. He continued to tail her for 14 miles, all the way to her Renton, WA. residence. The robber may have had a weapon that night, the victim later told police.

In a crime that followed a similar pattern, police told KIRO this week that a 59-year-old Renton, WA., woman was assaulted and robbed at her house last month after leaving a casino.

The victim works at the Macau Casino in Tukwila, WA., and the attack took place after she got home. Two men assaulted her and robbed $5,000 from her, police said. Details on her injuries were not immediately available.

So far, police do not see the two incidents as being connected. But both happened at night and involved violence.

A Renton police spokesperson told the TV station that any driver who suspects someone is following him or her should get immediately to a police station, or drive to someplace in public where someone can call police. Casino officials have also suggested receiving winnings in the form of a check, not cash, and having security staff accompany a winner back to their parked car.

The advice is applicable across the nation. There are several prior incidents where robbers have followed casino winners and later robbed and assaulted them.