Masked thief who held staff at knifepoint in £35,000 Nottingham casino robbery jailed
Staff were held at knifepoint as robber made off with bag full of stolen banknotes
A masked robber who stole tens of thousands of pounds from a Nottingham casino after holding staff at knifepoint has been jailed.
Robin Simandi-Curtis entered the Grosvenor Casino on Maid Marian Way armed with a knife on March 8.
The 27-year-old ran across the casino floor and jumped up onto the cash desk whilst wielding the weapon in his hand and wearing a balaclava.
He forced a cashier to fill a bag with cash at knifepoint and cut her hand, before leaving the casino with £35,000.
Nottinghamshire Police officers later spotted a man wearing a balaclava near The Cornerhouse in the city centre.
The masked man fled but was caught and detained on South Sherwood Street, where officers retrieved a bag full of banknotes and a knife used in the robbery.
Simandi-Curtis, of Sherwin Walk in St Ann’s, pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and possession of a knife in a public place.
He was jailed for five years and four months when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, July 6.
PC Imran Ahmed said: “Simandi-Curtis’ actions that day put the cashier he held up at knifepoint through what I’m sure must’ve been a very scary ordeal.
“Arming himself with a knife in the way he did during this robbery put everyone around him in very real danger of harm, which is completely unacceptable.
“While he may have managed to escape from the casino he targeted, he ultimately failed in his plot to steal money that didn’t belong to him.”