A desperate gambler, with just his eyes visible through a balaclava, was in debt to the tune of £30,000 when he carried out a daring armed robbery at a city centre casino. Robin Simandi-Curtis, 27, of Sherwin Walk, St Ann's, acted in a "moment of madness" and was not thinking straight when he climbed into Grosvenor Casino in Maid Marian Way on Wednesday, March 8, with a large five-inch vegetable knife.
Masked Simandi-Curtis jumped onto a balcony, with his hood up and wearing a balaclava and a face mask, walked past the poker tables and purposefully towards the cash desk, Nottingham Crown Court heard in Thursday (July 6). Judge Julia Warburton, who sentenced him to five years and four months for the robbery, said he was plainly keen "to get as much money as you could as quickly as you could and leave as quickly as possible".
Simandi-Curtis had a yellow bag with him ready to fill with cash, and told police he had a rucksack ready to fill. He knew the casino well and spent nearly £4,000 there as a patron, the court heard.
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He also knew it would be quiet at 9.30am, entering via a direct route towards the cash desk, and did not hestitate as he threw the bag down and pointed to the money.
The terrified cashier had worked there for 19 years without incident. Simandi-Curtis put the bag on the desk and told her to "fill it" and jumped onto the desk and crouched down.
She felt incredibly intimidated and vulnerable, and put more than £34,000 in the bag. Her colleague sounded the alarm.
The judge said: "During the incident, she was cut to the hand, not intentionally, I accept, but as a direct result of you producing the knife in order to scare her to give you the money.
"She noticed afterwards her hand was bleeding quite heavily and it was treated at hospital".
Simandi-Curtis fled via the balcony and over railings onto Mount Street, where he dumped the knife, but was followed by the same member of staff who pressed the alarm, and he was tracked down by police and arrested.
The victim suffered numbness to her dominant hand - and she was in a state of fear or panic and had not noticed the knife or that she was injured - until she saw the blood. She tried to return to work two days later but felt nervous and anxious and had to leave the building after a panic attack.
Simandi-Curtis had pleaded guilty to the robbery, where he received the five years and four months and possessing a bladed article, which was met with 16 months in prison concurrently.
He lost his job three days earlier and was in debt by £30,000 and "thought this scheme would solve all your problems," said the judge. Susan Gregson-Murray, mitigating, said her client had the balaclava already when addressing the argument about whether the offence was planned.
When asked why he went in the morning, her client had said "It just happened". "It was a moment of madness...it was not thinking straight," she said.
