A poker player says he was hog-tied and robbed of his World Series of Poker winnings after returning to a Las Vegas Airbnb last week.
Jared Griener told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he returned to his rental home at around 8 p.m. July 12, after withdrawing about $60,000 from his WSOP account.
As soon as Griener entered the door code and walked through the front door, two men who were already inside tackled him to the ground, he said.
“They were inside the house waiting for me. There was no sign of a break-in,” Griener said in an interview on Monday, adding that the door was locked when he left the Airbnb earlier that day.
The two men then immediately pulled Griener’s cellphone out of his pocket and demanded to know where his backpack was while threatening to kill him, he said.
Griener, a professional poker player from Huntington Beach, California, has earned more than $3.3 million through various poker tournament winnings, according to The Hendon Mob database. He has won a WSOP Circuit ring and has recorded more than 109 cashes in WSOP events, according to WSOP.
Griener said he told the men that the backpack was in his car. The backpack, he said, contained roughly $60,000 in cash, along with sunglasses, headphones, a phone charger and other personal belongings.
“I begged them to take whatever they wanted and leave and to please let me live,” he said in a social media post last week.
The men took his car keys to retrieve the backpack from his vehicle but did not steal the vehicle, he said. He added that the men left his phone in the house after they took it from him.
After Griener revealed the location of the backpack, the men moved him to the rental home’s living room, where they used duct tape they found inside the home to hog-tie him, he said. The men taped his wrists behind his back, bound his ankles together and attached them to his wrists, Griener said.
Then, after several minutes of silence, Griener concluded that the men had likely left, managed to free himself, and ran barefoot to neighboring homes, seeking help.
“I was so afraid that they were still at the house, so I just sprinted outside and banged on the neighbor’s door who looked like they were home,” he said. “They didn’t answer.”
A different neighbor eventually called 911 after seeing Griener, who was still partially bound with duct tape, outside the home, he said.
Griener said he hit his face on the floor when he was tackled and experienced some soreness afterward but did not require medical treatment. Paramedics, he said, helped him remove some of the remaining duct tape from his arm at the scene.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers processed the home for evidence, and Griener said detectives collected fingerprints before allowing him back inside several hours later.
A targeted robbery
Griener said he believes the robbery was targeted because the men seemed to know his schedule and appeared to know he had recently cashed out his tournament winnings.
“They were specifically looking for me,” Griener said.
Metro officials confirmed officers responded to a reported robbery on July 12 in the 1400 block of Crystal Isle Way. The investigation remains ongoing, and no arrests had been made as of Monday, officials said in a statement.
Police did not release additional details about the investigation, or answer additional questions.
Airbnb spokesperson Aaron Swor said the company is aware of the incident.
“Safety is a top priority for us, and while incidents are rare, we take them seriously,” Swor said in a statement. “We fully refunded the guest for their stay and stand ready to support the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in their ongoing investigation.”
Swor said Griener has not filed a claim through Airbnb’s host liability insurance program for the stolen property, adding that Airbnb provided Griener with a full refund for his stay, which Griener confirmed.
Airbnb did not respond to a question about whether the listing remains active, or say how the suspects may have entered the property.
Contact Lucas Hellberg at lhellberg@reviewjournal.com.
