Trouble in Paradise: Jay Lush (left) and Steve Bungay fell prey to the scam casino game called \u201cprogressive roulette\u201d in the Dominican Republic. A quick Google search reveals they are not the only ones. (Image: CBC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nJay Lush and Steve Bungay from Newfoundland told CBC Radio 1\u2019s St John\u2019s Morning Show<\/em> this week they believed the casino was legit because it was attached to the Hotel Rui Bambu, which they had booked through the Sunwing travel agency.<\/p>\nBut the couple said the casino played them like a fiddle before frog-marching them to an ATM and demanding they withdraw thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n
“I just kept saying to Steve, ‘Let’s just go to the room, I don’t want to talk about this.’ I felt like we got assaulted. I was embarrassed. I was horrified.\u00a0I felt so stupid that we fell for something like this,” Lush told CBC.<\/p>\n
What is Progressive Roulette?<\/strong><\/h2>\nOn entering the casino, Lush and Bungay were greeted by a hostess who offered them $25 in complimentary chips for the so-called “progressive roulette” game \u2013 in which players are invited to throw eight balls into a spinning wheel so that they each fall into a slot with an assigned number.<\/p>\n
The dealer adds up the values of each ball to give the player a total score on every spin. Each score has a different result assigned to it on a table chart \u2013 some positive, some negative \u2013 and the goal is to reach a certain score to win a jackpot, but it all happens so rapidly the mark has little time to take in the rules.<\/p>\n
Typically, players will find themselves in a situation where it appears that they are just a few points off a big win, but it\u2019s all illusory. Each spin costs money, and players will often find the jackpot suddenly doubles, which sounds good, but it really isn\u2019t. The jackpot may mushroom, but the player\u2019s score doesn\u2019t, which essentially means the goalposts have just been moved much further away.<\/p>\n
Within about six minutes, [Steve] was one point away, they told him, from winning $100,000 and if he kept rolling, he was guaranteed to win,” Lush said. “At that moment we realized something wasn’t right.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The next bet would cost $1,200, the dealer said.<\/p>\n
“We kind of panicked and said stop,\u201d said Lush. \u201cImmediately they brought Steve over to the cashier and demanded the payment. This turned out to be $6,500 Canadian.”<\/p>\n
Free Coffee<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhen the pair began withdrawing money from the ATM in $200 increments, their banks froze their cards. Casino staff demanded they make phone calls to get the money wired. Staff refused to return Bungay\u2019s driving license, which he had provided as ID, until they did.<\/p>\n
When Bungay and Lush complained to the hotel, they were laughed down, and told the casino was a separate, privately run enterprise.<\/p>\n
But the two Canadians are not the only ones to fall prey to the dangers of \u201cprogressive roulette.\u201d A quick Google search reveals the scam has been in operation in casinos throughout the Caribbean nation for years.<\/p>\n
Bungay and Lush were ultimately allowed to leave the casino after they had spent two hours making phone calls, arranging the payment. They were then given two “free” bags of coffee and were thanked for their business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Canadian couple have issued a stark warning to vacationers visiting the Dominican Republic \u2013 and the casino at the Hotel Riu Bambu resort near Punta Cana in particular: beware of a scam casino game described as \u201cprogressive roulette.\u201d Jay Lush and Steve Bungay from Newfoundland told CBC Radio 1\u2019s St John\u2019s Morning Show this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":103312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Canadian Couple Warn of Caribbean 'Progressive Roulette' Casino Scam<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n