How did a man rob a Las Vegas casino for $500K and get away with it?

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — More than two decades ago, the Stardust casino was robbed and the thief disappeared with over a half million dollars.

While law enforcement has identified the culprit, he was never seen or heard from again and he's eluded capture for over twenty-five years.

It was a busy evening at the Stardust casino sportsbook in 1992 when metro police say cashier William Brennan put his plan into action. The sportsbook was full of gamblers for Monday Night Football and Brennan was assigned to count the money.

As usual, he wrapped it up for the deposit, but this time he made a run for it.

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Richard Saber at one time managed the sportsbook at the Stardust. Saber says the mild-mannered Brennan wasn't the type he'd expect to mastermind a heist.

But Saber claims Brennan got involved with an avid gambler.

“Bill started hanging out with with a very shady character. I used to tell bill you know bill that guy is going to get you nothing but trouble and sure enough, Bill got in trouble", says Saber.

Investigators say Brennan walked out of the casino early Tuesday morning with half a million dollars--about $225,000 in cash and the rest in chips.

Lt. Joe Greenwood was with LVMPD's fraud division.

Brennan was never seen or heard from again, and both the money and the chips were never found.

Brennan was put on the FBI's most wanted list back then, but he's no longer a wanted man today.

In 2006, the same year the Stardust closed its doors for good, his case was dismissed by the U.S. attorneys office here in Nevada. Still, the Brennan robbery remains a fascination.

UNLV associate history professor Michael Green says our state has seen more than its fair share of unsolved robberies.

“Bill Brennan fits in a long Nevada tradition of people who are believed to have pulled something off or possibly are found out we never do find them or catch them", says Green.

Saber thinks Brennan was murdered for the money shortly after the heist.

"For Bill Brennan to pull that off and never contact any of his family, it is beyond my wildest imagination. I just don’t think it could have happened", says Saber.