Man arrested after allegedly stealing game chips from Encore

Crime

Gary Hunt, 35, allegedly distracted customers before reaching over and stealing $13,000 worth of chips from the Encore Boston Harbor dealer.

A man was arrested after he allegedly stole $13,000 worth of gambling chips from a table at Encore Boston Harbor before fleeing Tuesday night, police said.

Gary Hunt, 35, is charged with larceny over $1,200 and larceny from a building after he was arrested in a parking lot near Encore, Massachusetts State Police said.

Encore’s security team reported the theft of a “large amount of chips” just after 10 p.m. 6 p.m. to the State Police’s Gaming Enforcement Unit. Everett police also responded.

Witnesses told investigators that the man, later identified as Hunt, was not gambling but was sitting at a gaming table. State police said he got up from the table to use his phone several times and returned one final time to announce another player had won big.

With this announcement distracting other customers and staff, Hunt allegedly reached across the table to take 13 $1,000 chips from the dealer’s tray. He ran and used an emergency exit to escape the casino, state police said.

Using Hunt’s description, Everett and State Police said they located him in a nearby parking lot. He was found with “several” of the orange chips, but he allegedly dropped one as he left the property and threw two outside the casino, police said.

State police did not say when Hunt will appear in court.