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| Crooked Keno/Bingo in Punta Canta |
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| The scam game |
I have gotten several reports on this and noticed the same reports in the Trip Advisor blog.
They use a game called Jackpot-8 Ball (or other names like Super Bonus Bingo) where you get eight balls in a cup and have to throw them into a bin with numbers. They tally all the numbers and you get a chip on the corresponding number. There are three spaces on a board where your bet will double as well as the pot. These are common numbers, so the bet doubles frequently and you cannot lower your bet. They give you several legit ways to win but in order to win the jackpot you must reach 100 points total on the board.
That's where the scam comes in. The game itself is not a scam but making you believe you can win the jackpot is the BIG SCAM...HUGE SCAM!
You see, the only way you can get the 100 points and win the big jackpot, more than a hundred grand, is by keep investing in the game. And as it doubles and doubles again that investment becomes a fortune and ultimately breaks you.
So if you start out betting $10 and the pot is $1,000, you think you're looking good. Then you hit the double and your bet doubles to $20 per roll and the pot doubles to $2,000. Then both the betting and pot double again and again, and while this is going on the dealer and supervisor (who happen to be Americans I am told) are notifying you that all kinds of payment forms including credit cards are accepted to keep up with the frenzied betting pace.
What eventually happens is that the players max-out their credit cards because they've already invested all their cash, and finally the corresponding banks say "no more credit" or the players finally realize they cannot take the chance investing more money into this crazy game in a Dominican casino.
The casino con men running the scams know this...that everyone chasing the jackpot will eventually bust out chasing it. Therefore, no one wins and the casinos get an average take of about seven to ten grand per victim.
And they can claim there was no scam because the prospect of winning the jackpot is real.
The Dream Casino and Avalon Casino, both in Punta Cana, have been alleged to be running this scam.
My take: This is a brutal scam and one to be very wary of. Never and I mean NEVER chase a jackpot or any other casino proposition where you have to keep paying to obtain your "guaranteed" win or jackpot. It goes back to the ages-old axiom "If it seems to good to be true..."
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