A.C. police: Bank robber caught at the slots

Most gamblers who stop at the bank before hitting the Atlantic City casinos use the ATM or fill out a savings-withdrawal slip.

But on Tuesday morning, police say, Anthony P. Matarazzo took a more forceful withdrawal at the PNC Bank at Atlantic and Boston avenues in Atlantic City - but he still went gambling afterward.

At about 9:37 a.m., Matarazzo, 50, passed a note to the teller at the bank, demanding money while pretending to have a weapon, police said.

After collecting about $2,200 in cash, Matarazzo fled the bank, police said.

He didn't get far though.

That afternoon, detectives from the Atlantic City Police Department were inside the Hilton Casino & Hotel, just a block from the bank, looking for potential witnesses.

One of the detectives observed Matarazzo on the casino floor, playing a slot machine. He was arrested there without incident.

Matarazzo was charged with robbery and is being held at the Atlantic County Jail in Mays Landing on $300,000 bail.

Sgt. Monica McMenamin, a spokeswoman for the Atlantic City Police Department, said it's not common for robbery suspects to flee to casinos, but it does happen.

"Sometimes, persons with gambling problems have been known to be desperate enough to follow persons to their hotel rooms and rob them," McMenamin said in an e-mail. "Purse snatchers, casino-chip thieves have been known to run off casino properties to escape."

Matarazzo, who had no prior arrest record in Atlantic City, told police he was from Memphis, Tenn., and was staying at a nearby hotel, McMenamin said. *