Cabbie Finds $300K in Back Seat, Gives It Back

Las Vegas cab driver Gerardo Gamboa thought someone left a bag of chocolates in the back seat. But this stash turned out to be cold hard cash.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Gamboa was making a pickup Monday at the Bellagio when a hotel doorman noticed the brown paper bag and handed it to him.

At a red light, the Checker Cab driver's curiosity got the best of him. To his surprise, he found six bundles of $100 bills totaling $300,000.

"Even though I am a poor guy, I don’t need money that doesn’t belong to me," Gamboa told the paper.

The newspaper reports that Gamboa called his dispatcher and took the money to the company's main office. He even asked a passenger to serve as witness that he did not take anything from the bag, Gamboa told KSNV-TV.

"Because it doesn't belong to me," he told the station. "I just want to do the right thing."

Las Vegas police and casino officials were able to link the money to a well-known poker player they declined to identify.

Gamboa, a longtime resident of Sin City, received a Driver of the Year award from the taxi company, which rewarded him with $1,000 and a restaurant dinner, according to The Las Vegas Sun. As for the mystery passenger who left the cash, Gamboa said he already showed his generosity with a $5 tip for a $9.90 fare.

"I appreciated that," he told KSNV. "That's 50 percent."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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