You do realize there is ZERO regulation for Casino's in the DR right. Believe me there is a difference between a Vegas Casino and most (not all) "Island Casino's"
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Casino Scams in the DR
You do realize there is ZERO regulation for Casino's in the DR right. Believe me there is a difference between a Vegas Casino and most (not all) "Island Casino's"
And THAT is the big difference. Zero regulation. Mr AE worked in Atlantic City casinos for 35+ years. They could not move a gaming table 2" without Casino Control Commission approval.
Casinos in DR are more than gambling some cash. Mr AE worked in several of them in the early to mid 70s. Suffice it to say that in the past 40 years he's played once in DR, we were visiting a good friend of his and he played a little craps.
On a side note, I used to WIN all the time at the Jaragua in Santo Domingo.. Playing the 25 cent Poker Slots .. I mean like $100 + . I did realize it was probably one of the ways to SUCKER people into playing BIGGER, and I did not fall for it. Never .. No way you will see me at the Roulette table or anything like that .. I just loved to DRINK, play a little and get my mind right for the night out, or to see their SHOW later on.. so it was all in good fun.. not trying to win.
I "lent"/gifted a roll of quarters to a " nice Girl " lol one time who happened to take a liking to me as she was walking around the floor... one cant speculate what her intentions were or her real "job" ,but we had a nice conversation, is all , and she ALSO WON, like over $120 usd as i recall ... not sure if they rigged the machines to win , to suck you in, or what .. and i dont know how it is now,or if they even still have those Poker slots .. this was like circa 2002 - 2005
I "lent"/gifted a roll of quarters to a " nice Girl " lol one time who happened to take a liking to me as she was walking around the floor... one cant speculate what her intentions were or her real "job" ,but we had a nice conversation, is all , and she ALSO WON, like over $120 usd as i recall ... not sure if they rigged the machines to win , to suck you in, or what .. and i dont know how it is now,or if they even still have those Poker slots .. this was like circa 2002 - 2005
I think even the normal games are a fix. Dominican wife likes to go to the casino from time to time and plays roulette. Odds wise roulette is not a good gamble. Most everyone loses. Wife has some sort of crazy system based upon number of other people at the wheel, children's birthdays and her secret lucky number. Goes in the game with a set amount of money to lose, usually less than one hundred dollars. Damn if she does not win much more often than losing. When she gets up a few hundred she scoops up her money and we leave. Even if I am in the middle of a grilled cheese sandwich. I tried to tell her roulette is not a good wager but she keeps track and is way ahead. I am thinking they must let her win to bring others in to the game. She is attractive, loud and friendly. Typical Dominicana in those departments. Short version is I think the casinos here are a fun night out for a few bucks but not for anyone really thinking of winning any real money. Go to Vegas.
Thank goodness for threads like these! I LOVE the casino. I normally play black jack but from time to time will try other games. I find at the casino in Playa Chiquita I win very often at black jack. Last time in town I won prob. 4 out of 5 times playing and by a lot. This has given me confidence in that casino. That said I don't ever picture myself giving my credit card to a casino. I would work with what's in my pocket and when that's gone, that's it. This thread has had an excellent description for this scam and I will be sure to watch out for and avoid this game if I see it. This is just WOW. Another thought I had when reading this - anyone notice at least in the Sosua casinos there are no ATM machines in either casino? Do you think this is so that if you run out of cash, you give in a credit card and then may be inclined to spend more being less aware of what your racking up?
Can a Moderator please edit the last line on the first paragraph so that it says this: "And do Not really understand..." instead of saying "Do understand..." as if they understand the scam of the game they're playing.
Frank
Mr Frank, I know exactly how you feel.Just the other day I said I was coming out of Clasicos with a chica, when I meant to say I was coming out of Janet's with groceries.
DV8,
Can you insert the word "Not" in-between "do & really," so that it says "Do not really understand how the game works."
Thanks.
Zero government oversight and regulation of gaming in the DR? Did not know this.........not surprised though.
Yes, it's true, they use all there resources on enforcing drunk driving laws and urinating in public violations.
I always thought all casinos were operated to relieve you of any monetary funds you have ...and they do it so well
True, but there are different odds for different games. Casinos make more money on roulette than craps, and they can set the slots to pay off any percentage they want. The ones with best visibility pay best, because they want passers-by to get excited and try their luck.
However, in countries without regulation, anything goes
I too was scammed by this game way back in 2001? It was at the Playa Dorada complex in Puerto Plata at, what was then, the Paradise Hotel's casino. I think that's what it was called as we were staying next door at the Gran Ventana. Anyway, this video does a pretty good job of explaining the scam. What I don't get though, is the guy says your chances are actually "nil". When he had 9 and was paying for those final rolls, he even said to his buddy "you add it up". What if he'd actually gotten super lucky and got a roll that valued that 1 point? It's not impossible if there's a number that credits you 1 point to actually roll it. I know the odds are astronomical, but it's not actually impossible?
