Martinez Lopez Samir at the court – PHOTO: THANH NIEN

At around 9 a.m. on January 11, 2019, Martinez visited the Vegas e-gaming club on the first floor of the hotel. Realizing that the cash box of the gaming machine No. 85 was unlocked, he asked the waiter for a cup of coffee and stole US$47,350 from the box and left the hotel.

After that, Martinez shared the money with two others, who played at the same gaming machine with him, and they took a taxi to Cambodia through the Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh Province.

Martinez was arrested on February 28, 2020, while his accomplices are still on the run. After completing his 12-year sentence, Martinez will be deported from Vietnam, the court ruled. SGT