Heist is latest dis for battered Atlantic City casinos

If you are thinking Clooney and Pitt and Ocean's Eleven elegance, think again. The casino heist in Atlantic City this week was closer to smash and grab.

A manhunt was underway Tuesday after two masked thieves robbed Caesars Atlantic City casino of more than $180,000 at gunpoint Monday.

Two suspects entered the casino around 6 a.m. and at least one of them pulled out a gun before stealing two plastic boxes containing more than $180,000 in cash, according to police information. The robbers fled in a car.

The New Jersey State Police Gaming Bureau is investigating, indicating the robbery occurred within the casino, not the hotel.

Despite all the famed security at casinos, heists are not that uncommon. One of the most daring took place at the Bellagio in Las Vegas in 2010, when a lone gunman entered the casino wearing a white motorcycle helmet. Anthony Carleo pointed a handgun at a craps table, crammed a pile of casino chips into a fanny pack, ran out of the casino and fled on a motorcycle. It took a couple months, but Carleo's luck ran out. He went to prison for the deed.

Then there was the misfortunes of David Hayes, an Ohio man who was robbed of his $35,800 in casino winnings in 2012. A year later things got worse — he was charged with stealing from the jewelry store where he worked to fund a gambling habit.

Things can't get much worse for gambling in Atlantic City. This week's robbery comes amid a crisis for local casinos, which have seen declining revenue for eight years. The casinos' losing streak continuing this summer: The 1,400-room Revel, which opened in 2012, entered bankruptcy for a second time, and Showboat and Trump Plaza, two of the city's oldest casinos, are planning to close by fall.

Contributing: Lynda Cohen, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press