Armed robber hits area casino

The Daily Inter Lake

Investigators are looking for a masked man suspected of robbing an Evergreen casino at gunpoint early Wednesday morning.

Deputies were dispatched to the Players Club Casino, located in the 2100 block of U.S. 2, at 2:12 a.m. Wednesday after an employee called 911 to report an armed robbery, according to the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.

The employee told investigators she was in the casino's office counting out her till when a man in a ski mask entered through the building's back door and threatened her with a handgun.

The employee, who was alone in the casino when the robbery occurred, had just finished taking out the trash and had left the back door open, Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan said.

The suspect, who apparently waited until the last customers had left, struck just after closing time. After grabbing the employee and pushing her to the ground, the suspect locked her in a restroom and escaped with an undisclosed amount of money, Meehan said.

The woman, who was not seriously injured, was treated at the scene by paramedics from the Evergreen Fire Department.

The suspect is described as just over 6 feet tall and of medium build. Investigators are examining surveillance footage for possible leads, Meehan said.

A masked man, who has yet to be identified, also was responsible for the Sept. 15 armed robbery of the Windiggers Casino on U.S. 2 in Evergreen.

As in the Players Club Casino robbery, that suspect waited until all the customers had left the premises before robbing an employee at gunpoint and locking her in the restroom.

Meehan declined Wednesday to speculate whether the two robberies were related.

Wednesday's incident is the fifth robbery or attempted robbery at Kalispell-area casinos since late August.