Au Revoir, Purse Snatcher: Woman Arrested in Paris Casino Sting Had 44 Hotel Room Keys in Backpack

^{The Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino was the site of a Metro purse bait sting operation on June 8 that ended with the arrest of Betty Luke and the discovery of 44 hotel room keycards in her bag. (Photo: Lucky-Photographer / Alamy)}

LAS VEGAS — A purse-bait sting operation that went down at Paris Las Vegas on June 8 ended with a woman in handcuffs after 44 hotel room keycards were discovered in her bag. Las Vegas Metro Police also found a collection of stolen IDs, credit cards, and drug paraphernalia in her bag, which suggests the theft was far from her first.

Betty Luke, 33, is in custody at the Clark County Detention Center facing charges including possession of stolen debit and credit cards, possession of stolen identification documents, and grand larceny. She is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, June 25.

Purse Bait Operation Leads to Arrest

The initial incident began when Metro officers left an unattended pink and purple purse near plainclothes detectives on the Paris casino floor and monitored it from a distance. Around 10:30 p.m., officers observed Luke and an unknown male pointing out the purse, then picked it up and placed it into Luke's black backpack. The two exited through Paris' west entrance to head out onto the Strip, where officers stopped them shortly after.

Officers searched the backpack and found a shocking number of cards that did not belong to Luke. Contents included 10 debit and credit cards, five identification cards, two Social Security cards, 19 casino reward cards, and 44 hotel room key cards. On top of that, officers also found drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine in her bag. 

When questioned, Luke told officers that she held on to the cards because she knew someone who could exchange them to provide her with marijuana, methamphetamine, or a hotel room. She also claimed not to know the male suspect she had been seen with before leaving the casino. 

According to police, Luke denied taking the purse and alleged that she intended to turn the purse into casino employees, which would have been more believable if she had not walked it out the front door.

This is not Luke's first run-in with the law. She was previously charged in 2023 with conspiracy to commit fraud and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Paris incident is one of many opportunistic thefts targeting Las Vegas casino visitors. The unidentified male seen with her has not been publicly charged, and it is unclear whether he was detained or released at the scene. Metro's Tourist Crimes Unit regularly conducts bait-purse and wallet-sting operations across the Strip to catch opportunistic theft in the act.

Stolen Rewards Cards Raise Eyebrows, Too

The 44 room keys are the most alarming item recovered, but the 19 casino rewards cards have sparked their own conversation. In a public Facebook group titled “Caesars Rewards Diamond and Above”, members discussed the case and flagged the inconsistency in how rewards cards are handled at some properties.

"You'd think that since there is a market for 'found' casino reward cards, that Caesars and other properties would start requiring an ID to redeem rewards," said Nicole Kerr, who started the discussion. "Just left Las Vegas and I was never once asked for my ID to redeem drink rewards."

Bob Martin, another member of the group, said the problems are really with enforcement.

"It's Caesars' policy to ask for identification every time someone presents their card for rewards point redemption," Martin wrote. "However, there are many times that employees do not follow those rules. I have never been asked for my ID when using the free drinks in Las Vegas. I also have never been asked to redeem rewards points at food outlets at Paris."

Martin also mentioned not being asked for ID at Harrah's in San Diego, California.

Responses in the thread were mixed on whether guests are consistently asked for ID at Caesars properties, including Paris Las Vegas, Harrah's, and The LINQ. The inconsistency is what makes a stolen rewards card useful, since anyone holding the card can redeem comps that belong to someone else if a property doesn't verify ID.

A security staff member at The LINQ told Casinos.com that guests are advised to treat rewards cards like cash in case staff don’t properly verify ID with a card. Leaving them at a slot machine is one of the most common ways cards go missing, and properties are not responsible for comp dollars spent on a lost or stolen card.