Encore Las Vegas Site of $60K Watch Theft, Forceful Drugging of Man in Hotel Room

Posted on: July 17, 2022, 04:26h. 

Last updated on: July 19, 2022, 11:43h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Two women allegedly forcefully poured a liquid down the throat of a man staying at the Encore Las Vegas earlier this month. He got dizzy, and when he awoke, he found his $60K watch, $1,500 in casino chips, and a credit card were stolen, police recently revealed.

Danette Colbert
Danette Colbert, in a mug shot. Two times this year she allegedly stole pricey watches and other items from men at casinos in Las Vegas. Both men claimed they were drugged. (Image: LVMPD)

One of the suspects, Danette Colbert, 45, whose last known address was New Orleans, was booked at the Clark County Detention Center.

She was charged with grand larceny of more than $25,000 and administering a drug to aid in committing a felony, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. She has a prior similar charge pending.

Foggy Recollection

When recollecting the night’s events at the Encore, the man remembered that the women were in his room. He was sitting on a coach.

One woman “grabbed [his] head, forced it back,” police said. The second allegedly “poured an unidentified liquid down his throat.” Quickly, he got dizzy. The man thinks he was drugged.

Next, he recalls the two women asked him for money. He told them to leave. They remained, prompting the man to get into a struggle with the duo, police said. Eventually, the two left.

He soon fell asleep. The next morning, he realized his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch was stolen, as were the other items. He checked the balance on his credit card. The man found that recent charges were made. He did not make them.

The liquid forced down his throat smelled like tequila, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) said. A tequila bottle was found in the room. So, too, was a white powdery substance, police said.

Police reviewed casino surveillance video and spotted the two women leaving the Encore on July 9.

Return to Scene of the Crime

But two days later, the women came back to the Encore. That is when police apprehended them. One of the suspects was identified as Colbert.

As police investigated the incident, the man told them he had met the two women in a bar. He invited them back to his room for a drink. Colbert later confirmed to cops she went up to his room. She told police she was to dance for the man. He paid her $1,100 in casino chips, she claimed.

Colbert later allegedly cashed the chips at the casino’s cashier’s cage.

She was released from custody. She is scheduled to return to court in August. It is unclear if the second suspect will be charged.

Prior Arrest, Similar Allegations

Metro cops checked Colbert’s background and soon realized she was arrested for a Jan. 17 theft at the Wynn Las Vegas. In that incident, a man met two women in a bar.

He invited them back to his hotel room. He fell asleep. When he awoke, $50,000 in cash, a Rolex watch valued at $30,000, $11,000 in casino chips, an iPhone 11, a Louis Vuitton bag worth $5,000, and a satchel valued at $2,000 were stolen, the Review-Journal reported. He had suffered a nosebleed.

He and the women drank alcohol in his hotel room. One of the women was acting rude, so he gave her $200 to leave the room, he told cops. He, too, suspects he was drugged, police add.

Upon reviewing surveillance video, one of the two women was identified as Colbert, police said. She was spotted in the video carrying a black bag.

A Familiar Story

The two women returned to the Wynn on Jan. 29. Colbert denied to cops she drugged the man. She claimed the luggage was a gift.

On May 11, Colbert was charged in Las Vegas Justice Court for the Jan. 17 incident. Her charges are theft with a value of $25,000 or greater and administering a drug to aid in the commission of a felony, the Review-Journal said. The second woman was not charged.

Similar incidents have taken place in Las Vegas casinos in recent months.