Staff at the Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns, Australia, were all abuzz yesterday over some unwanted guests found flying about the casino. A swarm of Asian honebees had apparently nested inside one of the interior walls, and were disrupting casino guests as they went about their business.

Biosecurity Queensland was called in to evict the pests. This species of honeybee has been plaguing Cairns for several years. They are especially problematic, because the bees carry a mite that could wipe out European honey bees, causing huge problems for the local environment.

Casino worker Charlotte Greer joked about the bees, saying they didn’t appear to be high rollers.

“They weren’t at the blackjack table, they weren’t at the pokies or anything like that,” she said. “They were hanging out in the wall cavity so we went in there and got rid of them. No more casino for the bees.”

While the situation is now under control, paranoid players who want to avoid the chance of insect infestations while enjoying blackjack are encouraged to play online. There are dozens of excellent online blackjack casinos that cater to players in Australia and other parts of the world. These sites offer single-player games as well as multi-player online blackjack tournaments, and generous blackjack bonuses help make a little money go a long way. Join one today, and play blackjack online to reduce your chances of being bugged by bees.