Getting Bombed: The Reno Casino Heist Pt. 1

Getting Bombed: The Reno Casino Heist Pt. 1

It's late August in Lake Tahoe in 1980, and crowds of tourists flood the casinos that mark the border between Nevada and California. One such casino is Harvey's Casino and Resort Hotel, the stateline's oldest gambling establishment. And just as the sun peaks out over the horizon a white van pulls up to the casino's delivery port. Then, two men in matching white jump suits unload a massive item hidden under a sheet. They wheel it past security, into the elevator, and place it outside the second floor offices. Before leaving, they drop a note titled STERN WARNING TO THE MANAGEMENT AND BOMB SQUAD. The casino has 24 hours to deliver $3 million or else 1000 pounds of dynamite will flatten the building.

The Heist That Saved the American Revolution

On the night of August 14th, 1775, two dozen men sneak through the streets of St. George's in Bermuda, right under the British governor's nose. Only guided by moonlight, they trek to the top of a hill and face a stone building. Carefully and quietly, they chisel their way through the roof and send a man inside. What waits for him is over 3,000 pounds of gunpowder. They carry the barrels out to sea onto waiting ships. Their destination: Philadelphia. This is the heist that paved the way to victory in the Revolutionary War.

Sweet Score: The Jewelry Heist That Started in a Candy Shop

It's Memorial Day 2025 and employees at Dr. Conkey's Candy and Coffee in Simi Valley, California open the shop for the holiday. They are immediately met with disarray. There is paint splashed over the cameras, entire shelves are toppled over, and the safe is open. Strangely, there is also a hole in the wall leading to the business next door, 5 Star Jewelry and Watch Repair. The jewelry store owners rush over, fearing the worst, and sure enough, when they open the safe, customers' jewelry, gold bars, and all their savings, $3.5 million total, are gone.

Bookie Break-In: Aussie Fugitives Snatch $15M

It's the Wednesday after Easter weekend 1976 in Melbourne, Australia, and a good chunk of the city spent the weekend at the racetrack. Bookies handled swarms of people placing bets and left with a record breaking payload by the end of the melee. Now counting their winnings at the Victoria Club, they hear a bang, and six men wielding World War 2 era machine guns swarm the bookies and take their entire cash haul of $15 million AUD, making it the largest armed robbery in Australia's history.

UFC Fighter Steals £53M From the Bank of England

Shortly after 1 AM on February 22, 2006, an employee at the Bank of England's cash depot in Kent sees his boss on the exterior cameras asking to be let in. Strange, because he clocked out at 5:30 the evening before and wasn't expected until the morning. But, there's a police officer with him so it must be important. He buzzes them in and the second the door opens, the policeman draws his weapon. Over the next hour, seven armed men capture all fourteen employees and make them watch as they drain the vault. When they're finished, they drive off with 53 million pounds. It's the largest bank heist in the UK's history.