Resorts World NYC Guard Busted for Planned Cash Heist

A conspiracy to rob an armored cash truck at Resorts World New York City has recently been busted by authorities. The orchestrator of the plan was Selwyn Balkissoon, who recruited an accomplice for the bust, however, little did he know the new employee was an FBI confidential informant, who agreed to have his phone tapped by the FBI.

Resorts World New York City is operated by Genting Malaysia and it is located in Queens, New York City just next to the Aqueduct Racetrack. Reports confirm that the perpetrator hired the informant as a would-be associate in March 2022, and the plan was to rob the armored trucks that deliver the cash to the casino, but his plan was stopped.

The Heist

Last Thursday, federal prosecutors presented recordings of conversations, in which Mr. Balkissoon lays out his conspiracy to rob the armored truck. In the tapes, he explains how easy would be for his accomplice to stop next to the truck, and pepper spray the driver and the guards. Then, according to him, it would be a piece of cake to snatch eight or ten of the cash bags.

Mr. Balkissoon’s idea was to steal at least five of the bags, and each of them allegedly contained over US$260,000 in cash. In order to increase their chances, the conspirator asked the informant to recruit another accomplice, which he did. However, he was not aware that the new member of the heist was an undercover agent of the Bureau.

April 14, 2022, the informant and the undercover officer picked up Mr. Balkissoon from his home, and then drove to the Genting Malaysia property to monitor it. Another recording from April 20, 2022, heard that the trio would undertake their heist operation on the following morning of April 21, 2022. The evening before that Mr. Balkissoon provided the pepper spray to the informant.

According to court documents, when he handled the pepper spray, the FBI agents made a move and put Mr. Balkissoon under arrest. On the following day, the conspirator appeared in a Brooklyn federal courtroom, which was also the date for the planned robbery. He was released on a US$100,000 bond and will remain under house arrest, until

Meanwhile Looking for Expansion

On a brighter note, Resorts World New York City is preparing for the downstate casino expansion. The casino is looking to acquire one of the three downstate licenses, and expand into a full-scale gaming amenity. This was possible after the local government announced that the fast-track of the licenses would be officially added to the new state budget at the start of April.

Sen. Joe Addabbo, who is also the Chair of the Senate Committee on Gaming, Racing, and Wagering is a major advocate for the gaming expansion in downstate New York. Previously, he said that the earlier introduction of the licenses would provide more revenue for the state. In his expert opinion, it is expected that it will bring between US$1.5 billion and US$2 billion in tax revenue for this year.

Source: Dienst, Jonathan “Resorts World Security Guard Conspired to Rob Cash Delivery, Feds Allege”, NBC New York, April 21, 2022