- Professional poker player Jared Griener was robbed at gunpoint in an Airbnb after cashing out his World Series of Poker winnings.
- The assailants entered using the correct door code and had arrived ten minutes prior to Griener's return.
- Griener estimates he lost over $3.3 million in career earnings, with all his winnings from the summer in the stolen backpack.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — Nearly three months after a California woman made national headlines after being arrested at the end of her wedding night in a case that shocked the country, another California resident's trip went horribly wrong in a matter of seconds. This time, there were no flashing police lights or breathalyzers. There were two masked men waiting inside a dark Airbnb, and one poker player who walked through the door with everything he had earned all summer.
He Walked In and They Were Already There
Jared Griener had just finished a successful run at the 2026 World Series of Poker at the Paris Las Vegas and Horseshoe Las Vegas. He cashed out his winnings for the summer, packed it into his backpack, and drove back to his Airbnb rental. He was planning to head home to Huntington Beach the next day.
At around 8 p.m. on Sunday, he opened the front door.
Two masked men were waiting for him inside.
"When I walked in the front door two men were there waiting, immediately tackled me to the ground and tied me up and took my backpack with my entire roll in it," Griener wrote in a series of posts on X shortly after the incident.
The backpack contained what he described as "literally all" of his money. Every dollar he had earned at the tables that summer was in it.
Hogtied, Threatened, and Left Alone
The two men tied Griener up, threatened to kill him if he moved, and took the backpack. Then they left.
Griener lay on the floor of the Airbnb, bound, working to get himself free. It took about 15 minutes.
"I was hog tied and stuck there for a while trying to escape and finally got out and ran out of the house to a neighbor to call 911," he wrote. "Luckily I am physically unharmed. This was the most terrifying and traumatic experience of my life. All my $ is gone."
He made it to a neighbor's home and called emergency services. Police responded and the investigation began.
Someone Knew Exactly What They Were Doing
The most troubling detail in the entire account is not the robbery itself. It is how it was set up.
The two men knew the door code to the Airbnb. They did not break in. They walked in using the correct code and waited. Surveillance footage from a neighbor's camera later confirmed they had entered the property approximately 10 minutes before Griener arrived.
"These people knew the door code to my Airbnb, they were waiting for me inside and video surveillance from neighbors showed they arrived at the Airbnb 10 minutes before me," Griener wrote.
This was not a random crime. Someone with access to that door code either gave it to the suspects or was working directly with them.
Griener also believes the robbery may have begun at the poker venue itself. Someone may have been watching him collect his winnings and followed him back to the Airbnb.
"It's likely someone was watching me at the WSOP and knew that I was on my way home with cash," he wrote. "Las Vegas detectives are currently investigating."
Who Jared Griener Is
Griener is not a recreational gambler. He is a serious professional with a long and documented track record at the highest levels of poker. According to the Hendon Mob, the live poker industry's most widely used statistical database, he has accumulated $3,348,485 in career live tournament earnings. That places him 862nd on the all-time money list and 417th among all American players.
He has recorded more than 150 live tournament cashes, won three titles in regional and circuit events, and earned one World Series of Poker Circuit Ring. His total WSOP earnings alone stand at $1,723,561. He does not hold a WSOP Gold Bracelet.
In a single night, all of that summer's work was gone.
No arrests have been announced. The investigation by Las Vegas detectives is ongoing. Airbnb has not issued a public statement about the incident.
To view more cases of targeted crimes and robberies caught on camera, check out our video here:
