Hoaxer down on his luck

Daniel Ray Johnson had lost his home and his job. He had medical problems, including a brain tumor, and had no way to pay the bills.

So on New Year's Eve, police said, Johnson donned a black ski mask, armed himself with a cell phone taped to a purple lighter and a gray laser pointer, and walked to the front desk of Boulder Station.

According to his arrest report, Johnson, 53, handed a note to a security officer of the hotel stating that he had a C4 bomb hidden in the hotel with enough power "to wipe out a city block" and the device in his hand was the detonator.

The note also demanded hotel employees load up his maroon suitcase with untraceable bills, the arrest report stated.

The 11 p.m. incident prompted an evacuation of the casino area -- and Johnson's arrest. There never were any explosives found, and investigators deemed Johnson's "detonator" harmless.

Johnson told police he had talked with his wife a few months prior about robbing some place to pay for his medical care, but that the decision to rob Boulder Station was his alone.

"Mr. Johnson indicated that he knew he was wrong, and was sorry for his actions," the arrest report states.

He was charged with attempted robbery, burglary, making a bomb threat and possession of a hoax device.

He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $12,000 bail.