All language subtitles for Trafficked.S04E08

[cheering]

[Michael] I had my first big win
at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas.

♪ ♪

[cheering]

God came down and said,
"Michael,

the answer to all
of your financial problems

are the slots."

And as I'm sitting there,
all of a sudden...

[bells ringing]

...bells start going off.

I had hit the jackpot.

I won $100,000.

♪ ♪

And that feeling was just
one of complete bliss.

People would come by
and touch me.

From that day on,
I was known as Mr. Lucky.

[Mariana van Zeller]
They call it "the big win."

The potent rush of money won
versus money earned.

And gamblers have been
chasing it for generations.

[screaming]

[Sharon Stone] Yes!

[Mariana] Even Hollywood
has played into this fantasy.

[George Clooney]
I'll raise you 2,000.

[James Gandolfini]
Kinda high stakes for you, no?

[Mariana] America's
legal gambling industry rakes in

over $200 billion a year,

but for some bookies
and bettors,

it's not enough.

[Gambler] I'm competitive
and I like to win.

In gambling, it's really clear

whether you're a winner
or you're a loser.

[Mariana] Black market games
and casinos

are popping up
all over the country.

[Gambler] A lot of celebrities,
a lot of politicians,

and they all want
a private place

where they can just act
however they want to act.

[Mariana] Where fortunes
are being lost and won...

[Man] You're right.

[Mariana] ...off the books
and in the shadows.

♪ ♪

[Mariana] Yeah.
It's quite interesting

that we have to call you
all the way from Mexico.

Mexican journalist
Miguel Angel Vega

is an old friend and colleague
who's helped me gain access

to many criminal operators
throughout my career.

Tonight, 300 miles
from Los Angeles,

we're due to meet
a cartel associate

who's rumored to host
an illegal poker game.

What's his connection
to the cartel?

[dog barking]

[Mariana] Well, thank you.

He tells me to call him Tony.

Originally from Los Angeles,
he now lives here

in an undisclosed part
of Northern California.

[dog barking]

[Mariana]
Before the game begins,

all of the players must disarm.

[Tony] Play some games.

[Mariana]
Despite Tony's admission

that his clients are a mix

of ex-cons, cartel associates,
and possibly contract killers...

Oh, wow.
You guys start strong, huh?

[Player] [bleep] it.

[Mariana] ...tonight's stakes
aren't particularly high,

just a few thousand bucks.

[Mariana] How much money
did you make?

[bleep]

[players speaking Spanish]

[Mariana] So are you seeing more

of these underground games
happening?

[Mariana] The players tell me
there are thousands

of unlicensed casinos
and underworld card games

taking place in every city
across the country.

Have you ever been

to any of those high-rolling
illegal poker nights?

[Tony] Yeah.

[Mariana] Oh, my God.

[Mariana] For years
I've opened these doors

and gained access
to all manner of black markets.

[gunshot]

But these markets typically
offer products or services

that are outlawed.

And that's what makes
Tony's story so mysterious.

Why is
the underground gambling scene

booming in the United States

when a legal market
already exists?

I want to find out who's running
these black market games

and what the attraction is.

[dog barking]

[Mariana] Oh, yeah.

There's more people coming.

[Mariana] I'm riding shotgun
tonight with Detective Juarez

of the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department.

His team is conducting
surveillance

on a criminal network

that operates multiple
underworld casinos.

So this is a big player

that you guys have been tracking
for a while

that runs, you think,
more than one illegal casino?

[Mariana] And what can you
tell me about this person?

[Mariana] How many
of these illegal casinos

do you think exist in LA County?

[Mariana] Wow.

[Reporter] You're looking at
security tape of SWAT officers

serving a search warrant
on an illegal gambling house

inside an Anaheim
furniture store.

[Reporter]
Dozens of people are busted

in an alleged
illegal gambling raid.

[Reporter]
Unregulated popup casinos

have been magnets
for criminal activity.

[Reporter] Sheriff's deputies
are investigating

the shooting death of a man

inside an illegal
gambling establishment.

[Reporter] A Brooklyn shootout
that killed four people

inside an illegal gambling club.

