A man was arrested for threatening to set off a bomb at Harrah’s Casino in Nevada on Tuesday.
Police were alerted by the casino’s security who said the individual threatened to let off the bomb after losing $20,000 while gambling.
Key Takeaways
- The man was arrested in his residence about four hours after placing the call.
- Seth Maybee is facing charges of making a bomb threat and making terroristic threats.
- A bomb went off in a casino in Stateline, Nevada in 1980.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DSCO) revealed that the individual’s name was Seth Maybee of South Lake Tahoe.
The casino called to tell them of the threat at around 9:50 p.m. local time on Monday, according to the authorities.
“Yeah, I just lost over $20,000 at your stupid casino, and I am going to destroy it now,” Maybee said, per the police. “I am going to bomb it. This is a bomb threat.”
The man was arrested at his residence by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department at around 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 6. He was charged with making a bomb threat and terroristic threats and was booked into the El Dorado County Jail.
Maybee is awaiting extradition to Douglas County to go before a judge.
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A swift response
Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley issued a statement thanking the casino and the South Lake Tahoe police for their job in executing the arrest.
“I want to thank Harrah’s Casino for their quick reporting of this incident and the South Lake Tahoe Police Department for their assistance in the arrest of Maybee,” said Coverley. “Due to the history of the Harvey’s bombing in the early 1980s, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Stateline casinos take these threats very seriously. Fortunately, we were able to make an arrest before anything happened.”
The Harvey bombing mentioned in Coverley’s statement was a reference to the Harvey’s Resort Hotel bombing on Aug. 26-27, 1980.
Several men impersonating photocopy deliverers planted a booby-trapped bomb containing 1,200 pounds of dynamite at the resort in Stateline, Nevada.
John Birges Sr. planted the device after he lost a significant amount due to his gambling addiction. He had hoped to extort $3 million from the casino, but he never received any money.
The bomb eventually exploded, causing an estimated $18 million in damages, but not injuring or killing any individuals.
Birges Sr. was convicted of the crime and died in prison at age 74 in 1996.
