Las Vegas Weekly

December 22, 2009 · 3:39 PM

Kindhearted Robin Hood gambler plans second score on the Strip

By Robin Leach

The Strip.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

My Fox News pal on-air senior correspondent Rick Leventhal gets the credit for this story. A few days ago, I joined Rick during his Las Vegas visit as he met with an anonymous high roller to plan a second Robin Hood score at a Strip casino. He intends to “win a family” out of debt while he enjoys the high-stakes gaming!

Here’s Rick’s story in his own words:

One year ago, a high-stakes Las Vegas blackjack player decided to use his skills in a Las Vegas strip casino to try and win a family out of debt. Now the self-proclaimed Robin Hood is going to do it again, and he's begun searching for more people to bring back into the black.

“I’m looking for anyone who’s in debt ... who needs some help, says the anonymous gambler, who will be working the tables in Sin City early in the New Year to raise money for another family in need. “I’m going to look for the story that’s really going to touch my heart.”

Last year, calling himself RobinHood702, he asked for submissions to his Web site, quickly receiving thousands of requests for help from people with major financial problems. He chose a couple from Detroit with a young daughter whose medical bills resulting from brain cancer had put them $35,000 in the red. He flew Kurt, Megan and Madison Kegler first-class to Las Vegas, put them up in a luxurious suite, gave them show tickets and presented them with expensive meals and spa treatments.

And this modern-day Robin Hood was true to his word, taking from the rich and giving to the less fortunate, handing $35,000 to the shocked and nearly speechless couple who went home with pocketfuls of $100 bills and new hope for the future.

Now RobinHood702 is about to do it again. “I’m going to look for the story that’s really going to touch my heart,” he told Fox News. “I have gone through a rough year myself, through personal tragedies in my family and financial difficulties, so I know what it’s like. But you know what? I’m still here, and I still want to help a family, period. Nothing is ever easy for anyone, and I know that full well.”

You can visit RobinHood702.com and upload your own video story.

So why go to such lengths to help a stranger? The generous gambler says he hopes doing it will make his mother proud. “That’s why I do it,” he said. Just like last year, RobinHood702 plans to play blackjack to draw a family out of debt. If he gambles and loses, he's guaranteeing the family half of what they owe. If he wins, they get the full amount to wipe out the debts in full.

Unlike last year, RobinHood702 has help this time around. He’s inspired a friend, a wealthy doctor and businessman, to join his band of Merry Men, doubling the stakes to make this year's holiday wishes come true for two deserving families. Dr. Richard Schulze was in the room last year when the Keglers got their cash and says he was motivated to pitch in, hoping that other wealthy individuals will do the same.

“I want a thousand people -- I want ten thousand people to do this. It’s one thing to hear about people helping people, and it's another thing to be there in person,” he said. Richard says he’s ready to give “thirty, forty, fifty thousand dollars” to the family he chooses. “Whatever they need to save their home, to get out of debt, to get out of bankruptcy, I want to help someone out. Really, this is a story about Americans helping Americans. No one else is going to help us out, and it’s time now to help each other."

Richard plans to select the winner from the same submissions to Robinhood702.com but won’t attempt to win the money they need at the tables. He’s just going to hand it to them after they get their rock star treatment during an upcoming weekend in Las Vegas.

RobinHood702 encourages people to go to his Web site to learn more, but says there are some people who shouldn’t waste their time asking for his generosity. “I don’t want people asking me to win them half a million dollars, you know, $700,000,” he said. “They’re not the people I want to help, OK? I want to help people who are really struggling, that need between $25,000 and $50,000, and that’s going to change their whole life. That’s what I’m looking for.”

The normally brash and outspoken character grew quiet as he thought about the gifts. “You’ve got to give back,” he says. “Everything you have can go in a flash, so why not give back to families in need and create good karma for yourself?

“I want to be thrilled, and I want other people to be thrilled.”

It will all happen in the next 60 days when RobinHood702 and Richard choose their winners, and thanks to Rick, we’ll follow this heartwarming story at Vegas DeLuxe.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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