[Mariana] Tonight's target
is a type of illegal casino

called a casita.

Spanish for "little house."

Casita profits
aren't solely driven

by old-fashioned card games

but an upgrade
in electronic gaming.

[electronic whooshes and dings]

[Officer] Okay. Stand by.

[Mariana] The team spots
one of the ringleaders, a woman,

and decides to pursue her.

[Juarez] Copy.

[Mariana] Detective Juarez
hopes this woman

is going to lead his team
to more casino locations.

And if they're lucky, they'll
take down the entire operation.

[Mariana] The LA County
Sheriff's Department

is in pursuit of a woman

suspected of running
multiple underworld casinos.

[Mariana] Detective Juarez lets
the suspect get away for now.

But nothing I witnessed tonight
surprises me.

[gaming machines burbling]

♪ ♪

Criminals and casinos
have always gone hand in hand,

perhaps most famously when
a mobster named Bugsy Siegel

helped build a city
dedicated to gambling:

Las Vegas, Nevada.

♪ I'm in love with a girl
that I think is so fine ♪

[Mariana] Nevada was the first
US state to legalize gambling.

But, over time, Las Vegas
cleaned up its act.

They kicked out the mob.

Then the corporations took over.

Today, some form of gambling
is legal in almost every state.

And yet the underworld continues
to take a piece of the action.

[phone ringing]

I want to know how it works,
from the street-level games

to the high roller events
I heard about.

But first, I need to find
my way inside the scene.

[Mariana] Hey, El.
How are you doing?

[Mariana] I'm about
like five minutes from you now.

We're close to South LA here.

I'm going to meet a person,

a contact that has
some connections

that run some
of these operations.

I think he might be here.

[Mariana]
So how does this game work?

[Contact] It's just
the typical rules of craps.

You know, 7, 11, snake eyes.

Your money has to be
on the floor

for the bet to be good, yeah.

[All] Ooh!

[Gambler] Another one of you...

[Mariana]
Have you seen like more

of these underground
gambling facilities pop up?

[Contact] I would
most definitely say that.

[Mariana] Do you think we'd
be able to get access to one?

[Contact] Those things
are like more hush-hush.

If you want to tap in
to certain stuff,

there's a way to tap in.

[Mariana] I have no doubt
he's right, but at the moment,

I'm definitely not tapped in
to the right people.

So I reach out to my underworld
contacts across the country.

[phone ringing]

[siren]

[Mariana] Hey. Hi.

[Mariana] They still,
they're expecting us?

[Mariana]
I got the hood pass. Okay.

[Mariana]
It's becoming clear to me

that the gambling underworld
isn't controlled

by a single criminal network.

What's this game called?

[Man] Four-five-six
is the name of the game.

Cee-lo.

[Mariana] But just like
the old casinos,

gangsters are often
the gatekeepers.

[Mariana] So are these,
a lot of these places

controlled by gangs?

Is there a lot
of gang affiliation?

You're looking at me...

[Mariana]
...with intimidating eyes.

[Mariana]
Oh, I can see your eyes.

The owner of this establishment
tells me to call him Ray Ray

and says he's a college graduate
with a business degree.

But he manages
several dice games

because, quite simply,
they make a ton of money.

Do people have to pay
to come in here and play?

[Mariana] So if there are
so many legal options,

places to go gamble,

why do you think people
prefer to come here?

[Mariana] So is it,
is it dangerous?

Is it a dangerous business?

[laughs]

[Mariana] Ray Ray tells me
this is the reason

why casino security is so tight.

In LA, a lot
of gambling facilities

have to pay the Mexican Mafia
to be able to operate there.

[Mariana] Yeah.

So, is there something
similar here?

Do you have to pay anyone?

[Mariana] Got it.

[Mariana] He refuses to tell me
much more about his operation.

But another one of my trusted
Los Angeles sources

comes through.

[train horn blows]

[bell ringing]

[Mariana] We're meeting,
um, a contact of mine

that I've had here
for, for many years now.

He's an ex-convict.

He's sort of linked
to the Mexican Mafia.

Gang member.

This contact claims
he can get me inside

one of the underworld casinos,
the casitas,

that I've been hearing
so much about.

