Solid police work led to the quick arrest of two Kalispell men following the armed robbery of a casino early Thursday morning.

According to the Kalispell Police Department, a call came in from Lucky Lil’s casino inside the Town Pump on West Idaho Street just after 1 a.m. Thursday. A cashier reported that a man came in the back door wearing a mask and black clothing, brandished handguns and ordered everyone to get down on the floor.

The man escaped with less than $300, according to the cashier.

Upon searching the area with the help of Flathead County sheriff’s deputies, a suspicious vehicle was seen leaving the area. Officers followed the vehicle to an apartment complex on Appleway Drive. When they approached the vehicle after any passengers had gone inside, officers located a silver revolver sitting on the center console that matched the description of a weapon used in the robbery.

Two residents of the apartment complex eventually were connected to the incident. Jesus Sonny Din, 20, was arrested for robbery and Kyser Curtis Nelson, 19, was arrested for accountability to robbery. Both are being held in the Flathead County Detention Center.

No one was injured during the crime, which was caught on tape by security cameras.

Kalispell Detective Doug Overman said officers identified the pair prior to 2 a.m., less than an hour after the robbery occurred.

“The work that our patrol guys did last night in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Office paid huge dividends, and obviously led to a pretty immediate arrest,” Overman said. “They deserve all the credit in this case.”

Overman said he did not believe the crime was connected to the Nov. 5 robbery of Magic Diamond Casino, which was immediately preceded by an alleged attempted robbery at Shamrock Casino.

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry agreed with Overman that the crimes are unrelated. He said his office is continuing to look into the Nov. 5 robbery.

“We’re working on it still, but we don’t have anybody arrested or charged at this point,” Curry said. “We do have some things to follow up on.”

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.