Motor City Casino winner says he was robbed inside

DETROIT (WJBK) - A metro Detroit man says he was mugged at knife-point in the bathroom of the Motor City casino - the crook making off with his winnings.

"I was winning and happy as can be," he said. "After I was done I didn't want to keep pushing the luck so wanted to just collect my winnings and go home."

He says he'd just won big at Motor City Casino, hitting for $5,000 playing electronic roulette on the second floor - when a trip to the bathroom turned into a robbery.

The man was robbed at knifepoint at 12:30 Tuesday morning.

"He must have followed me in, waited for me," the man said. "As I'm washing my hands he comes up next to me, pulls out a knife and starts swinging at my face and my neck. He tells me to hand over the money."

The 52-year-old victim says he pulled out $1,000 and gave it to the knife-wielding man who then took off running. He says the suspect was none other than the man who had been sitting next to him all night.

"He's just sitting next to me trying to be friendly, chummy, strike up conversation," the man said. "I'm just basically minding my own business."

The suspect is described only as a black man in his late 20's about 5 feet, 11 inches with dreadlocks.

The victim is hoping Motor City releases his photograph - since the casino has surveillance cameras everywhere.

"They have tons of coverage," they can identify him absolutely without a doubt.

As for Motor City - a spokesperson here says right now this is an alleged robbery - it's still being looked into and they don't comment on ongoing investigations.

The victim is also concerned about Motor City's payout policy - which he says happens right at the machine - drawing unnecessary attention to his win.

"It's very open, very public, very disappointing," he said.

The victim came forward hoping this doesn't happen to anyone else...

"You see the casino and you see a myriad of cameras everywhere, security personnel around every corner," he said. "For something like this to have happened - when you go in there I guess maybe you have a false sense of security but it's not as secure as you may think."

FOX 2: "Will you go back?"

"I don't think so," he said. "I don't think so - it's not worth it."

The suspect made off with about a thousand dollars - and possibly took off in a blue car - anyone with information is asked to contact Detroit police.