Two security doors with a distance of less than 1 meter separate the noise smelling of cigarette smoke from the quiet night life in the suburbs.
Dozens of gamblers sat around the oval gambling table. The silver bell made a "ding" sound: buy it and leave! Colorful chips of varying amounts were slapped on the table. Calls, lamentations, curses and the sound of palms hitting the table were mixed in the room of more than 100 square meters.
This is the "Baccarat" game commonly seen in Macau casinos. A recent investigation by a reporter from the Beijing News found that in Wuxi, Kunshan, Taicang, and other places in Jiangsu, such scenes were staged in underground casinos.
In every poker game that lasted less than one minute, someone would throw out tens of thousands of yuan at a time, and someone would borrow money to buy code on the spot after losing all their deposits. The gamblers who were placing their bets did not know that these seemingly lively gambling tables were actually a "hunting" trap.
The dealer plays the game, the Junket Operator (the person who solicits customers for the casino) draws the commission, the dealer controls the cards, and the card holder plays with him. The casino controls the winning and losing of each game. "Some places make more than 4 million in a day."
The casino is hidden in an office building, with tattooed men supporting the venue.
"Are they your first-hand customers? How much have you gambled before? Where have you gambled? ?"
Before departure, Brother Sun, who claimed to have shares in the casino, asked about the guests. "We do this to ensure the safety of the venue, and do not bring unreliable guests."
During the undercover investigation, a reporter from the Beijing News contacted the casino as a junk operator, and another reporter pretended to be a gambler. After confirming that the "gambler" the reporter wanted to bring was reliable, Brother Sun sent an address via WeChat: the intersection along Shanghai Avenue and an unknown dead end road. The
map shows that this location belongs to Huaqiao Town, Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province. It is only 3 kilometers away from the Shanghai Municipal District. Except for a flour mill and a building named "Yaogu International", there are no other signs to follow. .
htmlAt about 10 pm on July 17, according to the positioning navigation, the Beijing News reporter took a bus from Suzhou city, headed east along the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, and arrived at the positioning location an hour later. The reporter noticed that this T-junction was surrounded by mostly fenced construction sites, and few vehicles or pedestrians passed by.Brother Sun directed the reporter on the phone to go deeper into the unknown road in front of him. After walking about 300 meters, Brother Sun, who looked to be in his mid-twenties and was wearing a white pullover with gold-edged patterns, waved to reporters.
After Brother Sun and a middle-aged man looked at the reporter for a few times, they led the reporter into a courtyard beside the road in tacit understanding, and then turned into the underground parking lot. The
map shows that this is Yaogu International Center, a commercial office building. In the parking lot, two black cars blocked the elevator entrance, with four or five strong men sitting in the car.
Brother Sun greeted the people in the car, "We have guests!" One person got out of the car immediately and led the reporter and his party into the elevator, while the rest were still waiting at the elevator entrance.
The guide was very vigilant and looked at each other in the elevator without saying a word. The elevator goes up to the top 12th floor. The lights here are dim and the corridors are narrow. No one else is walking around. You can only hear the friction of shoe soles against the floor.
led the passerby to stop in front of a white door, knocked three times, and the door opened from the inside. After leading passers-by and reporters through the door, they found that there was another door in front of them. It wasn't until all five people in the group entered that the second door was opened.
The room of more than one hundred square meters is divided by four gaming tables. The floors are carpeted and the walls are freshly painted. In the west corner, there is a code exchange counter. More than 30 people, including gamblers, junk operators, and tattooed men watching the game, gathered together to make this secret space lively.
In late July, reporters from the Beijing News visited four casinos in various places in southern Jiangsu and found that these hidden underground casinos are very vigilant. In order to prevent "risks", they refuse entry to strangers who "cannot play" and will also Layers of hidden sentries were set up around the perimeter, and surveillance cameras were installed both inside and outside the house.
A reporter from the Beijing News once entered an underground casino in , Yushan Town, Kunshan. He was suspected of participating in the gambling without changing his chips. When the reporter contacted the online casino again the next day, the other party refused to bring the reporter in again. Before entering a casino on Zhaoshangcheng Road in Wuxi City, the reporter was asked to change cars twice and passed three hidden whistles before being allowed in.
In an underground casino in Huaqiao District, Kunshan, more than 10 gamblers gathered around a gaming table. Photo taken by a Beijing News reporter
The entry price is 20,000 yuan, and someone lost 200,000 yuan in one hour
The casino in Huaqiao Town, Kunshan City has rules, and the minimum exchange code for admission is 20,000 yuan.
A reporter from the Beijing News found that among the more than 20 gamblers in this casino, there were many who held more than 100,000 chips, and some people bet 50,000 yuan in one go.
This is the "Baccarat" card game commonly seen in Macau casinos. Gamblers can bet on "banker" or "player" at will. The dealer will draw two decks of cards. The one with the higher number wins, and the dealer will pay according to the bet number.
