Kalispell man jailed following casino robbery with fake gun

The Daily Inter Lake

A Kalispell man was arrested early Monday morning after allegedly robbing a west Kalispell casino with a fake gun.

Jason Robert Skalsky, 36, is being held in the Flathead County Detention Center on suspicion of robbery, pending charges from the Flathead County Attorney's Office.

Kalispell police responded to the Gold Dust Casino, located in the 1000 block of U.S. 2 West, at 11:45 p.m. Sunday after a customer called to report a man wearing a Halloween mask had robbed a casino attendant with a fake gun.

The suspect, later identified as Skalsky, dropped the replica pistol and the bag of money during a scuffle with one of the six customers in the casino, according to Kalispell Police Detective Sgt. Scott Warnell.

Officers later recovered about $4,500 in cash.

The suspect escaped and fled into a wooded area west of Gateway West Mall.

Officers from the Kalispell Police Department, Flathead County Sheriff's Office and Montana Highway Patrol began searching the area, Warnell said. Skalsky was found lying in the grass.

Detectives are investigating a possible connection between Sunday's robbery and two unsolved robberies of casinos in the Evergreen area.

Investigators still are searching for the man or men responsible for the Sept. 15 armed robbery of Windiggers Casino and the Oct. 15 armed robbery of the Players Club Casino.

In both robberies, a masked man waited until all the customers had left before robbing employees at gunpoint and locking them in the restrooms.

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