Police said Monday they are looking for three men who robbed a pachinko parlor in Hachioji City in suburban Tokyo, of 2 million yen on Sunday night.
According to police, two men came to the exchange window, where players take their steel balls to exchange them for cash winnings at the pachinko parlor in Takakura at about 11 p.m., Fuji TV reported. The men threatened the employee, a man in his 70s, with a knife and demanded he hand over the money from the safe. The employee suffered cuts to his hand, police said.
The two suspects fled and got into a car being driven by a third man, witnesses said.
© Japan Today
13 Comments
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sensei258
I'm sure there are gonna be some pissed off "owners" . They better hope they don't get identified.
almostshat
Isn't exchanging your little silver balls for cash illegal? Will this spark a police crackdown on pachinko parlors?
Ancalagonzzz
Robbing a pachinko parlor doesnt sound like such a good idea, does it? Robbers should hope that police gets them first.
DS
ALmost: you misunderstand. There IS no gambling at the pachinko parlour. You win the balls, and by amazing coincidence there happens to be a shop next door that COLLECTS little steel balls. They must sell them to a factory or something, but anyway they are always willing to pay a 'fair' price for them....
All you need to do to circumvent law is to add a middleman.
As to the robbery, all it means is that Kim Jong Un will have his Hennessy budget slightly decreased for a couple of weeks.
soldave
DS - I know...it's funny how those shops that are looking for little steel balls (or packs of toothbrushes/soaps, depending on the area) are always next to the pachinko parlors. God only knows what they must do with them all...
issa1
Yupiii !!! This made my day. This thief deserves 100 years of amnesty.
Wurthington
Interesting... probably an owner that refused to continue to pay protection money or just 3 dumb criminals.
ExportExpert
Gotta have balls fo steel to rob these places of balls of steel.
paulinusa
Maybe thieves robbing thieves.
WilliB
Plenty of money in those pachi parlours. I am surprised they don´t get robbed more often.
WilliB
DS:
That is not how it works. You exchange the steel balls inside the pachi parlour for nice little gift-wrapped gifts. That is completely legal and not gambling. By amazing coincidence however, there is always a little nondescript shop around the corner that specializes in buying little second-hand gift-wrapped gifts. Very convenient! But the steel balls never leave the pachi place.
almostshat
So, if you've got the balls, you can get a teddy bear or something. Now i understand; thank you for clarifying. that explains why i've never seen anyone with any balls outside a pachinko parlor
Wakarimasen
Hope these 2 didin't leave their baaby in the car while robbing the parlour......