Several men firing AK-47s stormed into Gold Reef City Casino and got away with R1,2-million in a daring predawn raid on Friday.
No one was injured in the heist.
At 4.15am, as Norman was putting money into a one-armed bandit, between five and eight men, armed with AK-47s, were firing warning shots at Very Important Punters in the exclusive Salon Privé.
They ordered guests to lie down and then made off with the night's takings from the salon, which sources say totalled about R1,2-million.
Norman, who was in the main section of the casino with hundreds of other gamblers, was oblivious to the robbery. He was just worrying about the R430 he had lost.
Just after 4.15am Nigel Naidoo, the casino security manager working the graveyard shift, came to the main entrance to secure the area so that boxes of cash could be collected.
There he was contacted by security staff watching the surveillance cameras, who told him gunmen were in the Salon Privé.
Naidoo evacuated casino staff from the main entrance and bundled them into his nearby office.
He heard three or four shots and minutes later saw the gunmen storm out of the main entrance with boxes of cash loaded into a trolley.
He rushed to the Salon Privé and found about 30 punters and staff members lying on the floor.
"The gamblers in the main section continued to gamble. They had not noticed a thing," Naidoo said.
An eyewitness told Talk Radio 702 about the drama:
"We were on our way out when we heard one shot. Everyone started running. Then we heard five shots go off. We hid in the toilets.
"There were five men with AK-47s and they got away with R1-million. They even robbed a shopping centre on the corner. The whole place is now swamped with police."
Later a female guard from Stallion Security told 702: "There were five guys who came in shooting. They left with a trolley of money.
"Stallion Security was at the main entrance and couldn't do anything. We were hiding at reception."
At 6.30am, Moses Kunene arrived at the casino, hoping to make up the R2 800 he had lost the previous day. He saw dozens of police cars and thought there was a police conference at the casino.
"I walked in and everything was normal. I went to the roulette table and put a stack of chips on the number 15, my lucky number. It didn't come up."
By 9.30am, when police announced they had found the getaway bakkie, Kunene had lost another R17nbsp;000.
Joburg Police Commissioner Oswald Reddy said from the scene that police pursuing the robbers had been involved in a shootout.
"The robbers were shooting with AK-47s - it was not a fair fight, Reddy said. "No police were injured and the suspects managed to escape."
Although there were no arrests, a special team had been set up to investigate the incident.
The team was pursuing several good leads, Reddy said.
Gold Reef City Casino said no staff or guests were injured in the robbery. They provided trauma counselling for the affected staff members.