GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. – Las Vegas might be known as Sin City, but a Colorado man has been hailed a saint after returning $10,000 he found at the gambling mecca's airport to its rightful owner.
Mitch Gilbert, of Greenwood Village, found two unmarked Caesar's Palace envelopes at McCarran International Airport as he was leaving Las Vegas earlier this month, KUSA-TV reported.
When he opened the envelopes at home, Gilbert discovered each contained $5,000 cash.
"There was $5,000 in each envelope. I just about fell over, I couldn't believe it," Gilbert said.
After attempting to report his find to Las Vegas airport authorities, Gilbert said he was told it was against the rules for them to note down his details.
"I wanted to show my kids the right thing to do. It would have been a lot easier keeping it to be honest with you. But I felt like I had to get it back to the right person," Gilbert said.
Despite the lack of cooperation by the authorities, Gilbert refused to give up. He called the airport a number of times until finally being told two weeks later that a man from El Paso, Texas, had reported losing two Caesar's Palace envelopes containing $10,000 cash.
"She goes, 'Well, this is breaking the rules, but you're trying to do the right thing,'" Gilbert said, explaining that the woman had passed on the man's details.
The money arrived in Ignacio Marquez's account two days before Christmas. He told KUSA-TV that he had dropped the money at the airport as he rushed for his flight.
"Relief is an understatement. Cash money is very difficult to get back. I'm very appreciative to Mitch and his family. You do not find people like this," Marquez said.
"I will always thank Mitch for doing this. That could have easily just gone south, instead of what happened."
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