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36 die of suffocation in botched Philippines casino robbery

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by vegasmeister, Jun 2, 2017.

  1. vegasmeister

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  2. Natedog666

    Natedog666 Gold
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    Yeah was there a few years ago. Didn't like the guards with assault rifles everywhere...never went back
     
  3. vegasmeister

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    "Even the security personnel panicked. Maybe because of the heavy firearm, they can't put up a fight so they prioritized life and safety," Jeff Santos, a gambler, told a local radio station, according to Reuters. "Definitely us patrons we did not expect that, everyone ran away."

    Maybe the guards didn't have their assault rifles. You would think they would have shot the guy instead of running away.
     
  4. Hoofy7

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    I feel bad for the people. Reminds me of all the people who died in the fire at MGM ( Bally's) years ago. I'm still not sure how he would be able to cash those chips if he got away though????
     
  5. 44inarow

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    If I had to guess, there were probably a couple things at play. One, the guards do have assault rifles, but I'd be willing to bet that they don't have any expectation of ever actually having to use them. Second, my understanding of what happened was that although the guy had a gun, the primary attack was when he ran in and started setting the table felts on fire, which could have easily freaked out the guards. And third, if they were well-trained enough (and I'd like to hope that they were), it wouldn't have been a good idea to start shooting through the smoke, where they would have been just as likely to hit a patron as they were the robber.

    Also, bear in mind that all the deaths were from smoke inhalation in a hotel room, not on the main floor; even if the guards had shot him quickly, that still might not have saved those people. Think back to the MGM Grand fire, where most of the deaths happened up in the hotel tower. You'd hope that a property built in 2013 would have had better fire safety technology, but who knows.
     
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  6. 44inarow

    44inarow Cool Story Bro

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    If this were a well-planned operation (which I doubt it was), if you stick to lower-denomination chips then those are easier to launder. Even at newer resorts like Aria, they don't have RFID chips or do any sort of verification on reds and greens. Sort of like how the $20 is the most commonly-counterfeited bill in the US; most places will check the validity of a $100 bill, but wouldn't think twice about taking a $20 unless it was obviously fake.
     
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  7. tringlomane

    tringlomane Theoretical Video Poker Addict
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    You sure about that?

    I read it as the smoke inhalation deaths happened on the 2nd gaming floor. One thing is clear though, casino equipment is pretty flammable. :(

    This CNN article updated the total dead to 37 and ISIS claiming responsibility, ugh.

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/01/asia/resorts-world-manila-philippines/index.html
     
  8. Natedog666

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    The security personnel get minimum wage, and are not previously law enforcement or anything, so I would assume they would run away at the first sign of trouble
     
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  9. 44inarow

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    I was just going by the USA Today article. I'd seen the second floor gaming space thing, too, though a hotel room makes more sense, or just some other kind of enclosed space. No matter where it happened, it's terrible, for sure.

    I saw the ISIS thing too, but without getting into politics, I don't buy it. ISIS would claim responsibility for the broken escalator at my subway stop if they could. There's no downside to them for claiming they were behind any scary incident. From everything I've read, I'd be a little surprised if this guy actually meant to kill anyone; every indication is a robbery gone wrong in the most unfortunate way possible. He probably figured he could start the fires, scare everyone off, grab the chips, and get away.

    All the more reason it's for the better they didn't start shooting! I think I read that the only actual gunshot wound was to one of the guards who accidentally shot himself.
     
  10. r2p332

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    The guards there doesn't have assault rifle. Its either handgun or shotgun.
     
  11. Natedog666

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    My bad, I can't really tell the difference , just a big long gun...
     
  12. blue808

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  14. tringlomane

    tringlomane Theoretical Video Poker Addict
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    @Sindustry is disappoint!



    Thanks for sharing. Feel like security dropped the ball, but I'm no expert. I would hope Resorts World Las Vegas would do better though!
     
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  15. blue808

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    What was interesting to me was that it seemed like he knew exactly what room to go to where the chips were stored instead of grabbing chips from tables on the casino floor...
     
  16. 44inarow

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    To be honest, I think the bigger problem was infrastructure -- security apparently hit and wounded him, but once the tables were on fire, it was letting the smoke/CO2 spread through the property that led to the deaths, so even if security had taken him down right away, I have a feeling the outcome could have nonetheless been just as bad.

    By the way, it turns out we were both half-right on the location. The report I read today said that they were indeed in an enclosed room, but off the second-level gaming floor. Which makes sense, it seemed odd that you'd have so many people in a room on a non-public floor, but the only way you get smoke inhalation casualties like that is if it's in an enclosed space.

    Also, they've been reporting that it was indeed an attempted robbery. The guy supposedly had huge gambling debts and had recently lost his job; he'd also been barred from the casino at the request of his family (some countries have exclusion lists like that, where you can petition to have a family member barred rather than having to self-exclude). It definitely makes much more sense than terrorism.
     
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