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Pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in America for a few years now. Unfortunately, that paints a big target on it.
While some see this as a chance to join in and enjoy the ride, others see it as a chance for greed and exploitation.
It's the latter that's happening to a chain of family-owned tennis and pickleball stores in Colorado and Las Vegas.
Thieves keep targeting Game-Set-Match
Earlier this year, we reported on thieves stealing over $20,000 worth of pickleball merchandise from three different Game-Set-Match stores in Denver.
Unfortunately, they've been hit again. This time, at their location in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The crime was caught on camera last week, and it shows multiple people tucking away 16 pickleball paddles worth about $5,000.
In the video, a man catches the store manager's attention while two women swipe the merchandise. All while holding a small child.
"They looked around a little bit toward the pickleball section," said Conrad Corona, the General Manager of the Las Vegas store. "But the male distracted me and the two females saw an opportunity to steal and they did."
Organized attack or just bad luck?
"We hit our 35th year in business and never had anything like this," said store owner Adam Burbary.
Burbary also said the incidents were very similar to the thefts in Colorado.
"Last year, my premiums went up 47 percent with no claims," said Burbary. "If I claimed it, I’d get canceled and then I wouldn’t have coverage for my four locations. So I’m at a Catch 22."
The Sheriff’s Office agreed that the descriptions and actions of the thieves are similar and could be part of a bigger organized scheme across multiple states.
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