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"Three young punks, that's what they really were," Avelina Thompson, 73, of Pompano Beach, said Thursday, recalling the Oct. 9 attack. "It happened so fast, and all we were doing was going out to have a fun night."
Gamblers aren't the only ones looking for a quick score at the Isle of Capri Casino in Pompano Beach. Four people have been robbed in three separate incidents in the past month, according to sheriff's reports, including two within a four-day span that left a Fort Lauderdale woman with a broken ankle and fractured eye socket. Casino security cameras didn't record any of the parking lot attacks, the Broward Sheriff's Office said. The casino had recently stopped hiring off-duty sheriff's deputies to provide security, a spokeswoman for Isle of Capri said Thursday.
"We are comfortable with our security measures and we continually monitor them to see if changes need to be made," said Jill Haynes, director of corporate communications at the company's St. Louis headquarters. "The casino has security cameras in the parking lot in accordance with our state licensing agreement."
She would not comment when asked why the cameras missed every assault.
Two of the attacks involved three young men who struck quickly and violently, grabbed purses and cell phones, then took off, according to the Sheriff's Office reports.
"My pocketbook was over my shoulder and I wasn't going to let go, so they started pulling me and punching me right in the face," said Betty Smith, 83, a Pompano Beach resident who left the casino with Thompson about 10:30 p.m. Smith suffered a broken nose and black eye. Thompson wasn't injured, although she lost about $200, a passport and the keys to her home.
"I was punching back and I kicked him, just not in the spot I was aiming for," said Smith, who stands about 5 feet tall.
There is no record of similar assaults at Broward County's other state-sanctioned casinos, Gulfstream Park and Mardi Gras in Hallandale Beach, said Hallandale Beach Police Chief Thomas Magill. They and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood have complete surveillance of their parking areas. The Seminoles do not release crime statistics.
The Hallandale casinos also hire off-duty police officers to supplement their security force and have foot patrols and bicycle details watching the parking lots.
Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Leljedal said his department has stepped up patrols, ordered mandatory visits by patrol cars and installed a portable watchtower in the Pompano Beach casino parking lot.
"All of a sudden it started happening and it's something we haven't seen previously," Leljedal said. "You have more people going there than when it was just racing and the simulcast, and that means more potential victims."
Robin Keefe, of Fort Lauderdale, became the first victim Oct. 5. Security cameras recorded her leaving the casino, did not capture the attack, then again observed her as she crawled back toward the casino for help, according to Keefe and the Sheriff's Office report. She suffered a fractured ankle and reports having vision problems from a cracked eye socket.
Another victim, a 50-year-old Pompano Beach man, was punched in the face by a lone man who fled with $300, deputies said.
Keefe, Smith and Thompson said they were upset by the casino's responses. All said casino personnel refused to help them after the attack. Haynes would not comment on the assertions.
"I understand crime is real and can happen anywhere," Keefe said, "but it would be nice if someone would just say, 'We're sorry.'"
John Holland can be reached at jholland@sun-sentinel.com or at 954-385-7909.
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