Last month, we ran a story on how some Wisconsin gas stations are making people pay to charge their smartphones. While this doesn’t sound like a huge deal, the problem is that these gas-station-charging stations work like slot machines and are bilking players out of $60 per hour. And as I explained through math, these “gasinos” cause you to lose at 10 times the rate as a regular online slot!
The City of Milwaukee, WI has decided to act on these gasinos, pulling the plug on them until the matter can be sorted out in court. And one of the main catalysts behind this decision is a homeless gambler named Nate Garski.
According to FOX6 News, Garski has lost over $8,000 while playing these pseudo slot machines at the Stadium Citgo gas station. To add insult to injury, the former drug addict and convicted felon was eventually kicked out of the establishment by the owner, Mohsin Bukhar.
“He was an annoying guy,” said Bukhar. “He drinks booze over there, but our cashier tried to stop him and then he started fighting with them. We called the cops once or twice.”
Regardless of Garski’s behavior, he’s sparked a major news story in the Milwaukee area and has fueled outrage over the gasinos.
“Where are you getting that kind of money to put in these machines?” asked FOX6 Investigator Bryan Polcyn.
“I pretty much spend everything I get a month on these things,” Garski explained.
After Garski was kicked out of Stadium Citgo, he waged a personal war and has pointed out that only Wisconsin bars & restaurants are allowed to have video gambling machines.
“‘You want to go tit-for-tat? You guys ain’t a bar. You can’t even have machines,'” Garski recalled in a conversation with the gas station clerk. “You know what they said to me? ‘Oh what are you going to do about it?'”
The Wisconsin Department of Justice has now declared these mobile phone chargers/slot machines to be illegal. But the gas stations using these devices are now suing the state, meaning this isn’t a closed case yet.