The point is deftly avoided by focusing on the high-denomination chips that nobody with a brain would try to fence and ignoring how many lower-denomination ones

The point is deftly avoided by focusing on the high-denomination chips that nobody with a brain would try to fence and ignoring how many lower-denomination ones the thief got away with. Casinos don't like to admit that they've been stolen from - they like to appear impenetrable. So here, they've successfully fed the AP a line that the theft that happened really doesn't matter, and the AP will spread their marketing for them in every outlet that reprints their stories.