If you’ve ever doubted the existence of karma, this story will likely restore your faith. Earlier this year, 35-year-old Shayne Thomas Sara had stolen hundreds of dollars from poker machines at the Lakeside Tavern. Rather than pocketing the money, the decided to try his luck by playing even more pokies – and lost the lot.
According to police reports, Sara had been playing pokies at the Lakeside Tavern all night. He had experienced a significant loss and was desperate to recoup his hard-earned money. So, he decided to steal from the pokies in order to do so. While cashing in a keno ticket, Sara stole the keys to the pub’s pokie machines, and managed to grab $250 to $400 from three games.
Most thieves would have taken the money and ran; however, Sara had other ideas. He decided that he would chase his losses at another gaming venue down the street: the Spinning Wheel Hotel. It was there that he continued his streak of bad luck, losing all of the money that he had stolen from pokies at the Lakeside Tavern.
Police were already in pursuit of Sara in relation to another incident that he had been involved in earlier that night. When they finally caught up with him at the Spinning Wheel, they discovered security footage of him stealing from various poker machines. He was shown the footage the next morning, and confessed immediately. ‘‘That’s me,’’ he told the authorities.
‘‘I’ve been waiting for you to come.’’ Sara has pleaded guilty to three charges of larceny and faces years in jail for his crimes. The gaming clubs are also seeking compensation for the money that was stolen by Sara.
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