Yeah Right: FBI Now Claiming 2017 Las Vegas Shooter Was Motivated by Gambling Losses

FBI documents reveal possible reason behind Las Vegas mass shooting

Documents released by the FBI suggest that the alleged Las Vegas shooter, Stephen Paddock, could have been motivated by the way he was dealt with by casinos due to his gambling addiction.

In 2017, Paddock opened fire into a crowd of concertgoers, resulting in the death of 58 individuals and injuring hundreds more. However, the primary motive behind this attack has remained undisclosed. Recently released reports, uncovered by the Wall Street Journal, point towards Paddock’s gambling addiction as a motive.

During his lifetime, Paddock was a frequent gambler in casinos in Reno, Nevada, but was banned from all three places for continuously winning a considerable amount of money. High rollers typically received free cruises, flights, penthouse suites and high-quality cars. Paddock’s treatment was a far cry from what he had received in the past. He also lost a lot of money from gambling, causing his bank account to plummet from $2.1 million to just $530,000 two years before the mass shooting.

One of Paddock’s acquaintances informed the FBI that he “was very upset at the way casinos were treating him and other high rollers.” The stress from this perceived slight could have prompted him to “snap.”

The interviewee remarked that Paddock “never showed any signs of radicalized behavior and never expressed interested in firearms” and “was very intelligent and, like all professional gamblers, frequently kept to himself.” Although one interviewee claimed that Paddock was “not a political person and never discussed politics,” another disclosed that he was “mad at the system” and showed a great interest in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Nonetheless, the report did not determine any specific motive for the attack or any specific institution targeted. The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit released a report in 2019, following a year-long analysis, and concluded that there was “no clear single motivating factor.”