Macau police have cracked a gambling scam in which conmen fleeced mainland tourists out of millions of patacas in luxury hotel suites that had been turned into fake casinos.
One gambler was cheated out of 10 million patacas (HK$ 9.5 million), but police have yet to determine how many victims were involved and how much had been lost.
Officers seized 100 million patacas worth of fake chips.
Police said gang members had approached one or two potential big customers on the mainland and lured them with tales about the scale of the gambling business.
Hooked customers were then brought across the border and taken to the suites, which appeared to be genuine gambling halls with security staff, dealers and even other customers - all members of the syndicate.
A number of presidential and corporate suites in several luxury hotels, including the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel, were used for the elaborate scams.
'Public relations' staff would offer the unsuspecting punters drinks spiked with drugs and then cheat them. Gang members would also cheat when dealing the cards.
