Bar employees said the group appears to have a key that opens the machines to access the cash.
SAN ANTONIO — A group of suspected criminals is targeting bars across San Antonio, employees say.
But the group isn’t going to sing karaoke or buy a drink.
Bar employees believe the same people are after gaming machines. Surveillance video caught them opening each unit and taking cash.
It appears the group is using a key to open the machines, reportedly stealing thousands of dollars.
Bar employees identified a routine. They say part of the group distracts workers while the others make a beeline for the games.
“My jaw was agape. Gobsmacked. This has never happened before. I was crying, shaking and angry,” said one bartender in an anonymous interview with KENS 5.
KENS 5 is not identifying the employees we interviewed or the bars where they work because the suspects haven’t been caught.
The gaming machines we’re referencing are known as “skill game.” You may have seen them inside gas stations, grocery stores and bars equipped with city and state stickers. They’re legal virtual games that you can win based on skill instead of chance—like slot machines in casinos.
“Where they got the key, how they did it, I don’t know,” said the bartender.
When she opened the gaming machines to count the money Friday morning, the bartender made a startling discovery.
“I tried to count the money that should have been put in,” she explained. “But there was not $1.”
All the money was gone.
She reviewed their security cameras and found out why.
“Eight people came in and two people distracted the bartender, one person distracted pool players and five people surrounded the machines to make it look like they were gambling, but they were not. They were robbing,” she said.
In the surveillance video, you can see a man in a green hoodie reach to the side of the machine to use the key. Four other men stand watch as he opens each unit to grab the cash. Another man is facing away from the machines, appearing to be counting money. One man in the group has a distinctive face tattoo.
After finishing on the machines, the group goes to the bar to order drinks before leaving minutes later.
That north side bar wasn’t the only one hit.
“At least three other places I can think of off the top of my head, including one down the street last night,” said the bartender.
Now, more businesses with these gaming machines are on alert.
“[A worker] told me, ‘We’ve got these guys going around town stealing money out of the machines.’ He showed me pictures and said, ‘Keep an eye out for them’,” said a different employee from a northwest side bar.
Police reports were filed. Bar employees tell us, in order to slow down these thefts, the locks are being changed on the machines.
“It’s just not safe. I was worried something was going to happen when it was just me working and there’s eight guys. It’s not gonna be a good outcome for me. It could have been a woman bartending and that would have been really bad,” the second employee said.
If you recognize anyone in the group, call police.