Rockstar Games introduced an exciting new feature in GTA Online with The Chop Shop DLC: heist-style robberies that offer players the opportunity to earn a substantial amount of in-game cash on a weekly basis.
To participate in these robberies, you must first own the Salvage Yard business in GTA Online. Keep in mind that there is a limit of three heists per week, and once you complete a specific job from the series, you’ll have to wait a week before attempting that particular heist again.
Each heist comes with bonus challenges that, when completed, reward you with extra cash. Finishing one challenge nets you $10,000, and if you manage to clear all three, you’ll receive an additional $20,000 bonus. In total, you can earn $50,000 by completing all the bonus challenges ($10K for each challenge + the $20K bonus).
In this guide, we’ll provide a step-by-step walkthrough to help you complete The Podium Robbery in GTA Online, along with tips and tricks for tackling the bonus challenges. For those who prefer a visual guide, we’ve embedded a video walkthrough above.
Scope Out: Diamond Casino
There are three points of interest you need to take a picture of. Two are outside the casino, and the last one is inside.
Point of Interest 1
The first point of interest is the security tunnel exit.
Point of Interest 2
The second point of interest you must photograph is the waste disposal on the northern end of the casino building.
Point of Interest 3
The final point of interest is inside the Diamond Casino. When you enter, you must take an image of the vehicle podium.
Once you’ve captured all three scope out points, return to the Salvage Yard to complete the scope out mission.
Tasks
Tasks are one of the important prerequisite missions you must complete before you can carry out the final robbery. These are mandatory except one, which is optional.
You can always see your tasks laid out on the planning screen. However, you can not start your tasks from the planning screen, you must go to the task locations to begin them.
The tasks are indicated by a green duffle bag on your map. You can complete these tasks in any order. When you go to the task location, you will see a green highlighted circle on the ground.
For The Podium Robbery, you have three mandatory and one optional task.
Task 1: Gas Masks
In this mission, you must steal the gas masks from a fire station.
The gas mask crate can be anywhere inside the fire station, but it is always on the garage floor around the perimeter.
The firefighters will try to fight you.
Once you’ve acquired the gas masks, you must lose the cops and deliver the gas masks to your Salvage Yard to complete the mission.
Task 2: Rappel Equipment
In this task, you must break into a hideout to steal the rappel equipment.
When you reach the hideout, you must eliminate the enemies and look for a blue duffle bag.
Grab the duffle bag and leave the hideout.
Task 3: Sabotage Casino
This task is not indicated on the map by a green duffle bag, so some players tend to overlook it or don’t know how to start it.
You will notice a small green Salvage Yard icon by the casino icon on your map.
Once you enter the casino, go past the vehicle podium and the lucky wheel. Go into the ‘Table Games’ section and go around the left side.
Keep moving forward and turn left towards more table games.
Go inside the restrooms and plant an explosive on the last toilet seat.
Task 4: Masks (Optional)
This task is completely optional and does not affect your robbery at all. Instead, this task is related to aesthetics and what mask you wear during the robbery. So, you can completely skip this one if you want.
However, if you still want to do it, head over to the mask shop at the Vespucci Beach.
Purchase any one of the mask sets to use during your robbery.
Planning Work
Planning Work missions are mandatory missions you must complete to do the robbery. These are the primary setup missions.
There is always one optional disruption mission that helps make your final robbery mission relatively easier.
Planning Work 1: LSDS Disguises
In this mission, you must steal an LSDS van and bring it to the Salvage Yard. However, before you can get your hands on the van, you must cause some mayhem at a sewage treatment plant.
When you arrive at the treatment works, find a good vantage point and use an RPG to destroy the three parked sewage tankers.
Next, you need to unscrew the release valves to further contaminate the area. Once you’ve destroyed the sewage tankers, eliminate as many enemies as possible before you go for the valves.
You don’t have to worry about the rest of the enemies. They take some time before coming. But still, it is best to try to be quick because more enemies will eventually catch up.
Once you’ve unscrewed all the valves, wait for the LSDS to show up. If you have a Buzzard or an Oppressor Mark II, you can fly up in the air to lose the cops. It’s best to lose the cops at this point, if you can.
When the LSDS van arrives, steal it and deliver it to your Salvage Yard to complete this mission.
Planning Work 2: Storage Key Card
In this planning mission, you need to steal a storage key card from a valet.
Jamal will send you a text, telling you that you need to look for a yellow BF club car.
There’s a trick you can use to find it quickly, though. If you have an Oppressor Mark II or a Buzzard, its homing missile feature will automatically lock on to the car, giving away the location of the house.
Once you’ve found the house, enter the house and aim at the valet to intimidate him.
When he is intimidated enough, he will give you the safe codes.
Note that when you leave his house, you will get a wanted level.
Planning Work 3: Disrupt Personnel (Optional)
This mission is completely optional, but doing it will reduce the number of security guards that come after you during the robbery.
This mission is time-sensitive and must be completed within 10 minutes. We recommend using an Oppressor Mark II or a Buzzard.
First, make your way to a motel room, where you will eliminate a Duggan Lieutenant.
After taking him out, look for his phone to find the other three lieutenants.
Use your Oppressor Mark II or the Buzzard to get to the other Duggan Lieutenants in time and kill them all.
Your mission will be completed once you’ve taken the final lieutenant out.
The Podium Robbery
Once you’ve completed all the preparatory missions, you can start the robbery from the computer at the Salvage Yard.
First, you must get into the LSDS van and go to the vantage point at the Diamond Casino.
When you’re parked at the vantage point, call ‘Detonate Bomb’ from your contacts to explode the planted explosive inside the Diamond Casino restrooms.
After that, drive the van to the back of the casino. Get out of the van and go to the back to collect the rappel equipment.
Once you’ve collected the rappel equipment, enter the casino via the waste disposal door.
When you’re in, follow the guard to the dirty floor. Once you get to the dirty floor, interact with it to start mopping.
As soon as the guard goes through the door ahead of you, stop mopping and go through the door.
When through the door, use the elevator on your right.
Now you will be on a dark floor with no lights, except for your flashlight.
You need to make your way to the elevator hatch. First, go straight until you reach the end of the corridor. There will be one security camera and the only way from here is to go right.
Keep going straight until you come to another opening with some purple couches.
From here, turn left and go through the doorway into another corridor.
Keep following the path and turn right at the end of this corridor. There will be a dollar sign on the wall at the end of this corridor.
After turning right, you will see another small corridor. The end of this corridor will have a heart icon on the wall.
Keep going straight and turn right at the end. At the end of this corridor, you need to turn right and continue moving forward.
You will find a door that reads “Staff Only.” Go through it.
Once through, you will find another set of doors.
Now, you will be in a laundry room. Continue going forward. The back of the laundry room will have the elevator hatch.
Interact with the elevator hatch to go through it.
Rappel down the elevator shaft to the lowest level.
Once you’re down, use your key card on the keypad to open the casino’s storage facility door.
Take cover as soon as you open the door and take out the security guards inside the storage facility area.
The facility’s security measures will kick in and the whole area will be filled with poisonous gas.
After that, run to the control panel on the wall at the end of the storage facility.
You will get a classic hacking mini-game that veterans of the Doomsday Heist will remember very well. You must destroy all the packets by directing the laser beam using the mirror nodes.
After hacking and disabling the security measures, stay in cover and wait for the door ahead of you to open.
One of the bonus challenges is to escape the casino within one minute. The one minute timer starts counting as soon as you get in the car.
When you reach the second security checkpoint, you must search the surveillance room for a terminal to unlock the security doors.
There will be two security guards inside, take them out, and interact with the security terminal to hack it.
Most players fail the one minute escape bonus challenge here due to taking too long in the mini-game.
The set of random numbers below keeps changing, making it difficult to do it on time. So, you must be quick here to complete the bonus challenge.
When you’re out, quickly make your way to the sewage tunnel and wait inside until you lose the cops. You will have a 4-star wanted level, and the best way to lose the cops is by going into the sewage tunnel as the cops never go there.
Those of you who’ve been following our Diamond Casino Heist guides probably already know about this method, as this is the same method we used in almost all of our casino heist guides.
Once you’ve lost the cops, deliver the vehicle to your Salvage Yard to complete this robbery mission.
Selling the Vehicle
You can sell this vehicle to Yusuf by delivering it to him, or go for the easier option by salvaging it instantly for a 20% decreased payment.
If you sell it to Yusuf, you must drive the car to the docks and ship it to Yusuf. Ensure that you do not hit your car anywhere while driving it to the terminal, as the total payment value of the vehicle goes down with each hit.
Cash Reward
- Selling to Yusuf: $405,000
- Salvaging Parts: $324,000
Bonus Challenges
These are the Podium Robbery challenges:
- No lives lost: $10,000
- Reach the elevator hatch undetected: $10,000
- Escape the casino in 1 minute: $10,000
- All Challenges Completed: $20,000
Check out our guides on how to complete The Gangbanger Robbery, The Duggan Robbery, The Cargo Ship Robbery, and The McTony Robbery with all the bonus challenges.