And it's kind of amazing
just how hard it's been

for us to get access
to these casitas.

But finally, tonight,

it looks like something
is going to happen.

♪ ♪

[airplane overhead]

♪ ♪

[siren]

[Mariana] For weeks, I've been
crisscrossing the country,

searching for someone

who can get me inside
an invite-only illegal casino.

[train horn blows]

And tonight, one of my sources,

an ex-con with links
to the Mexican Mafia,

finally comes through.

Hey, [bleep].

How are you doing?

♪ ♪

[gaming machines burbling]

♪ ♪

[beeping and warbling]

♪ ♪

[Mariana] Do you say
"welcome to Vegas"

to everybody that walks in,
or just me?

[Mariana] The owner
of this underground casino

tells me to call him B.

He says he owns three locations
like this one,

open 24 hours a day
to keep up with demand.

So this place,
if we weren't here...

[Mariana] This machine
is called a fish game...

[beeping]

...and it's the main attraction
at many of these casitas.

Casinos like this
are also called slap-houses

for obvious reasons.

I can't go as fast as you can.

That's insane.

God, my hands
are hurting already.

These fish games
are simple to play

and are programmed
to deliver a jackpot

when enough money has been paid
into the machine.

[Mariana] Really?

[Mariana] Wow.

Kind of cheating
a little bit, no?

[Mariana] When you didn't have
these businesses,

what were you doing?

[Mariana] How much money
are you making here

compared, how do you
compare it to meth?

[Mariana] You're making
much more money now?

Like what? Double?

[Mariana] B claims he's making
about $240,000 a month

from his three casitas.

So this is way more profitable?

Why is that?

[Woman]
I was gambling every day,

morning, noon, and night,

before work, after work,
even at work.

The casino noise,
it drowns out your life.

The bang, zoom, the lights,

it drowns out everything
that you need to hear.

And I couldn't stop.

I could not stop.

[Mariana] Scientists now know
that gambling affects the brain

much like drugs.

When we gamble,
our brains release dopamine,

the "feel-good" chemical,

and we experience
a jolt of pleasure.

♪ ♪

But gambling is different
than a drug-induced high,

'cause dopamine is released

regardless of whether
we win or lose.

It's the thrill of taking risks
that triggers the pleasure.

Today, an estimated
three million Americans

cannot stop gambling.

[Man] Technically,
I am an addict, you know?

Probably by the book,
I'm probably an addict.

It's literally like a drug.

Once it grips you, it grips you,
and it's hard to let it go.

I think social media

is the biggest factor
in all of this.

- 43...
- Yep.

44...

Those guys are
the face of gambling,

and everybody's
following their plays,

everybody is following
their advice.

[Mariana] Social media
is littered with people

who claim to be astonishingly
successful gamblers.

Like this guy.

[Mikki Mase] It's like 408.

[Man] $408,000.

[Mikki] We're gonna try
to make this a million.

[Logan Paul] Tonight?

[Mariana] His social media
handle is dirtygothboi,

but he goes by Mikki Mase.

[Mikki] How much did I win?

[Worker] You won $3.1 million,
give or take.

[Mikki] Thank you, man.

[Mariana] And he's rumored to be

one of Las Vegas'
biggest winners of all time.

[Worker] We're not gonna
allow you to play here.

[Mikki] Why?

[Worker] Because your play
is too good for us.

[Man] He racked it up
for 373,000.

[Mikki] Profit, 200,000.

[Man] He took five grand
and flipped it to 200

before I knew
what the [bleep] happened.

[Mariana] Mikki claims to come
from a long line

of "degenerate gamblers."

He also says he was
a heroin addict,

spent time in juvenile prison,
and worked on Wall Street.

[Mikki] So my number one game
is baccarat,

but it used to be blackjack.

[Man] He allegedly wins
a lot of money at a game

that no one in the history
of casino gambling has beaten.

[Man] In the long term,
you're always gonna lose.

[Mikki] If that was true,
then why am I banned

from the city of Las Vegas?

[Mariana] There's an old saying
about gamblers:

Always assume everyone's
bluffing at all times.

