Recently I've been faced with three ethical situations related to gambling & cheating that I wasn't sure how to handle. Here's the first:

I'm walking on one of the pedestrian overpasses along the strip, and I see two guys with a3 card monte setup. They are talking to two chubby rubes in their early 20s who are wearing t-shirts from a large mid-western state college. The rubes look intrigued and are watching the game closely as "the rules" are being explained to them. Should I tip them off that it's a scam, or keep walking and minding my own business? What would you do?

keep walking, if you're that dumb you get what you deserve (please, name the college, and PLEASE SAY IT'S OHIO STATE!!!!). not worth getting stabbed over (later when the locals see you walking by again at night).

if you think stopping it will get you some good luck, feign stupidity: "oh holy [censored], i've always wanted to play this game." then pick the wrong card intentionally on their setup run, yell at them for rigging the game, and leave.

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"I would rather make the gravest of mistakes than surrender my own judgment. "

let it slide. if they can take some $ from the sheep more power to them lol.

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"i dont feel like its possible for a woman to feel that murder is morally wrong if she isnt a republican and support the tea party" ~TBC

If you REALLY care, go find LVMPD and tell 'em what's going on. But I find watching these things pretty solid entertainment. The guys who do it are damned good at it, so it's like seeing a free magic show (free to you, not necessarily free to the college boys).

Don't even give it a second thought, if these guys are really so dumb to give their money away, thats their fault and they will learn the hard way, through their pockets !!
Getting involved can only cause you grief, carry on walking

I would keep walking. As far as scams are concerned, the damage this one causes are on the low end. If you tip these guys off, there will be others to come by shortly enough. If you can tip off the police to catch them, by all means. One other thing to consider, there is nothing to indicate these two guys are not confederates. You may be tipping off the very people that are doing the scam.

I wouldn't say anything. We have those guys in Frisco also and and they have stabbed a few people over the years. Id let Metro know. People have lost thousands to these guys.

Definitely could be the shills that you're warning.

I'll echo others: if people don't know three card monte is a scam, that's their fault; haven't they ever watched Law & Order?

Personally, I usually stop and watch the guys to try and catch the slight of hand. It's scary how often it's impossible to detect.

I think a picture is worth a thousand words except for the following "caption":


I can think of three ways for you to work off that double-or-nothing bet you just lost...

What I did:

Like everyone else, I kept walking. I think I felt worse about doing nothing than most, though. I don't agree with those who said that people who are dumb enough to be taken deserve it, but it did cross my mind that:



A funny (to me) epilogue to the story. I was walking back over the same bridge around dawn after the strip had emptied out, and the guys with the 3 card monte setup were still there. They called to me and two tourists walking past them to check out their game. One of the tourists agreed, but only if he could show the two hustlers a card trick first. The Monte guys agreed, and then the tourist said he'd only show it to them if they tipped him first. All 5 of us got a laugh out of that.



And yes, NegligencePerSe, they were wearing Ohio State shirts.