Pyrpolizer wrote:Paphitis wrote:Pyrpolizer wrote:Paphitis wrote:miltiades wrote:Tell me, throughout your life how many days have you spent in Cyprus?
I will take a guess and say about 30 days in all
You know little if anything about Cyprus. Now you day you went to this gambling place on 3 occasions
You had free drinks at all 3 times. Perhaps they took you for a ...spy or secret service .I wonder how many Cypriots enjoy free drinks at this joint. In my younger days I visited many casinos here in london where meals and drinks were provided to members only since they knew that suckered such as those who gamble would end up paying through the. Nose. Tell us now how much did you ( for GR ) loose ???
Quite a great many days to be more knowledgeable about the darker side of the island than both you and Pyro.
Go and visit that place I told you and see for yourself.
However, you won't be getting any free drinks because all they would see in you is just some loser patsogero, or someone they can feed on.
They didn't with me. I drank for free and was given a lot of attention. Why? Well you try and work it out because the only thing I can figure out is that I grabbed their attention as someone to watch. Either way, I wasn't going to cause trouble for them because I am no idiot and actually value my life and want to grow old.
I walked in and got their attention for some reason.
These guys probably even knew where I was staying because they probably might of even followed me or tried to. But I am not an idiot as I told you and took dummy routes. I remember being very conscious of being cautious.
There is no question in my mind that the people who owned that establishment were not your typical good samaritans either.
You were simply a candidate fish in a gambling house.
The procedure you described fits 100% and be sure by the 2nd time you visited they knew everything about you.
These people rarely miss a candidate fish, they even have specially trained stuff, and watch people's responses through CCTV
Once caught the fish gets out broke within maximum 2 weeks.
Sure I can accept the fish line. Only problem, I didn't see any CCTV. I looked. But maybe there were CCTV hidden in strange non obvious places. You can get them the size of a button these days. They can be found in all kinds of gadgets and ornaments. This wasn't your typical Monte Carlo Casino either. It was much smaller and well not like the ones in Monte Carlo or Las Vegas or Macau where they do have CCTV covering every inch. They don't give you free drinks in those establishments either. You would instead be paying resort prices.
The other problem, is that they knew I wasn't there for the gambling after they started talking to me probably trying to suss me. I even gave them a sob story which was all true and they knew I was drowning my sorrows.
But they still didn't take any money. Not a cent and the drinks just came one after the other with no questions asked. Why?
My only guess is that they didn't believe my sob story. But a cop wouldn't get smashed either. Look I can't work it out, because it doesn't make a lot of sense. But I felt reasonably safe because all I had to do is be as sensible as I could even after being under the influence. I was at times worried because the behavior was unusual.
And I did take a long route home via a few detours. For example, I would stop at the Periptero etc etc. well lit and people around.
You described a place with 50 slot machines which is totally illegal here in Cyprus and I doubt it lasted more than 15 days.
You described a procedure than only makes sense if they were treating you as a candidate fish.
What you haven't told us so far is how on earth you were so sure they were Russians AND NOT some other EU citizens from the Ex confederation of Independent States.
For one Russians residing in Cyprus ARE NOT allowed to work for anything else other than offshore business. The establishment you described was clearly a very local business, which Russians are not permitted to own or run.
And lastly perhaps you should have a look at 2011's census:
http://www.cystat.gov.cy/mof/cystat/sta ... ub=2&sel=2106K Eu citizens
90 K non EU citizens including 10K Russians and about the same number Philippinos.
The Russian population TODAY however is estimated at about 4500 persons. Not that many considering the British alone are about 30K.
And you want us to beleive those people do nothing else here other than engaging in illegal business and money laundering??
You reckon! It might be illegal (not sure) but it exists even now. Cap would know it. It was an imposing building always with 3 to 4 bouncers at the front, a white limousine, and its driver smoking fags. Lots of lights and they had Casino at the front so they were not hiding either.
Yeh 50 slots and tables too as well as poker on a mezzanine level.
100 Euro for the taking. Are you in?
And they were Russian. At least the guys that were hanging with me. Also the young lady bar tender was also Russian. I was talking with them for hours. Also, very thick da accents.
And on top of it, I was under the impression in no uncertain terms either, that these guys were not to be messed with. Drinking their alcohol for free is no problem as they insisted but I wouldn't be disrespectful or anything. Unless you got a death wish and want to suicide.
If you were no threat to them, they would be no threat to you so to speak.
Now these businesses are always in the fringes of legality. And in Cyprus you can do anything you like because your police probably leave them alone and don't enforce the law because they are Orthodoxi with icons in the Casino and so on.
Therefore, good Orthodoxi can't be Crimes.
And what the he'll is it with Mafioso and Church anyway. The familia were good Catholic boys too.
