Man blames tequila for taking Las Vegas’ Blarney Stone

Looks like The D Las Vegas won’t have to kiss its piece of the Blarney Stone goodbye.

Hotel owner Derek Stevens took to social media Wednesday, saying the rock had been stolen from its display on the second floor of the Fremont Street casino.

Surveillance cameras caught it all, Stevens said. At 2:31 a.m., the man lifted the stone from its case, took the escalator downstairs and walked out holding it up like he was carrying a pizza.

Less than 24 hours later, it had been returned.

Police didn’t have to get involved, Stevens said, because the man was sorry. It was just a typically crazy night in Las Vegas.

And tequila was involved.

“He was out gambling, won some money,” Stevens told the Review-Journal. “Because he was winning, he had a couple extra shots.”

The man brought the rock back to the casino about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Stevens said, after sobering up and realizing what he’d done with the help of friends who saw a picture of him holding the rock on social media.

Stevens had tweeted a screen shot of the surveillance video that had been reposted on Twitter over 450 times by noon Thursday. Stevens also had put up a link via Periscope, Twitter’s live video-sharing platform.

The man, whom Stevens did not name, didn’t walk in planning to take the stone and walk out with it planning to hurt anyone, the owner said. The casino doesn’t want him prosecuted.

Metro had no record of a call about at theft at The D after the stone took off.

“I’m just glad to get it back,” Stevens said.

Asked whether this had been done for a publicity stunt, Stevens said no and that the man wasn’t acquainted with anyone at The D.

The Blarney Stone is the only memory left from the D’s previous incarnation as Fitzgeralds, Stevens said. He bought the Irish-themed hotel-casino in 2011. Since he took over, it’s had a bit more of a flavor from Stevens’ hometown, Detroit.

As legend tells, smooching the stone — a chunk of the Blarney Castle in Ireland — gives the lips the gift of eloquence.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the man kissed the rock before returning it.

Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites.