Casino Scams Couple

in Dominican Republic
it's an old story from 2012 but I'd never seen it before and it was interesting to me which is why I posted it
the casino was associated with the Riu hotel chain, an international hotel chain
the game is similar to the carney scam called "razzle dazzle"



Cliffs:
-couple goes into casino
-offered $25 "complimentary" casino chips to play a specific game that looks like complicated roulette
-after playing a while they are told they are one point away from winning a big jackpot
-they continue to play (unbeknownst to them they are now playing on credit)
-they don't hit jackpot (which is actually impossible to win) and they are told by security they owe $1000 (which somehow converts to $6500 CND)
-they are led to ATM by security who bully them into making multiple withdrawals and calls to their bank until they transfer/pay a total of $6500
-they go back to their hotel and complain; hotel manager says they have no recourse because the hotel isn't affiliated with casino; kicks them out of hotel!
-Sunwing (travel company) relocates them to different hotel
-they try going to police station but this is such a common scam it's basically useless

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/jay-lush-casino-scam-riu-bambu-dominican-sunwing-1.5100278

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razzle_(game)

TripAdvisor reports of similar casino scams some in Dominican in Riu hotel:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147288-d1019356-Reviews-Riu_Palace_Macao_Casino-Dominican_Republic.html#REVIEWS

Ah, I was confused as to how the player gets hooked if it's so hard to win any points or advance. But it definitely makes sense that they'd cheat in your favor to give you a few points here and there to really draw you in.

That'd be funny if someone played it, rolled a 29 the first 3-4 times (and therefore had to double their bet, but also get more prizes), then hit them with a total of 8 (or w/e the auto-win is) and win like 5 prizes for just $15. Of course that's astronomically unlikely to happen, but still tho.

I have a question that screams logic. What if you simply tell these crooks,"I don't have $6500 in my bank?" Many people don't have $6500 in their bank account.

People who go on expensive vacations generally have credit cards and can always be taken to a local place that buys plasma and threatened with dirty needles and a beating.

That video above also had another link that went to another explanation of the scam that had some good additional information.

Quote: Nathan

I have a question that screams logic. What if you simply tell these crooks,"I don't have $6500 in my bank?" Many people don't have $6500 in their bank account.

It's a scam, probably doesn't matter. They take from whom they can.

Quote: RS

Ah, I was confused as to how the player gets hooked if it's so hard to win any points or advance. But it definitely makes sense that they'd cheat in your favor to give you a few points here and there to really draw you in.

That'd be funny if someone played it, rolled a 29 the first 3-4 times (and therefore had to double their bet, but also get more prizes), then hit them with a total of 8 (or w/e the auto-win is) and win like 5 prizes for just $15. Of course that's astronomically unlikely to happen, but still tho.

They probably cheat. If someone wins, they audible.

Apparently, the scam is still happening (check the comments)

Not the same thing of course, but slot machines used to employ "near miss" technology where players would for example routinely get all but the last piece (on the reel, screen) of whatever they needed to fulfill the jackpot, and be enticed into paying for another spin, thinking they "just missed it" and were "getting close." I understand this is illegal in some states now, including New Jersey and Nevada.

I have never watched or played more than a few minutes on a slot machine in Nevada, but I have watched (do not play myself) slots in California Indian casinos. I have noticed that the "Bonus" pile ups on these California electronic slots - the action that has to accumulate visually to get you the free spins or whatever - seems to employ this "near miss" technology. Recently when a family member was playing I commented that she was "just about to get the bonus" as the dots or whatever seemed to be piling up near where they needed to flow through to activate the bonus, but she flat out told me that, "No, they just make it look that way." Maybe the "near miss" technology ban hasn't yet extended to how close you are to hitting the bonus?

Quote: MDawg

Not the same thing of course, but slot machines used to employ "near miss" technology where players would for example routinely get all but the last piece (on the reel, screen) of whatever they needed to fulfill the jackpot, and be enticed into paying for another spin, thinking they "just missed it" and were "getting close." I understand this is illegal in some states now, including New Jersey and Nevada.

I'm not sure exactly how its defined, however, I would say that it's still going on.