Disgruntled Gambler Who Lost Big Sentenced to 52 Years for Pointing Gun at Casino Employees

A Cincinnati man will spend the next 52 years in an Indiana prison for robbing a casino at gunpoint and taking a person hostage in 2024.

Prosecutors in Dearborn County filed a criminal complaint against Daniel Birdseye on March 5, 2024, after police arrested him three days earlier for an incident at Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg.

Then 52 years old, prosecutors said Birdseye entered the casino, operated by Penn Entertainment, with a loaded firearm on March 2, 2024. Birdseye pointed the gun at a cage worker, demanding money, which he received in several stacks of cash.

Birdseye then took a casino employee hostage.

Once outside, Birdseye let the Hollywood staff member go.

Quick Apprehension

With the assistance of drones, law enforcement was able to swiftly locate Birdseye. Police said Birdseye was seeking refuge in the nearby Oxbow Nature Conservancy, a 70-acre wetland where the Great Miami and Ohio rivers converge. The defendant was spotted by the drone hiding in the brush.

Upon apprehension, Birdseye was found with a loaded 9mm firearm and the bricks of cash still bound in casino bank wrappers. During his time in jail, correctional officers told the court Birdseye was combative and punched deputies, resulting in him being placed in a padded jail cell.

Birdseye reportedly lost large sums of money gambling at casinos in Ohio and Indiana, including Hollywood Lawrenceburg. Motivated by extreme debt, Birdseye took his anger out on the casino, attempting to recover his losses through theft.

In May, a jury found him guilty of kidnapping, criminal confinement with a deadly weapon, intimidation with a deadly weapon, and battery on public safety officials. On the first day of the trial, Birdseye pleaded guilty to the armed robbery with a deadly weapon charge but maintained his innocence on the other charges.

On Sept. 8, Judge Aaron Negangard in the Dearborn Circuit Court sentenced Birdseye to 52 years, of which zero years are suspended.

Premeditated Act

Prosecutors detailed in court that before the March 2 crime, Birdseye wrote a note to his employer suggesting he would “see him on the other side.”

Investigators discovered that Birdseye was being sued by Venmo for holding a negative account balance of $5,730.09.