Hearing voices in your head, PX ?

There is a huge difference between posting that scamming is an ongoing criminal behavior that needs to be addressed and calling someone some insult, i.e what seems to be your favorite catch phrase/acronym... "POS".

Hey, do you get that thread's value was in alerting poker players to an ongoing scam, by Michael Borovetz. The various distractions that filled 189 pages might obscure the behavior of concern, that Mike attempts to scam as his career.

What does this have to do with anything in this thread? Mike hasn't boned a woman in 14 yrs. Pai gow is da take bro, your cliche is bad.

I wonder where I fit into the Cliffs. My stance more or less boils down to "Mike, you're a scammer and a thief. Get help." I suspect there are more of this variety than the Cliffs suggest, so much so that the "sympathizers" and "trolls" are each a tiny minority (although maybe not in actual number of posts).

No, he just knows that Mike only answers questions that bring sympathy for himself, and answering this question would just make him look more pathetic than he already is.

one thing i havent seen asked yet (since u ignored my last questions i doubt u will answer this) but why in the world did u need to stay in $200 a night hotels all the time when u are broke as can be?

its amazing that people at the airport are like sure ya let me put u up in a luxury hotel for the night instead of giving u money for motel 6



if you think about this going on for over 10 years, and sometimes getting thousand+ dollar buy ins for mtts......... he easily must have scammed 100k+ and given it to the casinos..... so gross

Far to many people posting here have a unhealthy infatuation with Mike….

my 2nd post in the thread is an infatuation?


im infatuated with the fact that there are enough suckers out there to consistently give him hundreds of dollars over and over and over and over for a 10 year period

but him as a person........ couldnt care less

I'm infatuated with how someone can win $150k in one session of Pai Gow ... and even more infatuated with understanding the sick mind that could lose it all back in 45 minutes.

I want to understand ... and I also hope Mike gets well and makes amends to his victims ... but that's pretty far down the road for him right now.

I agree, and Mike you should make the step, self ban for 6 months any casino you can find. I have actually seen people arrested for tresspassing because they self banned and showed up. It's no joke. Self ban ... RIGHT OFF ... like a bandaid. You can do it Mike.

I'd say GL, but ... ya know.

Michael syndrome, or offender-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which victims express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward the criminal, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them. These feelings are generally considered irrational. The FBI's Database System shows that roughly 8% of victims show evidence of Michael syndrome.

Michael syndrome can be seen as a form of traumatic bonding, which does not necessarily require an airport scenario, but which describes "strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other." One commonly used hypothesis to explain the effect of Michael syndrome is based on Freudian theory. It suggests that the bonding is the individual's response to trauma in becoming a victim. Identifying with the aggressor is one way that the ego defends itself. When a victim believes the same values as the aggressor, they cease to be a threat.

Epic thread, though last pages were quite repeative and boring.

Many good advices in thread about relocation and so on (with lots of spam), but I would guess that starting a new life with humble beginning is no real option at all. My best bet for good solution would be that if Mike would find another addiction that would spend most of his time instead of scamming people to get money to gamble on -EV games. Social security and World of Warcraft?

This topic right now is nothing more than overused bread and circus-stuff though.

you keep saying it is "criminal". While it may be a false story, what crime is he committing? Seriously. Explain the law he is breaking, or stop calling it criminal.

[Not a lawyer, so waiting to be smacked down on this. 'Larceny by trick' also seems to match the situation.]

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Nrs/NRS-2...l#NRS205Sec380

NRS 205.380  Obtaining money, property, rent or labor by false pretenses.

1.  A person who knowingly and designedly by any false pretense obtains from any other person any chose in action, money, goods, wares, chattels, effects or other valuable thing, including rent or the labor of another person not his or her employee, with the intent to cheat or defraud the other person, is a cheat, and, unless otherwise prescribed by law, shall be punished

I'm not a lawyer either ... but my advice would be, you should not give legal advice unless you are one.

And even then, you should probably follow anything you say in writing with a disclaimer.

I have already explained that even if it were technically a crime, it would never be prosecuted. The cops would have to follow the 'scammer' to verify that he did not spend the money at Ramada. The witness would have to fly to Vegas and then back home to attend the trial. One or two resets would be 2 to 3 round trip flights. Max fine is $1000.00 for this offense. It would never be prosecuted.

I didn't offer any legal advice or state that it was likely that he would be prosecuted if it was "technically" a crime. Somebody asked what crime was committed.

OK, care to elaborate on the bolded part? Why isn't it a real option?

Also, getting oneself addicted to a computer game on purpose is the worst idea ever too. Sounds like an awesome life, living on social security and playing world of warcraft for the rest of his life. What a plan.

Start playing Hearthstone on a twitch-stream for subs and donations imo.

How does Mike save enough money for his internet bill and a place to stay? It seems like in his mind Pai Gow is the #1 priority. Maybe he's learned to realize he needs food/shelter to keep himself playing. But, it seems like internet would be the last thing someone like him would spend money on. Unless of course he's playing pai gow online or other sorts of online degenning.

I'd like to self ban myself from this thread so I stop looking at this trainwreck. It's become sad and unproductive.
Pretty much all it's good for now is endless bickering amongst posters and an avenue for Mike to garner more sympathy and keep his vicious cycle going.
If he wasn't scamming I'm pretty sure he would have snap denied it.
And just because it isn't an enforceable crime doesn't mean it's ok.

$100k scammed is probably a very low estimate. Multiply that by at least 5 or 10.

So if you play poker and pull off a bluff you are a criminal?

Ok then stop coming to the thread. This thread is for discussion regarding Michael Borovetz and how he has scammed people. If you can't stay on topic then don't post.

If only it were that easy...

If you legit want to ban yourself from the thread that's what you need to do, there's no such thing as a thread self-ban that can be software enforced.

Or I could just ban you ever time you post in here from now on. 1 day, 2 day, 3 day, then a perma if you keep going.

Of course it is easy for regular people to say that start over, it takes a rare man to start over about at age of 40, go to some McWork with small wage 15 years after graduating from University and having been playing and losing with thousands of dollars.

It doesn't have to be computer game, but even it would a hell lot better for society and poker community if he'd follow that path instead of road "scam to get money to play Pai Gow". If he would actually like it it would probably be better for him, too.

About the money and addiction issue, it doesn't even look likely without some guardianship to take care of his money and bills that McWork would last very long before Pai Gow's call.