The electronic screen in front of the gambling table records the past cards, and the betting limit of the table is marked below. For the three gaming tables at the beginning, the minimum bets are 1,000 yuan, 2,000 yuan, and 3,000 yuan respectively, and the maximum bets per hand are 200,000 yuan, and 300,000 yuan.
With a "ding" sound, the dealer rang the silver bell in front of him and left his hand after buying. Gamblers place colorful chips of varying amounts on the "banker" and "player" areas of the gaming table. There are five gamblers on a gambling table, all in on the banker, betting more than 10,000 chips.
The dealer drew two cards from the card box and opened them one after another, "Player 9 points." Then he dealt the other two cards to the female gambler who had bet 5,000 yuan, and asked the gambler with the highest bet to open the cards. .
The first card was "2", and the gamblers became excited, "Three sides, three sides!" The female gambler switched the cards and looked at them, "6 o'clock."
"Lost again!" The gambler said They all lamented. It was nearly 12 o'clock in the middle of the night. A gambler called and said, "Transfer another 30,000 yuan to me." After hanging up the phone, he turned around and handed his red number plate to the casino staff, "Help me again." I’ll take 30,000 chips.”
Fang Jie (pseudonym), who once worked in a Macau casino, told reporters that the number plate is set by the casino to record the wins and losses of gamblers. How many chips were exchanged when they came and how much they won and lost when they left. Accounting based on number plate.
Borrowing money on the spot has long been common in casinos. "This is all small money." Fang Jie said that many of the guests who come to Suzhou, Wuxi, Kunshan and other places to gamble are business owners. They used to go to Macau to gamble. This year, Macau is closed due to the epidemic, so gamblers come here. bet.
The gamblers at the same table did not seem to be disturbed by the call to borrow money. They stared at the gambling table and the cards, thinking about their next bet. Place bets, deal cards, kill and pay, repeat every minute. In front of the dealer, the card box containing four decks of playing cards quickly bottomed out.
Unlike other card tables that were crowded with gamblers, there was only a middle-aged man with a Shanghai accent sitting at another gaming table in the room. The staff of the casino refused others to place bets here, saying, "This table is reserved." In other words, only this man can bet on this gambling table.
reporters observed that this middle-aged man bet 30,000 to 50,000 yuan on each hand. After losing two games in a row, he tore up the "unsatisfactory" cards in his hand. After being stunned for a few seconds, he changed another 50,000 yuan in chips.
In the subsequent gambling games, the man won a few small bets of 2,000 yuan. After seeing the cards coming back, he began to place big bets. He went back and forth more than ten times and lost all 50,000 chips. The reporter noticed that in less than an hour from the time the man entered the casino to the time he left, he lost at least 200,000 yuan.
A reporter from the Beijing News investigated four underground casinos in southern Jiangsu and found that it is not uncommon for gamblers to lose hundreds of thousands of yuan in one night. The casino located in Liuhe Town, Taicang also imitates the Macau casino and has a VIP room separated in the lobby to specially receive gamblers who place big bets. "It's normal for guests who play big to lose millions in one night." Brother Sun said.
Chips and number plates from an underground casino in Liuhe Town, Taicang, Jiangsu Province. A reporter from the Beijing News photographed
The croupier acted as a cheat to play with the casino, and the casino made millions in one night.
The gamblers who were betting happily did not know that they were the "prey" that had fallen into a trap.
From the opening of the casino at 8 pm to 2 am, gamblers came in and out of the casino in Huaqiao Town, Kunshan. In the end, only the gaming table where the reporter was sitting was left with gamblers. A female gambler nearby repeatedly hinted to the reporter to follow the bet, "Look, I won again, why don't you bet with me."
Seeing that the "gamblers" brought by the reporter did not move, Brother Sun was a little impatient. "What's going on with your guest? He hasn't placed a bet yet.He is the only guest left now. If not, take him away as soon as possible. "
In fact, there are seven "gamblers" sitting at this gambling table. According to Brother Sun, except for the "gamblers" brought by the reporter, the other six people are all "card holders" of the casino.
Fang Jie, who has worked in a casino, revealed that these card dealers are paid by the casino to "bring customers to place big bets."
A junkie operator who often takes customers to the casino also confirmed this statement to reporters. , every underground casino has a card holder. When there are few gamblers, they will sit down to enhance the atmosphere. When real gamblers come, some of them will give up their seats, and others will sit next to guide the guests to place bets.
Beijing News reporter is recruiting investment in Wuxi. During an unannounced visit to an underground casino on Cheng Road, I heard a casino employee scolding a junkie operator, "It costs 500 yuan to find a card holder in the casino. If the customer loses so little, the casino will lose money." "
In addition to the card trays, the biggest trap in these casinos comes from the "beautiful dealers" in front of the gamblers.
Many junk operators who help underground casinos to attract customers told reporters that the dealers who deal cards in the casinos are all hired from Southeast Asia. "Professionals" came here.
