Unorthodox way of driving traffic

[pmac]

Damn poker affiliates will stoop to anything [abcnews.go.com] to make a buck.

In exchange for food, water and an undisclosed amount of cash, panhandlers agree to hold their please-give-sign and Rogovy's sign advertising his Web site, which purports to be an online directory that connects "poker players from around the globe."

[shigamoto]

It's a disgrace, sometimes you wonder if some think at all. It also seems that it will or have already backfired against his company.

[sonny]

Seems like a win-win situation. Wonder what the EPB (earnings per bum) are.
Now...... to go find me a few homeless people.

[hannamyluv]

There was a resturant owner on the west coast that tried this a few years bago. The media nailed him for doing it. Said it was degrading. My question was, would that be in comparison to the fact that they are already begging for change?

[iamlost]

What is wrong with hiring the homeless? Or anyone else? Bums is people too.

I used to know a pan-handler in Vancouver who grossed several hundred dollars a day ... drove a BMW to and from "work" ...

Two possible problems:
* labour laws.
* not sure the "bum losers look" is condusive to the "winning punters look" that gambling joints prefer to portray.

[grandpa]

to go find me a few homeless people

Sometimes you need look no further than Foo.

iamlost - that's a great point. The image of someone down and out is not the best image for a gambling site ;) And, should the fellow ever anger one of his employees, well, its a simple matter for employee to make a sign reading "Please Help - I lost it all at www.example.com"

[Leosghost]

I used to know a pan-handler in Vancouver who grossed several hundred dollars a day ... drove a BMW to and from "work" ...

When I lived in Cannes we had a few like that ..one old lady used to sit on the wall in front of the "monoprix" that is in front of the railway station ..she was driven to "work" each day by her chauffeur ( she actually owend the buliding which housed the "monoprix" in question ..so the police would never ever "move her on" and at least 6 other major peices of Cote d'azur real estate ) ...

Very big late night Tv expose on her and others a few years later..she still kept it up ...

However ...Most panhandlers or streetwalkers in the south of France are "bums or refugees" run by Gypsy gangs and they have to turn over their takings later in the day ..or "girls from Eastern Europe or the 3rd world without permits" run by East European gangs that now control the "turf" at Cannes , Nice , Menton etc ...

Similar situation applies to the "girls and boys " who are to be found at the Bois de Boulogne..Paris ...No need to go to SE Asia to find slavery on the sidewalk ...

[suzyvirtual]

I actually know some people who give their band t-shirts to homeless people. It's a compassionate win-win cause homeless people can actually use/need the shirt and the bands get exposure.