But Mikki promises to show me

a side of the underworld
gambling scene

I can't even imagine.

♪ ♪

[Man] Oh, up top.

[Mariana] I've been searching
for a gambler who can get me

inside the big money,
high roller card games.

Mikki Mase is exactly
this kind of player.

♪ ♪

We're getting close.

He's someone who's fled

the legal, sanitized
Sin City casinos.

In fact, Mikki calls himself
a Vegas exile.

So you're, literally
you cannot go

to any of the casinos in Vegas?

[Mikki] I'm allowed
in two casinos.

[Mariana] Why?

[Mikki] Winning too much.

♪ ♪

They all say
something different.

Some of them simply say,

"Never come back
to our property,"

and hang up the phone.

Some of them say,
"You've won too much

and you're not losing it back,
and you're bad for business."

And some have accused me
of cheating,

but they can't figure out how.

[Mariana] What's the most amount
of money you've ever won?

[Mikki] The most I've ever won
in one session?

[Mariana] Yeah.

[Mikki] $11,526,000.

Every casino gives
like a different bag

when you win in cash.

They give it to you
in hundred-dollar bills,

and they give it to you
like packed in cellophane,

and it slides perfectly
into this bag.

[Man] Are you
[bleep] kidding me?

The [bleep] vacuum seals!

[Mikki] The only way
to acquire one of these

is you have to win
half a million dollars

from the Venetian
or the Palazzo.

[Mariana] All these bags

are half a million dollars
that you won?

[Mikki] Yeah, I have more.

I even cleaned them out
three times.

So we took whatever bags
they had on hand,

and they still ran out of bags,

so, we'd have to use
like pillow cases.

[Mariana] I contacted

several Vegas casinos

about Mikki's claims,

but they told me they refuse
to comment on a guest's status.

[Mikki] As the last few casinos
started banning me, I said,

"I can't gamble
in Vegas anymore.

What else can I do?"

And I have a lot of friends

that I know play
in these private poker games.

And I went and like was
immediately like just enthralled

with the environment.

♪ ♪

Something that movies haven't
even depicted accurately.

Maybe one day a week
consistently I'd play

and I'll throw in like a second
or third game sporadically,

but I will also just stop by

because I like
the free food and the women.

[Mariana] [laughing]
Who doesn't?

[Mikki] Yeah.

In the super high stakes games,

you'll rarely have
like a physical threat.

[gun cocks]

But in the lower level games,

people have been shot
and stabbed during the game.

There's a lot of gangbangers
and drug dealers and pimps,

and those kind of guys,

there's really no telling
what some of them will do.

[Mariana] Tonight Mikki
has promised to get me

inside one of these
invite-only events.

It's a game that hosts a mix

of poker pros
and white-collar professionals,

but also gang members
and cartel associates.

The meeting point is inside
a high-end apartment building

in Downtown LA.

♪ ♪

He's right there.

So if I'm doing a story
about illegal gambling,

this is definitely
the right place to be?

[Mikki] I would say LA is
the mecca of illegal gambling.

♪ ♪

[Mariana]
Hi, how are you? Mariana.

♪ ♪

From the moment
I enter the penthouse apartment,

it's clear that this
is not your typical casino.

About 20 male players,
including Mikki,

are seated
around three poker tables,

while 10
scantily clad poker girls,

as they're called,
service their so-called "needs."

And what are the girls doing?
What's their job there?

[Mikki] Well, their job title
is like server and massage girl.

A lot of the women know
their tips are better

with the less clothes they wear

and the more action they take
in the backroom.

[Mariana]
Which means sometimes sex?

[Mikki] Sure.

[Mariana] Unfortunately, we're
inside for maybe five minutes

when I'm told our cameras
aren't welcome after all.

Okay. Yeah?

They've ushered us
into the bathroom.

I think it's one of the most
frustrating moments for us

just to be so close
to the action

and yet not being able
to actually see it.

Luckily, I convince
one of the poker girls

to take a break and join me.

When you first entered
this world,

was it shocking to you
to find out?

[Poker Girl] Yeah.

