Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Contrite thief returns Blarney Stone to downtown casino

0122Dlasvegas

Steve Marcus

The exterior of the D Las Vegas hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013.

What was originally thought to be a heist of a good luck charm at The D has turned out to be little more than a drunken mistake, according to the hotel's owner.

The hotel's Blarney Stone, a piece of rock originally from the wall of Blarney Castle in County Cork, Ireland, was returned this morning after being stolen about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to hotel owner Derek Stevens.

The stone was returned about 1:30 a.m. today by a man who said he decided spur-of-the-moment to take it after drinking a few extra shots of tequila, Stevens said.

The man told hotel officials he was gambling and winning at other casinos when he made his way to The D, where he gambled for about 20 minutes before taking off with the stone, Stevens said.

He mentioned the incident to a few friends and later fell asleep, Stevens said.

When the man woke up, he had messages from his friends telling him his picture was on the news, Stevens said.

Security cameras caught the man walking out with the stone in hand, and Stevens used social media to spread the images from the camera, he said.

A reward was offered to help bring the stone back to The D.

The man went to the D today and told a security guard that he took the stone and had been trying to figure out a way to return it, Stevens said.

"This is one of those Vegas stories where people go out, they have a lot of fun and every once in a while they decide to do something crazy," he said.

The hotel notified Metro but did not file a formal complaint, he said.

The stone was put on display today for people to take pictures, but a different fastening system will be designed to keep it in place from now on, Stevens said.

The hotel doesn't intend to pursue any legal action against the man, who apologized and seemed remorseful, Stevens said.

"He gets a Vegas pass," he said.

The Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle is a tourist attraction and stays in the wall of the castle. Legend has it the stone brings eloquence and persuasiveness to whoever kisses it.

The Las Vegas stone was used to bring luck to players at the Fitzgerald until 2011 when the property was sold and later reopened as the D Las Vegas.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy