CROWN VEGAS / SUNSET PALACE: insight into, and portrait of, an RTG casino manager

[caruso]

I thought this deserved more prominent display.

Rick, manager of Crown Vegas / Sunset Palace, is looking to acquire player databases. In fact, he wants the whole nine yards: names, email addresses and PHONE NUMBERS.

He's soliciting this on the "Start Casino" board:

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Choice quotes from Rick, when someone expressed their doubts about the morality - and legality? - of asking other casinos to hand over their players' PHONE NUMBERS (for f**k's sake):

I imagine that I make more in a day than you make in a year. So please keep your comments to yourself, loser. Cheers, Rick.

Why are you involved in this thread in the first place? This is an industry board, idiot. Nothing here concerns you, run along now.

This is the front man of two casinos of one of the four main software providers. In fact, Crown Vegas was, some time back, the only RTG casino featured at Casinomeister, if memory serves me correctly.

Rick, would you care to comment on your gross lack of professionalism? Soliciting this kind of invasion of players' privacy in the first place, then calling the poster who questioned the request an "idiot" and a "loser"?

He's a member here, to:

https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/members/rick-crownvegas.4817/)

Do RTG management condone this kind of thing? Is it even legal?

Originally mentioned in the Club Player thread:

https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/club-player-hijinks.8948/

 

[unicorn40]

Rick and Crown Vegas

What a nice and friendly attitude for a new casino owner to have.

I certainly won't be surprised to see numerous posts in the ONLINE CASINO COMPLAINTS forum about Crown Vegas and whatever other casino you own.

Great way to try to get new players, by buying data bases and then SPAMMING people.

I now know at least one casino I won't ever try.

 

[funeralparty]

I see in Rick's profile that he mentions having over 10,000 happy customers.
I wonder how happy they would be knowing they are depositing with someone with the business sense of a 5 year old. Or maybe thats giving him too much credit.

Happy to report though that my Crown Vegas account has been locked for quite some time

 

[The Dude]

What a nice and friendly attitude for a new casino owner to have.

Please don't confuse the owners with their managers

 

[unicorn40]

Please don't confuse the owners with their managers

Posted by Rick on the Start Casino forum:

I own a number of online casinos and other high volume businesses.

The full quote was this:

I'm sure that I know a little more than you about how this business is run as I own a number of online casinos and other high volume businesses. I imagine that I make more in a day than you make in a year. So please keep your comments to yourself loser.

Cheers
Rick

 

[The Dude]

I know the owner - it ain't Rick

Somebody be spewing some serious BS here. Rick, did you just buy Crown Vegas?

 

[jetset]

A few more choice quotes from these unsavoury folk:

From "Mike" - "And Coaster stop crying about Spam - I know people who make 10k easily daily"

From Rick: "Contact me discreetly, Rick at CrownVegas dot com."

From Rick: "I'm sure that I know a little more than you about how this business is run as I own a number of online casinos and other high volume businesses. I imagine that I make more in a day than you make in a year. So please keep your comments to yourself loser."

But the players had the last word in the sudden silence that followed Coaster's expose:

"It seems your 'tough guy, smart ass' responses are coming back to haunt you."

 

[CrownVegas]

Apologies

Hi everyone,

Just to clarify on what happened. Crownvegas.com recently switched administration. I currently operate it and we had some employee turnovers as well. An ex employee still had access to his email and was taking advantage of it. It's been taken care of, but under no circumstances are we encouraging that type of behavior. We're using traditional advertising and still looking for more, if anyone here has casino portal sites then feel free to contact me. Thanks,

Tony
tony@crownvegas.com
icq 272-017-313

 

[greedygirl]

An ex employee still had access to his email and was taking advantage of it.

If I had a dollar for everytime I've heard this excuse, I'd be busy planning my retirement.

Ok...so just who is this ex-employee? Is it Rick? Is it Mike? Is it Curly or Shemp?

Tony--do YOU own Crown Vegas or does Rick own Crown Vegas?

This all seems a bit slithery.

 

[CrownVegas]

If I had a dollar for everytime I've heard this excuse, I'd be busy planning my retirement.

Ok...so just who is this ex-employee? Is it Rick? Is it Mike? Is it Curly or Shemp?

Tony--do YOU own Crown Vegas or does Rick own Crown Vegas?

This all seems a bit slithery.

