Orleans Slot Machine Mix-Up Leads to Senior Stabbing Gambler

Posted on: January 9, 2024, 12:46h. 

Last updated on: January 9, 2024, 11:14h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

A senior citizen from Las Vegas is accused of stabbing a man with a steak knife in a row over a slot machine at the Orleans Hotel and Casino.

Mitchell Graham, Orleans casino, stabbing
Mitchell Graham, pictured, allegedly stabbed a man because he believed had muscled in on his slot machine. (Image: LVMPD/Casino.org/news)

Mitchell Graham, 70, has been charged with battery with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit in connection with the incident, which occurred on the morning of December 31 at the off-strip casino.

Officers responded to reports of a stabbing at the Orleans at around 9 a.m., according to the arrest report. They found Graham standing by the south entrance with hotel security, the report said. Security officers handed police a black knife sheath and told them Graham was the perpetrator.

Uninvited Guest

Police found a three-to-four-inch steak knife in Graham’s front pocket, and he was taken into custody, according to the report. He admitted the knife was his and said he used it for protection.

Graham told police he had been playing slots at the casino when he went to the bathroom, leaving money in the machine. When he returned, he said he found another man sitting at the terminal.   

Graham said he told the man to get out of his seat, at which point the victim grabbed the voucher from the machine and walked away. Believing the man had taken his money, Graham pulled out the knife. Graham said he didn’t know how the man got stabbed, claiming he “turned into him.”

Other witnesses told police a slightly different story.

Wrong Slot?

The victim said he had visited the casino with his mother and had seen a friend playing on a slot next to the one that Graham was using.

He walked over to his friend, hugged her, and began playing on a machine nearby. The victim told police the slot machine only had 50 cents in it, and he put in $20. At this point, Graham approached him and said he was in his spot. As the victim turned to walk away, the suspect began demanding his money, before stabbing him on his right side, according to the report.

The victim’s friend told police that the victim used a different slot machine than the one Graham had been playing.

The victim, who suffered a superficial cut on the right side of his rib cage, told police he was “upset because he was stabbed for no reason,” according to the arrest report.