I mean, given I came
from like a lower income family,

it's so crazy to see people
gamble with money

that's worth more
than my parents' house.

[Mariana] So how much money,
more or less,

do you make on a good night?

[Poker Girl] On a good night

I can make anywhere
from like 2,000 to 2,500.

The most I've made
in a night is 5,000.

[Mariana]
That's pretty good money.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Pretty good
is an understatement.

She says she pulls in
roughly $40,000 a month,

all of it made through tips,

so it's off the books
and presumably tax-free.

[Poker Girl] I've never done
anything extra in these games.

[Mariana] Does that happen?

[Poker Girl] Girls are
full service, for sure.

110%.

Players know the girls that are,

so you kind of get picked less
and you kind of get tipped less.

I think it's kind of like
what you're willing to do,

I guess, for some money.

[Mariana] But the poker girls
aren't the only ones here

trying to earn a living.

And so as a dealer,
you make more money

in the underground scene than
you do in the regular casino?

[Queen] A lot more.

[Mariana]
This is the Queen of Poker,

as she likes to be called.

She's a former Las Vegas dealer

who now pursues
more lucrative opportunities

hosting her own
illegal poker games.

[Queen]
This is my gaming room here.

[Mariana]
Whoa, that's a lot of people.

[Queen] Yeah.

[Mariana] I can go play poker
with my friends if I want to,

and that's not illegal, right?

So what part of it is illegal?

[Queen] The illegal part
is taking the rake.

As the dealer runs the game,
that's where the rake is taken,

which is where the money is.

[Mariana] I'm assuming the rake

is, like, a percentage
of what is being played?

[Queen] Yeah, it's a percentage.
Like at the casino.

[Mariana] But only legal casinos
are permitted to take a rake.

Tonight's host will make
roughly $80,000.

So they're making
a [bleep] ton of money.

[shouting] [bleep]

[bleep] [bleep]

Suddenly we hear yelling
from the other room.

[shouting]

[Mariana] [bleep] Okay.

[siren]

♪ ♪

[Mariana] I've gained access to
my first underground poker game.

[Mariana]
But instead of gambling,

one of the players
is making threats.

[Mariana] Thankfully
the out-of-control gambler

is escorted from the penthouse.

So let's talk about the drama.
What happened?

[Mikki] I don't know anything.
I don't know.

[Mariana] But there was a gun
and there was a knife.

[Mikki] I don't know.

I don't know
about a gun and a knife.

I don't know anything.

[Mariana] You mean you don't
want to talk about it?

[Mikki] No, there's nothing
to talk about, I don't know.

[Mariana] I mean, we all saw it.

[Mikki] Well, I don't,
then you can talk about it.

I don't know.

[Mariana] Okay, but that,

has that scared people,
do you think?

That's why some people left?

[Mikki] I don't know.

[Mariana] Okay.

It seems there's
an unofficial code of silence

around these games.

But rumor has it
that they were fighting

over a $27,000 gambling debt.

Is it difficult for you to get
people to pay what they owe you?

[Queen] Yeah, because
people are not carrying

10,000, 20,000 in their pocket.

You know?

So you have to offer a credit
or marker to keep a game going

and make a good amount of money
that's worth your time.

[Mariana] How much money
are you owed, you think?

[Queen] Half a million.

[Mariana] You're owed
half a million dollars?

Do you think you'll get
any of that money?

[Queen] I'm working on it.

[Mariana] Do you hire a person
that can go and tell them?

[Queen] There's collectors.

[Mariana] Mm-hmm.

[Gambler]
Tell you what we doing.

[Gambler] Back the [bleep].
What we gonna do?

[Gambler] You don't know.

[Gambler]
You don't mother [bleep] know.

[Mariana]
This is what law enforcement

is most concerned about.

Not just the millions
being made off the books,

but the criminal activity
associated with these games.

[Newscaster]
Illegal gambling now accounts

for half of their murders
so far this year.

[Mariana]
Have you ever heard of anyone,

people that are contracted
to be enforcers?

[Mikki] Yeah, of course.
Every day.

[Mariana] Oh, that actually
happens pretty often.

[Mikki] Every day.

Let's say you're at a game
that's ran by the Russians.