While it may not be believable to you, it's in fact true. While most our efforts have been concentrated in ensuring the smooth transaction, we've had a situation like this derail our progress. It's been taken care of right now and it will not happen again.

Crown Vegas/Sunset Palace were in fact sold, if you want to sign a NDA I can provide more details to you. We will be spending more money on advertising, we will be expanding our affiliate program, offering better incentives to affiliates and players, and overall providing a better experience for our casinos. As I've heard from many people, Casinomeister is a mostly unbiased forum and we respect everyone's opinion here. Look for us to be more proactive in ensuring everyone is happy here.

 

[greedygirl]

CV--

Thank you for the reply, however, you did not answer the key question, so I'll rephrase this for you:

Is Rick the ex-employee or is Mike the ex-employee?

It's a fair question, given each of these "gentlemen" were involved in this mess.

 

[jetset]

There was a buzz (rumour) last week that there had been an ownership change. I thought that meant Rick was the new man on the block, God help us.

I guess it would he hoping for too much that this character leaves the industry before doing it any further damage, or has a major epiphany over this incident.

On the other hand he may just be a *****, which does rhyme with his name.

 

[Vesuvio]

An ex employee still had access to his email and was taking advantage of it.

So "Rick@CrownVegas" who signed up here and posted the following is a rogue ex-employee

Sunset Palace is a sister casino to Crown Vegas. Both are under new management, expect to see some exciting player offers and new games shortly.

Cheers
Rick

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What exactly would be in it for him? A power trip? Is this the same rogue ex-employee who posted on start.casino forum? Where's the advantage in his using a CrownVegas e-mail address to solicit databases? Assuming things are as you say, then we have to also assume he's taken the existing CrownVegas database to use for his own ends? Something doesn't quite add up

 

[caruso]

Don't Gambling Federation have the copywrite on the "ex-employee" line?

Yep, those posts were all made here a grand total of three days ago (19th July), by Rick. That was some swift management change, taking a grand total of two days to accomplish.

Also, this "ex-employee" is the chosen representative on the Casinomeister forum for Crown Vegas / Sunset Palace. He clearly IS the "Rick" of the Start casino forum, because why sign up here under that name here, if not? Coincidence??

And tellingly: note when Rick made his initial post at Start Casino, and when he signed up at Casinomeister: 6th July. Coincidence??

Methinks this is not some lowly ex-employee.

The more credible explanation is that the manager of CV / SP is Rick, who recently took over the business, and who managed to get caught with his pants down while involved in shady business negotiations and is currently damage-limiting, in true online casino tradition.

 

[caruso]

There was a buzz (rumour) last week that there had been an ownership change. I thought that meant Rick was the new man on the block

I will guess that you thought right.

 

[CrownVegas]

CV--

Thank you for the reply, however, you did not answer the key question, so I'll rephrase this for you:

Is Rick the ex-employee or is Mike the ex-employee?

It's a fair question, given each of these "gentlemen" were involved in this mess.

Mike does live help. Rick is an ex designer (former employee) that helped with banners and general design work who was the culprit. Actually, I'd like to thank whichever affiliate called in to let us know about the posting, his email might have been active a little longer had we not received the tip.

 

[CrownVegas]

Don't Gambling Federation have the copywrite on the "ex-employee" line?

Yep, those posts were all made here a grand total of three days ago (19th July), by Rick. That was some swift management change, taking a grand total of two days to accomplish.

Also, this "ex-employee" is the chosen representative on the Casinomeister forum for Crown Vegas / Sunset Palace. He clearly IS the "Rick" of the Start casino forum, because why sign up here under that name here, if not? Coincidence??

And tellingly: note when Rick made his initial post at Start Casino, and when he signed up at Casinomeister: 6th July. Coincidence??

Methinks this is not some lowly ex-employee.

The more credible explanation is that the manager of CV / SP is Rick, who recently took over the business, and who managed to get caught with his pants down while involved in shady business negotiations and is currently damage-limiting, in true online casino tradition.

The actual sale took months to finalize. The actual turnover was a couple of weeks ago, the same time Rick decided to signup and attempt to portray as if he was still working for us. The only thing I can do is explain our side of the story the truth. You can icq me and we can talk further, you can email me, whatever you'd like.

 

[CrownVegas]

So "Rick@CrownVegas" who signed up here and posted the following is a rogue ex-employee

What exactly would be in it for him? A power trip? Is this the same rogue ex-employee who posted on start.casino forum? Where's the advantage in his using a CrownVegas e-mail address to solicit databases? Assuming things are as you say, then we have to also assume he's taken the existing CrownVegas database to use for his own ends? Something doesn't quite add up

ok, while I am not Rick so I can't justify his motivation I can only imagine he was looking to either ruin our reputation, or try screwing over people who gave him lists and then have the blame fall on us. Rick did not, will ever not, have access to CV's database, that's secure 100%. He did have access to his email account, that's about it.

 

[greedygirl]

Boy oh boy...this is going to turn into one big ugly can of worms, it appears.

Originally Posted by CrownVegas
The actual sale took months to finalize. The actual turnover was a couple of weeks ago, the same time Rick decided to signup and attempt to portray as if he was still working for us. The only thing I can do is explain our side of the story the truth.

I'd like to be certain I'm clear on this point--Rick was already gone two weeks ago, when he did this nonsense?

Before I go further, I want to be fair and give you a chance to be 100% sure that this is accurate.

 

[CrownVegas]

Boy oh boy...this is going to turn into one big ugly can of worms, it appears.



I'd like to be certain I'm clear on this point--Rick was already gone two weeks ago, when he did this nonsense?

Before I go further, I want to be fair and give you a chance to be 100% sure that this is accurate.

He was fired about 2-3 weeks ago, if you want an exact date, I will have to call our office manager and find out when was the last date he was technically working for us. He did crappy design work, I was pretty blunt about it, not happy with the banners etc..I appreciate it if everyone would be fair, it's not easy entering this industry and the reason I'm here clearing this all up is because I know how important all the details are to run a sucessful operation. The last thing we need is something like this pressing on. Like I said, I'm easy to reach, if you want to talk, I can even pm you a toll free line to reach me, icq, email, whatever you want. Although, I'd like to focus now on growing the actual casinos.

 

[greedygirl]

CV--

I appreciate your quick responses.

Here's what has me a bit perplexed...

Tuesday, July 19th, I received an email from Rick (sent from the very same email address as the one used by Rick in the Start Casino thread):

Please send me your current list of advertising opportunities with prices.

Thanks
Rick

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I replied that due to some prior issues, we'd rather pass at this point.

Wednesday, July 20th, Rick replied (his reply was delivered, once again from the same address used by Rick in the Start Casino thread):

Would you be able to tell me what happened? We are under new management currently and have a very large ad budget.

Now I may not be the brightest bulb here, however, it seems quite odd to me that an employee who you dismissed two weeks ago, would now be actively seeking advertising situations for your casinos.

Originally Posted by CrownVegas
I appreciate it if everyone would be fair, it's not easy entering this industry and the reason I'm here clearing this all up is because I know how important all the details are to run a sucessful operation. The last thing we need is something like this pressing on. Like I said, I'm easy to reach, if you want to talk, I can even pm you a toll free line to reach me, icq, email, whatever you want.

Unfortuately, this is a very public situation you've found yourself in and as such, should be cleared up publicly. I'm certainly trying to be fair, however, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to know something isn't right, here. There are too many inconsistencies throughout this situation, which need to be addressed.

I'll look forward to your response.

 

[CrownVegas]

CV--

I appreciate your quick responses.

Here's what has me a bit perplexed...

Tuesday, July 19th, I received an email from Rick (sent from the very same email address as the one used by Rick in the Start Casino thread):

Please send me your current list of advertising opportunities with prices.

Thanks
Rick

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I replied that due to some prior issues, we'd rather pass at this point.

Wednesday, July 20th, Rick replied (his reply was delivered, once again from the same address used by Rick in the Start Casino thread):

Would you be able to tell me what happened? We are under new management currently and have a very large ad budget.

Now I may not be the brightest bulb here, however, it seems quite odd to me that an employee who you dismissed two weeks ago, would now be actively seeking advertising situations for your casinos.



Unfortuately, this is a very public situation you've found yourself in and as such, should be cleared up publicly. I'm certainly trying to be fair, however, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to know something isn't right, here. There are too many inconsistencies throughout this situation, which need to be addressed.

I'll look forward to your response.

Since he still had access to the email that was him. What I think he was doing was looking for advertising to start his own affiliate sites, probably not with us. There's no way he was getting an affiliate account with us, but he probably wanted to setup something on his own and use our name to get a foot in the door. I understand that you specifically have a thing against RTG operators but like I said, I'm here to clear that misconception and get CrownVegas and SunsetPalace on the map.

 

[The Dude]

Hi CrownVegas,

And welcome to the forum.

I'll be straight up with you here. Something is not kosher. I know the owners of Crown Vegas - I've met with them - had dinner with them - and in Montreal one of them even asked me if or when he could get CV back on board at Casinomeister. I wasn't aware of an ownership change, or a pending one, or whatever. But that's cool. That's not what's bugging me.

Rick@crownvegas.com signed up on the 6th in our forum, and made a few posts - all from the same IP.

He then emails me on the 19th the following:

Delivered-To: ----@casinomeister.com
Delivered-To: ----@casinomeister.com
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 20:45:27 -0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Subject: advertising inquiry
From: "Rick - Crown Vegas Casino" <rick@crownvegas.com>
To: ----@casinomeister.com
Reply-To: rick@crownvegas.com
User-Agent: SquirrelMail/1.4.3a
X-Mailer: SquirrelMail/1.4.3a
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 20 Jul 2005 00:45:27.0970 (UTC) FILETIME=[52BFB020:01C58CC4]

I recently joined your forum and are quite impressed with the quality of
the members, can you please forward me your advertising rate card and/or
what advertising opportunities you have available at your site including
your mailer which I am a subscriber to.

Cheers
Rick Scott

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Now this is came from the exact IP that he signed up with. I also thought it odd that no one at CV briefed him on the relationship between your casino and Casinomeister. Yes, it's correct that CV was listed here. But at a point a couple years ago, I discontinued endorsing casinos based in Costa Rica. Only recently has this changed.

Anyway, why would an ex-employee contact me for advertising? And as I write this, Rick@crownvegas is in the forum right now PMing Schwankwart (yes, I have these powers). He is signed in with the same IP as he has emailed me with. And this IP comes from the same server that is listed in his posts at Start Casino.

So, are you claiming that Rick is a rogue ex-employee who is masquerading as good ex-employee (as from his email dated 19 July), or what?

 

[CrownVegas]

Hi CrownVegas,

And welcome to the forum.

I'll be straight up with you here. Something is not kosher. I know the owners of Crown Vegas - I've met with them - had dinner with them - and in Montreal one of them even asked me if or when he could get CV back on board at Casinomeister. I wasn't aware of an ownership change, or a pending one, or whatever. But that's cool. That's not what's bugging me.

Rick@crownvegas.com signed up on the 6th in our forum, and made a few posts - all from the same IP.

He then emails me on the 19th the following:

Delivered-To: ----@casinomeister.com
Delivered-To: ----@casinomeister.com
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 20:45:27 -0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Subject: advertising inquiry
From: "Rick - Crown Vegas Casino" <rick@crownvegas.com>
To: ----@casinomeister.com
Reply-To: rick@crownvegas.com
User-Agent: SquirrelMail/1.4.3a
X-Mailer: SquirrelMail/1.4.3a
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 20 Jul 2005 00:45:27.0970 (UTC) FILETIME=[52BFB020:01C58CC4]

I recently joined your forum and are quite impressed with the quality of
the members, can you please forward me your advertising rate card and/or
what advertising opportunities you have available at your site including
your mailer which I am a subscriber to.

Cheers
Rick Scott

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

--
Webmasters visit Link Removed ( Old/Invalid) for up to 50% payouts.

Now this is came from the exact IP that he signed up with. I also thought it odd that no one at CV briefed him on the relationship between your casino and Casinomeister. Yes, it's correct that CV was listed here. But at a point a couple years ago, I discontinued endorsing casinos based in Costa Rica. Only recently has this changed.

Anyway, why would an ex-employee contact me for advertising? And as I write this, Rick@crownvegas is in the forum right now PMing Schwankwart (yes, I have these powers). He is signed in with the same IP as he has emailed me with. And this IP comes from the same server that is listed in his posts at Start Casino.

So, are you claiming that Rick is a rogue ex-employee who is masquerading as good ex-employee (as from his email dated 19 July), or what?

Like I said, he was definitely looking to get advertising I assume for setting up affiliate sites. While pretending to still work for us. I'd imagine he would have not paid, or would have linked to sites not owned by our group, with his affiliate code then we get the bad rap.

I'm going to offer a 100% signup bonus ...<snip snip snip>

 

[dominique]

You gotta love IP addresses.... all the nonsense that can be cleared up because of them....