Grunching and it's likely been suggested already but if not PokerStars should implement 'laptop lockboxes' at all EPT and other major live events they run. Just as you have a lockbox at Bellagio or Aria for your cash/chips, there should be a service at each major stop that allows players to store their laptops in a secure and locked place so they can play in the casino without having to either a) carry their laptop everywhere they go or b) worry/panic that their laptop is not safe in their room.

This service should be implemented immediately.

WTF Stars!?

Lee: Stars is typically ahead of the curve on stuff like this. Why was the reaction from your security rep so poor? Why did it take you so long to take this seriously, when every hour that elapsed cost you valuable time to investigate and ID the perps?

What happened here? We've obv only gotten one side of the story so far, but Stars coming across nearly as inept as hotel - well...only b/c I expect so much more from Stars. A hotel in Europe? Yeah, I've got no confidence in them from the get-go, even highly-ranked ones. Stars, though? I've come to expect more.

EDIT (and yeah: call the police FFS)

wow...so so sick, good luck with your investigation

Insane story, inb4 sick soul reads at 50/100+ PLO by new accounts.

speechless.

Even in america you should lock away computers in hotel room. Maids have been known to steal them.

When i was in france they closed the louvre because of a new pickpocket scam.

Theoretically, yes. There have been vulnerabilities in various apps (MS Office included) where an intentionally mangled data file such as a Word or Excel document can be used to compromise a vulnerability in software, particularly relating to how those apps handle macros/scripting.

Lawyers cost a lot. Maybe he can't afford it/doesn't think the cost is worth the potential reward

Genuinely stunned by this. It really sounds like the hotel staff are doing everything to not help. I really hope you get to the bottom of it, Jeans.

TBF this type of stuff happens in all big cities world wide as there are lots of tourists so its not different from anywhere else in the world you should always be wary where ever you are

This similar story happen in Thailand (Phuket) not so long ago: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29...unity-1286064/

And I know another story like that also but cant remember the guy name.

Do not play on that laptop until ur 100% sure u have no trojan or other **** on it. Vilain will sit you and own u knowing ur hole cards. The trojan might be inside ur favorite video game, so u start to play for example diablo 3 and boom hes inside ur computer.

OP (and all other potential victims), as already voiced in several posts here from other 2p2ers, I - running a company heavily relying on its IT infrastructure - also strongly advise you to buy a new notebook and get rid of the old one. In the end it's a business tool for you and the expenses for a new one should be a joke compared to the potential monetary loss. Keeping the old notebook is big time -EV IMO.

lol what? The guy had physical access to his computer. So rather than just installing his monitoring program directly, he decided to make it install next time he plays diablo 3?

Sites like Tripadviser, Yelp etc. are corrupt, and this is well documented. As a business entity, if you are in good standing with these ratings sites (aka pay fees) they will filter out the bad reviews and bring positive reviews to the top of the list. The rating sites will also do the opposite, basically a blackmail scheme.

In all fairness the well documented cases of this are typically surrounding smaller businesses, so I can't speak in absolute terms for ratings of larger entities - but I can't imagine it being any different.

Anyway - posting poor reviews for a 5 star hotel on a site like tripadviser is as useful as voting for the Green Party.

GL op.

This.

Just got back from the meeting, which was delayed 2½ hours. Lee Jones information was incorrect, the police had not yet been notified. There has been two people caught on the security camera in Ignats case, pokerstars asked us if we wanted to bring in the police which Ignat me and Henri agreed we wanted to. The pokerstars security manager then went away for a while and came back. He told us his contacts tell him to leave the local police out of it as they wouldn't really understand too much of the case, but bring in the national police which now has been done. They have a unit that is specialized on gambling crimes and will start investigating this thing right tomorrow morning. I'll be leaving back to finland tomorrow morning and will be in contact with the pokerstars security by phone from there, and I made sure that they will notify the national police about this thread.
When I'm back in Finland I'll read through the new comments and will try answer any questions but for now I'm just exhausted.

A good thing OP and others weren't against more sophisticated criminals. If they can gain access to the room, it doesn't take much to have a crew of 4-5 guys watch the individuals to monitor how soon they will be returning to their room. The missing laptop/returning laptop is just crazy. An organized group would be smarter. This makes a high stakes touring regular less likely to be involved IMO....

Good luck Jeans, this situation is just a mess. I wonder if PokerStars can no longer comment in this thread because it's a legal matter at this point? I was happy Lee popped into the other thread so quickly, just seems that their absence has been rather noticeable in this thread.

Only other thought I had was something about the key entry log keeps bothering me, the timing of the employees entering the room(house keeping, room service, and minibar service), they all seem too close in time to some of the other entries, and I can't put my finger on it, but I've read through the logs like 6 times and I keep reopening the thread and reading through those logs, and something is sticking out in my mind as being strange.

I think the one obvious thing that I haven't seen stated yet, is that this was obviously premeditated, and someone who is involved in the poker community. It's definitely no coincidence two of the most profitable PLO players got targeted. This means the hotel is likely not in on it unless someone was bribed or cut in on the job, or one of the people who worked at the hotel was already in the poker community.

These crimes are insanely stupid, and obvious. I"m surprised there are so many desperate attempts to mess with players laptops these days. It's a form of robbery that people don't seem to take serious, when in fact it can be worse than robbing someone of their wallet in the street.

Jeans I would make sure to change all of your online banking information as well. Any kind of sensitive information could be compromised.

The cops reaction is gonna be like PokerStars reaction was at first. PS thought it was an isolated case and even though they "cared", you know, it's still a problem among many problems..

then comes the next report.. and the next.. and soon it grabs their attention.

You gotta go to the cops in numbers, or a lot of "isolated" cases. You have to GeT THEir ATteNTioN before you'll get their attention. If PS could offer their presence as well that would help. All people need is a little kick in the ass to waken them up to the reasons why they became cops/security in the first place. Show them this story still needs a hero. Everybody wants to be a hero.

THIS

It is probably smart to not even bring your laptop to stops in Spain, Italy, etc where you can't play anyway. Or have a separate non-poker laptop...

LOL @ all the comments about Spain. Its western Europe, there might be some corrupt cops but not any more than in the US. Its a first world country ffs in a 5* hotel....

Have you guys checked the rooms phone records. They could prove useful in some way.

This seems like a smart idea.

Thanks for the update Jeans. Take care of yourself. Get some rest. Cheers and good luck mate!

I only read the first post of the thread.
I am currently staying at ARTS Hotel and I did receive some calls where no one responded and hung up right away.

Before reading the story, I just thought somebody misdialed twice. What's more scary is that I was rarely in my room except at night time and the one time I stayed during the afternoon, I received some strange calls.

My keys always worked though and I never had to change. The strange thing is that we had 2 roomkeys for my gf and I, and we lost one but are still unsure if it's us dropping it somewhere or the robber stealing it. I realize I'm stupid for letting a key in the room whenever I was with my girlfriend and that we only needed a key