Scam, rip off? Well, what do you think a casino is?
I have been on this site for a few years and there are some good points and bad.
I generally spend about 250 usd per quarter on the site and for that get about 50k gems for that on double gem promo days.
Do I get value for money? I think if you are spending on average a couple of hours a day on a site then 250usd over three months is good value.
I agree that the odds on slots have gotten longer over the period I have been playing and some elements such as Sea of Riches are stupidly over priced. Only when they give you 60-65% off once a month when they run a promo does it become reasonable value. Those spins are fun though.
Charms are also over priced, why would you not be reluctant to pay 850 gems for say a mushroom charm at a charm party attended by 24 other people who also contributing a mushroom each ( so everyone ends up with 25 mushrooms each) when the average coin conversion of those mushrooms is about 75-80 million coins but you can spend 250 gems and make 150mil on solitaire?
Treasure boxes which have various timers and offer up free coins, gems, party passes and charms are a good innovative element.