Man arrested after allegedly stealing game chips from Encore

Gary Hunt, 35, allegedly distracted patrons before reaching over and stealing $13,000 worth of chips from the dealer at Encore Boston Harbor.

A man was arrested after he allegedly stole $13,000 worth of gaming chips from a table at Encore Boston Harbor before fleeing Tuesday evening, police said.

Gary Hunt, 35, is facing a charge of larceny over $1,200 and larceny from a building after he was arrested in a parking lot near Encore, Massachusetts State Police announced.

Encore’s security team reported the theft of a “large quantity of chips” just after 6 p.m. to the State Police’s Gaming Enforcement Unit. Everett police responded as well.

Witnesses told investigators that the man, later identified as Hunt, wasn’t playing but was sitting at a game table. State Police said he got up from the table to use his phone multiple times, returning a final time to announce another player had won big.

With this announcement distracting other patrons and staff, Hunt allegedly reached over the table to grab 13 $1,000 chips from the dealer’s tray. He ran and used an emergency exit to flee the casino, State Police said.

With Hunt’s description, Everett and State Police said they located him in a nearby parking lot. He was found with “several” of the orange chips but had allegedly dropped one while leaving the property and discarded two outside the casino, police said.

State Police did not say when Hunt will appear in court.