Real Thieves Loose at GenCon

[Col_Pladoh]

Sadly, I must pass along that my son Alex had all of his MtG cards stolen last weekend at GenCon. He turned his back for only a minute, and they were gone in that time. Obviously some wretched person had marked him. Although he had about $1,000 into the collection, and it was worth about twice that, Alex has taken the loss with aplomb. his only observation, other than that he will be far more careful in the future, is that it will be a long time before he plays Magic the Gathering games again.

So this is a cautionary tale. If you formerly have not been, from now on be alert for what amounts to professional thieves at GenCon.

:\
Gary

 

[Wystan]

Unfortunately it happens at almost every con. I have been to a few, I had some money stolen from one (pick pocketed) and had a couple of friends lose things like binders of cards and such.

 

[Rel]

Wow, that really sucks. Next time, Gary, tell him to hang with the ENWorlders and we'll watch his back.

 

[JustaPlayer]

I did some work with Mongoose last year. One of the guys who bough minis to run the tournaments had them stolen at night when the games were over as they were stored under the tables.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Unfortunately it happens at almost every con. I have been to a few, I had some money stolen from one (pick pocketed) and had a couple of friends lose things like binders of cards and such.

ack!

That goes to show how naive I am in regard to assuming an atmosphere of fellowship at even the largest of cons.

For the first three GenCons one could leave most aything out and unattended without a worry. Thereafter there were unattended items purloined, but no pro-type stealing as far as I know. Having your pocket picked shows that thievery is truly something to look out for.

:\
Gary

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Anywhere you get that many people together, you're gonna get scum who'll take advantage of the confusion. I was amazed at the number of people I saw who left stuff sitting around while they went to the bathroom, etc.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Dang!

More premeditated theft :\

Well, next year Alex will be at the GenCon with his old pappy, but he's much more likely to want to hang out with other ENies I'll recommend just that to him.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Henry]

The larger the group, the less personal it is, and the more likely the theft.

Back in 1995 at Gencon, I had two MtG cards, an Icy Manipulator and a Rage, at the time worth about 80 bucks together, stolen from me right out from under my nose during a trade. The guys pulled a classic "magic trick" (I kid you not) with the whole "cover them with a binder long enough to sleight of hand them" routine. Worst thing was, I couldn't accuse them, nor could I find any security to take the issue up with before they took off.

Small, portable, valuable == prime candidate for theft.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Well, next year Alex will be at the GenCon with his old pappy...

Ahh! A Silver Lining

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

That's really just too bad. I'm always amazed that people are able to take things from other people. The mere thought makes me sick to my stomach.

But, I guess, I know to be very, very attentive to my stuff in the dealer hall in the future.