The business owners say its not gambling. Instead, they say Brink is playing a sweepstakes game at an Internet sweepstakes cafe. Unlike gambling and games at casinos, they said there is no chance involved at 3 of Diamonds and that anyone can play for free.
The cafe is one of about a dozen Internet sweepstakes cafes that have popped up throughout southeast Michigan over the last year.
Brink said he prefers sweepstakes games and 3 of Diamonds to gambling at a casino.
Theres no smoking here, its very relaxed, all-around very comfortable and its easy to get to, said Brink, who lives in Livonia but works in Ann Arbor. It just has a nice atmosphere with big screens and a lot of different games.
But a new brochure issued by the Michigan Attorney Generals Office says the sweepstakes operations are of questionable legality.
Mike Bergen, owner of 3 of Diamonds, emphasizes that the sweepstakes games are not another form of gambling a point underscored by multiple signs posted throughout the business in the Colonnade shopping center.
Heres how it works: When customers visit 3 of Diamonds, they purchase a phone card that is good for calls anywhere in the world. Customers receive a set amount of sweepstake points as a promotional giveaway with the phone card. At 3 of Diamonds, a $25 phone card will get a customer 3,000 sweepstake points.
Those points are then used to play a game, which can resemble slot machines, dice or keno based games.
When a player spins on any turn on any of the games, they are given an electronic ticket with 10-digit number that appears somewhere on the computer screen. That number is supplied by the software company that produces the games for 3 of Diamonds, and it is already predetermined to be a winning number or losing number.
Winning ticket numbers already have a predetermined win point value, and the software then generates a winning spin that will give the player win points, which can be cashed out for money.
If, for example, Brink received a ticket number on Soda Pop that had a win point value of $50, the software on the computer would line up the bottle caps in such a way that he wins $50. But those bottle caps lining up wasnt chance – the computer was programmed to line them up in the winning order because of the predetermined winning ticket number.
Because no purchase is required for sweepstakes, 3 of Diamonds will give customers 100 free sweepstake points if they ask.
But, at the end of the day, people are putting down money to win money. So isnt that gambling?
Linda Smith walks her dog Rudy every day, but with the temperatures rising, and Rudy’s age, a simple walk takes a little more preparation than just grabbing the leash.
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