It’s not that Italians aren’t eager to gamble. Police in Potenza, Italy recently broke up an illegal gambling ring in an operation appropriately dubbed ‘game over.’ In addition to being unlicensed, the ring’s slot machines and computers offering video poker were demonstrably unfair. According to Gazzetta del Sud, police wiretaps revealed one of the ring’s organizers bragging that the machines had been rigged so that punters had but one chance in 7,000 of winning money. The illicit operation, which had servers based in Eastern Europe and Florida, allegedly earned the network’s manager up to €150k per day. Police claimed some of the ring’s unlucky punters/victims had lost “up to €1m” apiece.
It’s not known how those slot players who were cheated out of €1m reacted to the news that they’d been scammed, but if the axe-wielding Italian punter in the video below is any indication, it would be wise to keep them away from sharp objects and/or blunt instruments.