As soon as the other guy was interested in the watch, I knew it was a scam.

It reminded me of the "found wallet" scam that I heard Penn Jillette talk about on a podcast once.

Basically, some guy comes up to you and says that you dropped your wallet, you obviously tell the guy that it's not your wallet. Then the two of you call the guy to get the wallet back to the right owner. The guy tells you on the phone that he'll give you a $500 reward. The other guy says he can't wait around, so then you're supposed to offer him $250 in cash (thinking that you'll be collecting $500 from this guy). Maybe sometimes you actually get a cheque made out in your name, but obviously it doesn't cash.

It reminded me of the ring scam in zombie land.

Yeah it's a very old scam similar to the ones featured in Zombieland and Shade with the wedding ring lost at the gas station.

This one seems more risky than most because the dude could have just walked away with the money they "found" and Jimmy wouldn't really have had much recourse.

The worst risk is losing 1k.

The second worst is losing 500 (the guy splits the money).

He's obviously choosing marks he both thinks will fall for the scam and are from out of town (traveling money and won't report that they got scammed when they get home). For him, reading the people he's scamming is a big part of the scam. There's a big reason why he's spending so much time with them getting them nice and liquored up.

That and it's a TV show. In real life I'm not sure this scam would be profitable, especially having to split the times it is successful with a partner. The show showed the best possible outcome out of several possible outcomes.

1. Guy takes watch gives Saul the wallet + extra money
2. Guy takes watch, but doesn't give Saul extra money
3. Guy takes money and doesn't care about the watch
4. Guy takes money and the watch
5. Guy doesn't take money or watch

It just seems to me that there are more reliable ways to hustle. I'm not bashing the scene, I liked it, I thought it was funny, I understand it's a television show.

Nunnehi, that is all pretty obvious, but it's also the reason why the Zombieland scam is better. At worst, you are out the ****ty jewelry.

I really liked this episode.

I think the best part about the watch scam scene was the reveal. When the other guy got up and walked up behind Saul and reached out to grab him I thought a Saul beat down was about to happen. Having them just do a high five hand shake thing was a great way to release the built up tension. Moments like that are a big part of what makes these shows enjoyable imo.

The billboard hero ruse was definitely planned out. I'm not entirely sure if that was the plan before even putting the billboard up or if it became the plan after the cease and desist order. I'd like to think it was the plan from the get go.

I also really enjoyed the scene where Chuck goes out to grab the neighbors paper. Well shot and it did a great job of showing Chucks moral compass compared to his brothers.

Regarding camping only 5 miles from their home, the people that kidnapped Elizabeth Smart camped out only several miles from her home after the kidnapping.

The way the con works is that the money in the wallet is also counterfeit.

I didn't catch a quote, but he did ask for his hair to be curled like Tony Curtis' in Spartacus, which continues the theme that he continually misinterprets the movies he's referencing.

Also, the girl inviting him to see The Thing seems deliberately chosen. And the obvious allusion to The Sting in the opening scene. The don't just rhyme, they're both films about not being able to trust anyone.

Does the Bible count? "And on this rock I shall build my church."

If they were real cute they'd load the wallet with fake cash. Still a good scam, roundhouse kicks, buttholes, what else do you need.

Small detail they coulda left out: Saul passing the bribe to his accomplice right after the rescue. They're being filmed, no reason to do that there. It's clear it's a scam from the dialog, and we the viewer can safely assume he'd pay him in a safer way.

I think he just discreetly shook his hand. The money was dealt with off camera.

why does it have to be real $$?

Lol i didn't even consider that it may be counterfeit.

The stunt gets exposed, the name Jimmy McGill becomes dirt, hello Saul Goodman.

I think there's definitely some possibility that he will be forced to change his name via lawsuit based on what they set up.

There's no way that he would not be allowed to use his own name, though.

Pretty sure every defense attorney is required to make the same joke.


Me neither as that is an entirely different genre of crime. Plus that is something you can be green handed with, whereas the found wallet scheme can't be detected unless someone talks.

The cash was real.

How would they even report a scam when the scam involved them attempting to rob some drunk in an alley?

I can't be the only one thinking "Classic Sawyer ep", right?

Exactly. He can't say that Saul robbed/scammed him by giving him a fake watch, etc. because he committed a crime to get it (it's the whole robbing drug dealers type thing). There's obviously a very particular personality type Saul went for in this scam. Since the mark doesn't live there, there isn't much danger of Saul getting into trouble over it with the actual guy, especially since the guy really has no idea how dangerous Saul is anyway.

The "best" thing about the scam was that Saul did absolutely nothing but let the guy make all the wrong moves.

The money was definitely fake. Seemed pretty obvious as soon as the scam became apparent.

Sawyer had the primitive version selling watches with the shill running in to buy one. Both Saul and Sawyer do the same basic fraud on the value of the watch.

Source?