In the past month three bars in the Rio Claro area were robbed. Police said in each case patrons and proprietors were beaten. This string of crimes has triggered the police to issue a warning to bar owners, who agree to rent their bars out to Chinese nationals roulette machines, to be aware of the risks.
A police source told the T&T Guardian an increased number of bars with the electronic gambling machines were being targeted by bandits who knew large sums of cash were kept in-house. Each roulette machine can be configured to make its own maximum payout depending on its popularity. The limit of this differs from bar to bar.
While the machines do not pay out the cash, bartenders are provided with a pool of money called a “float”, from which they dispense to winners. It was for that reason more and more bars with the gambling device were targeted by bandits, police said.
All three bars robbed in Rio Claro had roulette machines installed and were targeted by bandits as they were about to close. An officer said bars that were normally slow and would not have previously been targeted have now become vulnerable and prime targets because of the machines.
Although police could not confirm a link between the robberies, they said a group of four men, with at least one carrying a gun, was responsible. The Rio Claro CID is currently reviewing CCTV footage from all three establishments in the hope of catching the robbers.