Employee of the Month arrested on suspicion of burglary and petty theft

A former Lakeside Inn and Casino Employee of the Month was arrested Monday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board on suspicion of burglary and petty theft.

Scott Jacobs was allegedly caught by security cameras taking money from slot machines, according to Keith Copher, chief enforcement officer of the gaming control board. Jacobs worked for more than 7 years as a slot technician and was able to break into the machines using a stolen key.

He is accused of stealing $189, but Lakeside's President , Mike Bradford, suspects Jacobs has stolen much more.

"That is just what we have on tape but he has been doing this for some time," Bradford said. "The absolute loss of today's theft is by no means representative of the cumulative loss that has occurred."

Copher, however, said, "He may have (stolen more) but we are not aware of it and we have not arrested him for it."

"The initial steps may appear fairly routine," Bradford agreed. "But this will probably play out quite differently with regard to the magnitude of the thefts which have occurred over some time."

Jacobs has allegedly admitted to the control board that he has had a drop box key for several months but Bradford thinks "it's more like five years."

The casino had noticed irregularities in the amount of money brought in by the slot machines but until recently attributed them to natural error.

"He was a highly trusted employee," Bradford said of Jacobs. "To some extent, that impaired our ability to realize what was going on."

Jacobs was booked into the Douglas County Jail at Stateline and Copher said the control board will continue an investigation into the losses at the Lakeside.