[Mariana] Mm-hmm.

[Mikki] And you rob
one of the Russians,

they will bring somebody in
from Russia to find you,

collect the money,
and then they return to Russia.

[Mariana] Holy [bleep],
that actually happens?

[Mikki] Every day.

[engine rumbling]

[tires screech]

[engine revving]

[Mariana] The following evening,

Mikki picks me up
in a McLaren GT,

a car with
a very Mikki backstory.

[Mikki] I had an argument

with the vice president
of one of the casinos.

And so just to show him
some attitude,

I told him I was gonna win
a million dollars that weekend

and then go buy an exotic car.

[Mariana] And you went back
to the hotel and showed him.

[Mikki] I parked it
right in front.

[engine revving]

[Mariana] We're heading to a
so-called "billionaire's game,"

an uber-exclusive poker game
that Mikki plays

in Beverly Hills.

So this is
a totally different ballgame

from the game we went to
the other day, right?

[Mikki] 100%, it's not even,
it's, like, not even comparable.

Some people
might end up buying in

for maybe two or three million.

[Mariana] Mikki tells me
the game regularly hosts

Hollywood A-listers,
real estate moguls, oil tycoons,

and even high level members
of organized crime.

♪ ♪

[Mikki] You'll definitely
recognize them,

and it's not impossible
that a lot of them

could possibly recognize you.

[Mariana]
That's got me a little worried,

because to gain access,

Mikki's told the game runners
that I'm his friend.

No one knows
that I'm a journalist

investigating black markets.

[Mikki] And there'll be
a line of questions:

What's her skill level?
How long have you known her?

To get a gauge if you're
an appropriate character

to be in our secret environment.

This is our secret world
we have.

[Mariana] Mm-hmm.

[Mikki] And so to let
an outsider in

is a pretty big deal.

[Mariana] Unfortunately
the cameras will not be able

to follow us inside.

♪ ♪

Despite all his legal winnings,
I have yet to understand

why Mikki prefers to play
in private, off-the-books games.

Which is my biggest question
about this whole thing

is why are there
illegal gambling dens,

if gambling in general
is more and more legal

in America, everywhere?

[Mikki]
There's a lot of reasons why.

So if we're the ones
controlling the game

and we are essentially
the casino,

we can not only dictate
the rules of the game itself,

but we also get the environment.

♪ ♪

You know, a lot of people
want to party.

We set up for certain women
to be around.

Politicians and movie producers

and actors and hip hop artists
and athletes,

they all want a private place

where they can just act
however they want to act.

♪ ♪

[Mariana] The US is home
to roughly 700 billionaires,

and tonight, according to Mikki,
I'm looking at a few of them.

I see 10 players seated
around a large table.

I can't name names,

but there are some
recognizable big shots present.

Mikki says that there's
at least $2 million at play.

There's a chef serving
whatever the player wants.

There's champagne
and single malts.

Cigars.

And though I don't see it,

I'm told cocaine
is also on the menu.

Behind the players, about 20
seductively dressed women hover.

And Mikki tells me
that every once in a while

the player will leave the table

and head to a private room
with one of these girls.

And because of the money
in play, tonight's host

could be making hundreds
of thousands of dollars.

It's not just the rake
that brings in money,

it's the tips.

Players tip the bartenders,
the bookkeeper;

each one of the girls can earn
tens of thousands of dollars,

and the house takes
50% of all of it.

As I try to process this,

one of the poker girls
approaches me and says,

"Your face is so familiar.
Do I know you?"

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[door slams]

Well, that was insane.

Um, yeah, I mean, it was...

I don't even know
where to start.

Mikki said that the guy
that actually runs this game

went up to him and said,
"So she's with you, right?"

And Mikki said,
"Yeah, she's with me."

"She looks like a cop.
Is she a cop?"

And then that was the moment

that I thought it was
a good idea to probably leave.

And to think that these places
exist and are all around town,

particularly here
in Beverly Hills

surrounded by these mansions.

it's a side of the city
that I've never seen

and I didn't think existed.

[Mariana] This morning,

close to 100
sheriff's department officers

prepare to take down
seven different targets.

