What more can I tell my 25 year old son to keep him from traveling to Mexico ?

My 25 year son was making a nice living playing online poker from the home in Florida that he owns. Then on April 15, 2011, Eric Holder shut the online poker activity within the U.S. Many in my sons's field are traveling to Rosario, Mexico (20 minutes south of Tijuana), opening bank accounts in Mexico and paying inexpensive rate to live there and play online for weeks at a time. All to get past the Holder U.S. blockage.

The rates are so low there right now because the tourism is virtually dried up from high crime and bad press. I pointed out to him the if occupancies are at 10% then the ratio of criminals to visitor will be 10 times what it used to be. I also point out that drugs and money is the target of the criminal element and that poker players can be a target just cause of the monies aspect.

I wonder how many Americans are now at risk cause of this Obama/Holder shutdown in the U.S.

Any other arguments or stories that Freepers can share here would be appreciated.

I have been to RB quite a bit over the past thirty years untill 10 years ago.

Lots of friends leased/owned property there and it was a wonderful, unspoiled place, one traffic light in the center of town back in the good old days.

My first friend to die was putting up a dish on his home when he was stabbed in the back 17 years ago.

I have not been there in almost 10 years but there were half built high rises everywhere on the beach and construction left a lot to be desired. I would not want to be in one when EQ’s hit.

But the worse part was the attitude Mexicans had towards us. It had changed and they were not as friendly or helpful.
It may seem small or just my experiance but theres much more there just under the surface ready to break free.

That was 10 years ago. I would not go anywhere near there now.

First off, have your son read the thread. There are enough direct stories about what Baja/Mexico is like. If he can't get a clue from that...he needs to reflect on whether he should be playing poker in the first place.

Second, online poker to begin with? Look up "full tilt rigged" on google. If he is trying to make a living gambling, he should at least see how he can get screwed.

Third, like others there are better places to do online gambling than Mexico.
He's an adult so give him the information. If he is as intelligent as he thinks he is, picking another place shouldn't be difficult.

Fourth, per Mexico, I was one of the early on people who stopped going to Baja/Mexico, probably around 92. The feel just turned sketchy for me. Most friends didn't really get a clue what I was talking about until mid 2000s.

Rosarito is located around some decent surf spots. If almost every surfer I know has stopped going down there, shouldn't that be a big enough clue for him?

Probably about three years ago, I was talking with some friends. We were interrupted by one of the guy's employees.

The employee had just gotten back from Baja. He and three other guys were going on a surf trip to a spot just south of Rosarito. They were forced off the road by van and a cop car. At gun point they were forced on to the pavement.

Before when something like this would happen, you gave the banditos some valuables and cash and eventually be on your way.

This time all four guys were pretty much of the perspective they weren't going to live. The robbers were deciding on what to do with them and where to dump there bodies. Don't remember the complete story but something caused the robbers to get distracted. The four surfers were able to knock down the two guys guarding them and escape. (Cutting a long story short.)

Both the local police and Federales were involved on this hijacking. The fact the Federales were involved in a low level hijacking surprised these guys (and us).

A few years before another friend was hijacked just above San Quintin. That was pretty much a place where the Mexicans left the gringos alone.

Here are some links for your son to check out:
http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20081101/news_1n1police.html
http://bajasafari.blogspot.com/2008/05/baja-racer-kidnapped-in-ensenada-held.html
http://bajarealestateblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/tijuanas-new-police-chief-alberto.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/08/12/us-mexico-usa-kidnap-idUSN1250256620080812

Couldn't find the articles quickly but there should be a couple of articles talking about how the drug cartels shot up and killed an entire police department (around the Rosarito area I believe). He should also google drug cartels going on full assault against the Mexican military, police, local officials and justice people in Tijuana.

If he is as intelligent as he thinks, there are better places to gamble.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.