An esports‑themed hotel in China suffered a stunning heist—guests posing as regular visitors carefully removed high‑end CPUs and GPUs from multiple gaming rigs. They left behind empty cases. The stolen gear, valued between $5,000 to $10,000 USD, exposed serious security flaws in the growing esports hospitality industry.
How the Theft Unfolded
Guests checked in for a gaming marathon but apparently went in with a screwdriver. They removed AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPUs and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 graphics cards from three to four machines. Even Logitech GPW mice vanished. RAM sticks and storage remained untouched—likely they just didn’t know how to remove them. Surprisingly, they bought the screwdriver on-site, suggesting the robbery might have been an impromptu idea mid‑play. Meanwhile, the owner tried contacting the group via WeChat—and discovered they had blocked him. That’s when alarms went off. You can watch the video on Reddit.
Financial Damage: Up to $10,000 in Losses
The total loss is estimated between $5,000 and $10,000 USD, which translates to around 180,000 to 360,000 Thai baht. That’s a serious hit to any gaming venue—especially one built around high‑end PC rentals and premium esports setups.
Esports hotels are booming across Asia—millions of gamers flock to these specialized venues in cities like Shenzhen. Yet incidents like this highlight vulnerabilities. Gamers and hardware owners should pay attention. Facility operators: rethink risk, reinforce security.