I wrote my story a few years ago that you could find by clicking on my name as I've only ever posted a couple times here and it was regarding this "progressive roulette". What is important to understand comparing my experience to this video, is that the scammer's sidekick in our case was a 30ish, hot chick with massive rack, popping out of her low cut top. THAT, was his main distraction. We were all 30ish, drunk, on vacation and took the bait in a second! GUILTY! I have no remorse, though I didn't lose 43K either I guess (only about 1200usd between 3 of us?). Once we realized he'd miscounted in his favour, we left. Sure, we were choked at the time, but looking back, I actually think it's brilliant, though I feel for anyone who ever got taken for money they really couldn't afford!
Just looked for my old post and found it. Here's it cut and pasted.....
I too wish i'd read about this scam before going! Luckily for me and my buddies, it was "only" 1200USD (about $400 each), which to us at the time, was a lot of money!!!
I wonder if it's the same guy? Wish I had a pic of him. American, at the time (2001) prob late 40's, tanned beyond belief to the point he looked like leather, and if i'm not mistaken, his name, or so he told us, was David. Wouldn't doubt it's the same guy.
Thing is with the game, at least back then, it WAS possible to win. The way the scam went in our case was very similar though, in that he, along with his well endowed, cleavage baring, good looking sidekick (she looked Dominican, not American) miscounted intentionally to allow you to think getting these certain high point rolls, was easy. She was basically there to be a distraction, and i'm not gonna lie, it worked! She played her part to perfection! Don't even think she spoke English, and at the time, I didn't care! lol.
From what I recall, it was 8 balls that you rolled into a somewhat deep cylindrical bowl-like thing. In the bowl, were holes that the balls would come to rest in, all with numbers from 1-6. SO, the lowest you could roll would be 8, and the highest 48. Obviously the high point rolls were in the low/mid 40's and lows like 8-14 or something like that? The difference from what I have read from some, is we didn't even realize he was miscounting. We'd been drinking all day at the pool, were staring at a nice looking girl with a sweet "rack", and the thought never crossed our minds that they'd cheat in what seemed like our favour!!! My first 2 rolls were "allegedly" 44's. Now, I challenge anyone reading this, to grab 8 dice, and roll a 44. GOOD LUCK! Trust me when I say, don't waste your time. Anyway, we needed 100 points and he basically gifted us up to 90 when suddenly the rolls dried up and we began to realize he was adding it incorrectly. We discussed for a few mins what we wanted to do, after realizing we'd been scammed and decided to go for one more roll. At the time, we were up to $250 to roll once more and had we won, our prize was up to $30K or something like that? Anyway, we thought we'd give it a go just thinking how sweet it'd be if we legitimately hit it and won. Of course, looking back, we're not sure we'd have been paid anyway. Obviously we left shortly thereafter.
We told some dudes we met down there about it the next day at the pool and we set them up to go in and see if they could get invited to play. The plan was, for them to bust the dude's miscounting while he was doing it. You see, the second the guy did his speedy count and announced the "44", the "eye candy" chick would swoop in with her hand and grab all 8 balls out of the bowl so no one could check the math. These guys were gonna stop her so they could do the math and when the "44" was actually "26", they, along with us who were gonna be watching from a distance, were gonna swoop in and cause a scene. Prob a good thing it never happened, as who knows what would have happened to us? As they were going into the casino, they saw David (we pointed him out) and yelled out to him that they wanted to play his game. Dude ran to his car and 2 armed security guards came at the boys! We went in shortly thereafter and complained to the manager. Funny thing is, i'd asked "David" if anyone had won recently while we played the night before. He claimed some guy won $75K the week prior, yet the manager said the last big win was $50K a month ago! Lol, I said to him "you're the f'ing manager here and you're telling me that you wouldn't have heard about the winner David told us about"? He claimed he was off, not working that week. Lol, like he wouldn't have learned about it upon his return? Brutal.
Lastly, and this is the best part, I was so curious about this when I got home, I downloaded a "dice simulator" that allowed you to put in 8 dice and roll ten rolls at a time. I sat for about an hour clicking "roll" before I got a 44. I think it was something like 1200 rolls? And "David" claimed I nailed 44 in back to back rolls? Lol.
Like I said, i'm prob not as bitter as some cuz it wasn't a ton of money we lost, but looking back, it's a good laugh and I have to admit, a brilliant scam of a game. I still maintain, if I was some sort of multi millionaire / billionaire and they didn't know it, it's possible to carry on and eventually win. Of course, I still doubt you'd ever see the money! I'd be interested to know if anyone's actually ever won by fluke, and of course, if they got paid? Or if they lived to get paid????