Las Vegas Weekly

October 6, 2008 · 1:59 PM

‘Robin Hood’ high roller giving to the poor after blackjack challenge

By Robin Leach

It was a simple concept for a Midwestern high roller known to many casinos here on and off the Strip. Proud of his uncanny blackjack wins he decided to risk some of his fortune at the tables and donate half the winnings to two under-privileged families.

My pal, Fox News reporter Rick Leventhal flew to Vegas during the weekend with a family from a suburban Detroit mobile-home park. Here’s his story:

“I witnessed one of the most amazing and wonderful moments of my 21-year reporting career. It came after an early-morning flight to Detroit, where we rented a car, met up with a freelance crew and drove to a suburban mobile-home park. I felt like Ed McMahon or the guy from Publishers Clearing House with cameras behind me as I approached the front steps of a double-wide trailer in a well-kept yard. I knocked and saw a woman inside rush toward the door.

I confirmed her name and introduced myself and held up my Blackberry with Robin Hood 702 on the speakerphone. “Can you hear me?” he asked. “Get your husband out there … I want to speak to him, too!” Her husband appeared with their young daughter in his arms and Robin Hood broke the news. “You have been chosen by Robin Hood, myself. I’m flying you to Vegas …” As he spoke I watched the tears flow down her face. Her husband began to cry, my producer welled up and I’m not ashamed to admit I did, too, as Robin Hood continued.

“The limo is picking you up at 4 o’clock. I’m gonna fly you first class and I’m gonna bring you out of debt.”

There was a stunned moment of silence but the mood was sheer joy and incredulous relief. “Are you serious?” She asked, but of course she knew he was.

My pal Rick had first reported his Robin Hood 702 story – and since I know the high-stakes blackjack player involved, he let me in on the tale after I promised not to reveal his identity. Luxe Life ran the story in August when "Robin Hood" searched for a casino to let him play for the charity cause.

Rick continued: “The player had decided to help a family buried in bills during these tough economic times by using his skills at the table to win the money they needed to get back to even. He solicited submissions to his Web site and the entries poured in by the hundreds. The family he chose is buried in medical bills and struggling financially. Now their lives were about to change forever.

And there was another entry from a woman in Charleston, S.C., who Robin Hood says touched him so much he flew her to Vegas, too.”

Rick joined the families here and documented Robin Hood’s attempt to win a blackjack fortune. The high-roller even had them picked up on arrival at McCarren in a chauffeur driven Rolls Royce. The player never got a casino here to go along with the scheme so he simply walked into the Palazzo on Saturday and started playing. He put the families up in suites there and then went down to play. I now know what happened but won’t spoil the surprise until we update this entry after 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time this afternoon. Suffice to say before the story airs on this afternoon’s Fox Report, Rick let me on his sneak peek:

There was plenty of drama and eventually bags full of thousands of dollars worth of chips -- taken from the rich and given to the poor -- made it possible for two families to return home touched by his generosity and armed for a fresh start in life. Not only that but another player who discovered what was going on even threw in money of his own!

Please click back here after 4:30 p.m. today for the monetary results!

UPDATE

The Robin Hood 702 high-roller wound up giving away $55,000 of his winnings -- and a second gambler threw in $4,000 when he heard of the unusual mission.

Fox News's Rick Leventhal's story just aired and showed the Michigan family checking into an 8,000-square-foot suite at the Palazzo over the weekend. They told Rick they owed $34,000 in medical payment for their daughter's head tumor treatments -- and despite working double shifts at a Target dept. store were still falling further and further behind with their debt.

The high-roller made $35,000 -- enough to pay off their medical bills. He won another $20,000 to give to another charitable recipient.

In an elevator the high-roller met another player who learned about the story and encouraged him to give another $2,000 apiece to the recipients.

During his blackjack play the overly enthusiastic high-roller screamed, hollered and thumped the table as the win kept rising . He got one hand away from cleaning up on a super-streak -- but one bad turn wiped out $300,000 in winnings. He kept on and clawed his way back to the $55,000 net win!

You can read Rick's full blog on the unique unusual Vegas experience at FoxNews.com and see his photos and video of the extraordinary Robin Hood strategy.

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