BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — A man was arrested after attempting to cash out $100,000 stolen from the casino account of popular YouTuber Narek Gharibyan at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood on Sunday.
Tribal police took into custody Joseph George Rice, 41, from Ridgeland, Mississippi, on multiple felony charges related to the theft.
The Seminole Police Department’s arrest report states that Rice stole the six-figure sum from 36-year-old Gharibyan, who is known for his YouTube channel, NG Slot, which features his high-stakes slot machine bets and has over 700,000 subscribers.
Gharibyan, from Glendale, California, travels to casinos nationwide, placing large bets on high-limit slot machines.
Police were alerted after Rice tried to cash out a $49,800 slot voucher just after 10 p.m. A cashier noticed the suspicious activity and called officers.
While the report does not detail how Rice accessed Gharibyan’s account, it notes Rice was previously involved in a similar case at the Hard Rock Tampa, where he withdrew $10,000 from another person’s account using a phone number and PIN entered at a slot machine.
Officers found a scrunched casino slot voucher in Rice’s pocket during his arrest. With his permission, a search revealed three additional vouchers valued at $42,800, $4,500, and $2,900 — all amounts withdrawn from Gharibyan’s account.
Rice faces one count of first-degree grand theft and six charges related to identity theft and possession of stolen IDs, according to Broward bond court records.
His mugshot shows a black and bloodied eye of unclear origin. Rice is being held at the North Broward Bureau jail on a $97,000 bond.
