I get Google news alert email's under the key word "Casino", there is usually a listing of 5 to 20 articles about casinos almost everyday... I found this article very interesting... from Zimbabwe... It appears that the gamblers in this casino can lose their money, but if they win, they don't get paid, and the funny part is they keep going back to gamble more??? Go figure??? I see a new revenue source for major casino companies during the recent economic downturn : )

Scandal at Bulawayo casino

By Lawson Mabhena, Magazine Editor

WHAT’S the use of gambling at the casino if you won’t get any cash?

It seems the cash crisis that has hit the country is now affecting punters, stealing the thunder from their beloved game.
Bulawayo Sun Casino has been failing to pay off winnings for over a month now and punters are not happy at all.
A number of the casino’s clients who spoke to Sunday Leisure were fuming over the delay in payment, as their payouts are being eroded by inflation.
The casino comes alive in the evenings, featuring the ‘who is who’ of Bulawayo. Those with fat pockets off course!
Sunday Leisure on Tuesday evening visited the casino and after winning a few thousands, the money is yet to be paid through the (Real Time Gross Settlement) RTGS system. We also took the opportunity to talk to some of the clients and they were not amused about the delay in payment.
Prominent Bulawayo businessman and former wrestler, Allan “Ripper” Mpofu, who is a regular at the casino, said he had not received any payouts for over a month now.
Mpofu, who produced eight credit notes, is owed more than $3,5 million by the casino.
“When we play we are not allowed to use RTGS or bank cheques, only cash. But when we win the RTGS is not effected.
“It is either these guys are broke or someone is using our money. When I won $33 000 at the beginning of last month, it was still a lot of money, but now it has since been eroded by inflation.
“I also won $2 million recently and I am sure that when I finally get the money it will be useless. When I lose $2 million at the casino I lose it instantly in cash but when I win my money has to lose value first,” a fuming Mpofu said on Tuesday.
“I committed myself to buying a car from an auction on the strength of the RTGS, which I had been made to believe to have been effected.
“I failed to buy the vehicle and I also looked like a dishonest person at the end of it all,” he said.
A city businesswoman who was also at the casino, said she had over $1 million in payouts that she was yet to receive.
“What is happening here is not fair. How can we continue to come here if we are not going to be receiving our payouts?
“What is even more stressful is the fact that they (casino management) are not coming up to explain to us what the problem really is. They are leaving us to guess as to what could be happening,” she said.
Another female client urged the casino to come out clean on whether they still had money.
“These guys should just tell us the truth. If they do not have the money it is better for them to tell us now so that we do not bother playing any more,” she said.
Contacted for comment, the manager of the casino, Likwa Sibanda, said he was not at liberty to comment on the issue.
“I do not know exactly which clients you are talking about. Anyway I do not speak to the Press,” he said.
The casino’s mother company Africa Sun spokesperson, Farai Mangwende, could not be reached for comment.
A casino is a facility that houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities.
The term “casino” originally meant a small villa, summerhouse or pavilion built for pleasure, usually on the grounds of a larger Italian villa or palazzo.
In most jurisdictions worldwide, gambling is limited to adults.
Customers gamble by playing slot machines or other games of chance or skill.
Games usually have mathematically-determined odds that ensure the house has at all times an advantage over the players. This advantage is called the “house edge”.
Often, in most casinos, the more money a player uses the more benefits or comps the player gets.