A person who once opened a casino told a reporter from the Beijing News that there are many cheating methods at the card table. The dealer can change the cards with just a move of his hand. Very few people can see the operations of professionals. Come out. On some poker tables, the playing cards are soaked in potion, and you can see the cards by wearing matching contact lenses. "Nine out of ten bets will you lose? Every bet must be lost. "After
got acquainted with the reporter, Brother Sun did not shy away from this. "Our game is a 'guaranteed kill', and it is impossible for the guests to win. They (dealers) have skills, and you can't tell how to cheat. ”
Relying on the “guaranteed killing” method, as long as the casino has Junket Operators to attract customers, they can “sit back and enjoy the profits”. Brother Sun revealed to the reporter that a few days after the reporter left the casino in Huaqiao Town, Kunshan, several people went there With big customers, the casino makes a profit of 800,000 yuan in one day. "This is still a small place. A place that accepts big gamblers can make 4 million yuan in one night." "
In Brother Sun's eyes, it is not difficult to open these "profit-making" underground casinos. You can buy all the equipment for less than 100,000 yuan, but there is one thing, "you must have strong connections." "Brother Sun said that casinos need to change locations frequently, and they also need to rely on connections to know in advance when there will be inspections so that they can move guests in time.
In an underground casino near China Merchants City Road in Wuxi City, a dealer is dealing cards. New Photographed by a reporter from the Beijing News
Junket operators in Macau solicit customers and take commissions, and encounter "blackmail" in casinos
Brother Sun revealed to a reporter from the Beijing News during the chat that there were underground casinos in southern Jiangsu before. During the epidemic, some people were unable to go to Macau. Gambling gamblers are targeted by casinos and lured in through Junket Operators. As a result, there have been more local underground casinos in recent months.
Casinos use people who open stalls (gambling companies) in Macau. Or a Junket Operator who has worked in a Macau casino and has the resources to recruit gamblers, “If you can find two or three people like this in a casino to help you, you won’t have to worry about customers. Brother Sun said frankly that due to the "guaranteed killing", these casinos have a very bad reputation among local gamblers and can only continue to attract foreign gamblers to play.
For this reason, the casinos even offer junk operators as little as 40 to 50%. Achao, who specializes in taking guests to casinos in Wuxi, Taicang, Shanghai and other places, said that in one casino in Wuxi alone, there are 5 vehicles dedicated to transporting guests to and from the hotel or airport every day. A customer can gamble more than one million yuan, and the Junket Operator who takes the customer can take away 700,000 yuan.
Fang Jie told the Beijing News reporter that the high rebates have made many Junket Operators who had previously worked in Macau become more enthusiastic. Recruiting gamblers in the circle of friends: "If you can't go to Macau, come to Suzhou, Wuxi, Kunshan, and Taicang to receive brothers and sisters from all over the world."
Fang Jie said that in his circle of friends, such news about gambling began to appear in March. There are still junket operators offering services such as "arranging hotel and car pick-up and drop-off". Fang Jie once counted that among the more than 100 WeChat friends he had in Macau, at least 60 of them had sent gambling messages. Ah Chao, who opened a stall in Macau, returned to Jiangsu in June this year to help solicit customers for a friend's casino.He said that a few Junket Operators brought customers to gamble, and within half a month, they made more than one million from his friend's casino.
A Junket Operator who helps the casino to attract customers posted casino news in Moments. Photo by Beijing News reporter
However, in this secret world of "gambling", in addition to the hunted gamblers, the Junket operators who solicit customers often encounter "the gangsters".
Huang Qing (pseudonym) used to work in a Macau casino. During the epidemic, he took gamblers to the underground casino in Liuhe Town, Taicang twice. After the gamblers lost tens of thousands of yuan, the 60% rebate promised by the gambler never came. Not given. "Regardless of how high the commission is, sometimes you just take it if the employer says it's for you, and you don't get a penny."
"They say the place was closed down by the police, so the money can't be paid," Huang Qing said. , the local "rule" is that gamblers should get cash back immediately after leaving the casino. If they say the casino has been taken away, they are actually asking for money from junk operators.
His experience is not an isolated case. In a WeChat group with hundreds of people working in Macau, people often send messages about not getting commissions. "You take a client who wins or loses tens of thousands, and the casino gives you a commission. If you take a big customer, and you lose 1 million, can you really take away 700,000 or 500,000?" Huang Qing was indignant, "These people are not reliable. You dare not call the police even if they hack you."
Huang Qing's prediction was good. The casino in Liuhe Town where he once took gamblers was not closed down by the police. The day after he was "hacked" and lost his commission, a reporter from the Beijing News entered the casino. The venue was still lively: Junket operators were walking between the betting rooms and gaming tables, gamblers were placing bets, and the casino was full of smiles. The official rang the silver bell in front of him again and again, "Buy and leave!"
An underground casino near Zhaoshangcheng Road in Wuxi City was filled with gamblers after dark. Photographed by Beijing News reporter
Beijing News Investigation Team