They're all linked
to the same gambling operation

Detective Juarez's team
was surveilling.

And I'm in the thick of it.

♪ ♪

[Mariana] So it's 6:00 a.m.,

we're a block away
from the target

in a armored vehicle,

part of a convoy
of about eight vehicles.

A couple of bulletproof vehicles
like this one.

The LA County Sheriff's
Department is rolling deep today

because of the violent history
of the casinos' security:

the Mexican Mafia.

You see them? They're going
over the fence here.

♪ ♪

[glass breaking]

[dog barking]

So they just broke
through the window

and are going through.

[bark]

♪ ♪

Oh, look.

They just brought somebody
out of the house.

The detainees are a mix
of Asians and Hispanics,

but it's unclear to me
which ones are the players

versus the casino operators.

They're arresting, I think,
the ninth person right now.

So 10 people believed
to be in the house.

Two of them apparently fled,
one of them was caught,

and the other one
is still on the loose.

♪ ♪

[engine rumbling]

♪ ♪

While it's never been easier
to legally gamble in America,

the 10 people here are so
desperate to scratch that itch,

they're playing
at an illegal casino

at 6:00 a.m.
on a weekday morning.

It's a frightening reminder

that compulsive gambling
is called "the hidden addiction"

because, unlike
drugs and alcohol,

there are no physical signs.

[Michael]
In the last year I gambled,

I went through over $1 million
of clients' money.

And when I did that,
I swore to God

that I was gonna pay
that money back.

[Mariana] Perhaps because
of the secrecy and shame,

compulsive gambling has
the highest suicide rates

of all addictions.

[Michael] I remember the night
that I went down to the office,

I had a client's gun, and I took
that gun out of the cupboard

and I was going to end my life.

[Woman] [sighs]
I remember, um... mm...

calling the suicide hotline

and I wanted to kill myself,
I really did.

[phone ringing]

The phone rang...

and it rang and it rang.

[ringing]

And I said,
"God, if you help me,

if you help me,
I will do what's right."

[Mariana] These two
recovering addicts

never gambled
at an illegal casino.

They didn't have to.

It turns out America's
most destructive gambling market

may not be the one
I've been following,

the one that's happening
in the shadows.

It's the one
that announces itself

with bold, flashing lights.

[Les Bernal] Predatory gambling

is America's
most neglected major problem.

Right now you have
advertising and marketing

encouraging citizens to do this.

[Gambler] Blackjack! Blackjack!

[Les] Just to participate
in a business

that ultimately
is gonna get them fleeced.

[Mariana]
Les Bernal is the director

of Stop Predatory Gambling,

a national advocacy network

committed to exposing the truth

about America's
state-sanctioned gambling.

[Les] This is a public policy

that's based on cheating
and exploiting citizens.

This financial exchange is
a lure that you might win money.

All right?

But it's mathematically stacked
against you,

so the longer you
participate in it,

the more money you spend in it,

in the long term,
it's not a question

of if you're gonna end up
losing all of your money;

it's an absolute certainty

you're gonna lose
all your money.

[Mariana] And while I've been
trying to understand

why the black market
even exists,

Les claims the answer
is quite simple.

[Les] You wouldn't have
the massive amount

of illegal gambling
happening today

if it wasn't for
state-sanctioned gambling.

It's normalized gambling.

If you ask anybody in
the illegal gambling business,

"Hey, is it a good thing that
states are promoting gambling?"

to a person,
every single one of them

would say, "Absolutely,
it's great for business."

[Mariana] According to Les,

the biggest difference
between these markets

is that one of them receives
the blessing of state officials.

[Les]
We sell $100 scratch tickets

to people making $7.25 an hour.

That's a government program.

They're encouraging people
to play a product

that has been identified
as addictive

as opioids and cocaine.

The business model is based on
turning citizens into addicts.

[Mariana]
But while the US government

spends more than $1 billion
each year

on treatments for drug
and alcohol abuse,

there's not a single cent
of federal funding

spent on America's
growing gambling addiction.

♪ ♪

[Michael] I had my first big win

at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas,

and it's absolutely the worst
thing that can happen to you.