BJ21.com Newsletter
March 9, 2007                                0710

Compiled by Al Rogers
 Al@bj21.com

Chips no longer good as cash -- MGM Grand refuses to cash chip for prominent poker play Nolan Dalla

If $5,000 casino chips could talk, what would this one say? It might explain its recent travels and how it has ended up in the custody of a cashier at the MGM Grand, who questioned whether it really belonged to the gambler who turned it in.

Judge: Gambling debts unenforceable in California

Two casinos who claim a Daly City couple wrote $43,000 in bad checks to cover gambling debts cannot use California courts to collect, a judge ruled

Casino Dismisses Worker Seeking Smoking Ban

When the Tropicana opened its doors in Atlantic City 25 years ago, Vincent Rennich was a 24-year-old overseeing bets and payouts at the craps tables.

D’Amato Never Folds

For years, Alfonse M. D’Amato, the former Republican senator from New York, was the host at a Thursday evening poker game at his Capitol Hill office, playing with other lawmakers, staff members and lobbyists late into the night over pots that ranged from a few dollars to a few hundred.

Thanks to Green Chip member The Engineer for posting this link.

Table Gambling Bill Passes

Legislation that would allow county votes on table gambling at West Virginia’s four racetracks is now awaiting Gov. Joe Manchin’s signature.

Gaming violations hit Aztar in pocket; reputation still intact

Casino Aztar will pay a $160,500 fine as part of a settlement agreement with the Indiana Gaming Commission over 10 violations of state gaming regulations.

Turmoil at Wynn

According to sources close to Wynn Las Vegas, all manner of offal is hitting the fan over there. Wynn spokespeople have yet to respond to a detailed set of allegations

Casino Kings Betting on a Macau Boom

Chinese businessman Cao Yanglin let his lunch of slow-cooked beef rib with truffle puree and lemon cream sauce go cold as he talked about his gambling spree the night before at the baccarat tables in Macau — the world's new epicenter for gambling.

Thanks to Green Chip member Barfarkel for submitting this link.  Barfarkel is the author of the popular bolackjack book You've Got Heat

Slot-route operations down -- Herbst revenues dip after ban on smoking

Comments made Thursday during one of the state's largest slot route operator's year-end earnings conference call could be an ominous indicator of what kind of downturn in revenue small gaming operations are experiencing.

Boomtown outsources cleaning services

Sixty-two housekeepers and janitorial workers at Boomtown Reno will either lose their benefits or find work elsewhere as the property outsources the jobs, the general manager said Thursday.

Sparks Asks for Lazy 8 Suit Dismissal

The city of Sparks and the Red Hawk Land Company are asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit against them that's intended to derail the proposed Lazy 8 casino on Pyramid Highway.

El Cortez astir in new mix downtown

Even Mike Nolan, the El Cortez's biggest cheerleader, will admit that time hasn't always been kind to the 66-year-old hotel-casino and surrounding neighborhood.

Sahara sold to California businessman

A Hollywood movie producer, restaurateur and nightclub owner has bought the aging Moroccan-themed Sahara, the Review-Journal learned Friday night.

The Bear Growls:  MGM Grand and Gaming Control Board conspire to harass patron trying to cashing chips

Long-time Las Vegas-based advantage player, casino critic, and frequent BJ21.com contributor LVBear offers his opinions on things that sometimes go wrong in the world of casinos.

By LVBear
LVBear584@cox.net

The news article Chips no longer good as cash details the policy of MGM Grand of hassling patrons who are cashing $5000 chips.  Based on published reports, MGM Grand has refused to cash chips for winning patrons more times than any other casino.  If Nevada had a legitimate Gaming Control Board, this despicable practice would have been stopped long ago. The MGM Grand should have been heavily fined and the individual employees responsible for this harassment of patrons should have been fired and banned from the gaming industry. Unfortunately, the Chief of Enforcement, long-time industry hack Jerry Markling misstates the facts. I don’t know if Mr. Markling is really as ignorant as he sounds in the following quote, or if he is simply corrupt: 

"Initially the burden of proof is on the person with the chip to show how he obtained it through legitimate means," said Jerry Markling, chief of the Gaming Control Board's enforcement division. But if the chip is seized and the customer complains to state regulators, the burden shifts to the casino to prove its case.

The patron has no such burden.  Marling obviously knows this; he lied to the reporter.  The regulation in question is Nevada Gaming Regulation 12.060, which states in pertinent part:

4. A licensee shall not redeem its chips or tokens if presented by a person who the licensee knows or reasonably should know is not a patron of its gaming establishment …

Clearly this burden is on the casino, not the patron.  Markling cannot possibly be ignorant of this fact.  From that, I must conclude that he deliberately lied to Las Vegas Sun reporter Liz Benston  to protect the casino industry, which has a vested interest in harassing winning players.  I can’t think of any other rational explanation for his false statement.  It is unfortunate that Ms. Benston, who is usually a good, thorough reporter, apparently did not follow up or challenge Mr. Markling's false statement.

In Beat the Players, Bob Nersesian wrote:

An occurrence within Nevada is gaining some prevalence. When a patron presents a high value of chips, some casinos are confiscating these chips and returning a receipt rather than legal tender. The excuse given is that per regulations they can pay only patrons, and the person presenting the chips is not known as a patron. The incidents increase with the value of the chips, and high value chips such as chocolate ($5000) chips draw instant scrutiny.

With this said, the compliance with this rule may prove difficult. If a cashier wants to get higher level approval, demand that the chip(s) remain with you. If the manager demands to examine the chip, have him come outside the cage. Ideally, before the chip(s) are given up, see the green counted out on the counter, and if the cashier makes any move to absent themselves with the chip, demand that it be returned and that any inquiry take place face to face with you having access to your chip(s). If there is any question, simply inform the cashier or supervisor that you have read of casinos just taking chips from players, and that you are protecting against this occurrence. Also, inform them that possession of the chip has nothing to do with determining whether or not you are a patron. Of course, if you are a player with a player’s card that supports the win, all of this becomes largely moot because you will very likely be paid and told “Thank you.”

On a different level, avoid the high denomination chips. This, of course, is harder than it may appear. Protecting goodwill and anonymity may well turn on willing compliance with requests of the pit boss or dealer. Demands to color-up can be direct and almost oppressive. Indeed, a dealer or pit boss can make it sound like you have no choice.

Still, quickly standing, pocketing the chips on the table, and walking away can suffice. Alternatively, limiting a payout to blacks may occur on a statement that you are just going to another table. I have also seen chocolate chips avoided by a patron stating that he would never want to carry a $5000 bill, and certainly doesn’t want to carry a $5000 chip. The smaller the denominations, the easier it will be to leach out full payment without inquiry. If the casino ever gets its hands on one or more of these big chips, you have bought a gaming dispute with all its attendant disclosure requirements, and the corollary loss of anonymity with respect to that casino. This is obviously a result to be avoided.

There is also the question as to why the casino can take the chip and not pay. There are conflicting laws on this, and that presents the difficulty. First, chips are expressly defined in the regulations as a “representative of value issued by a licensee.” More importantly, once issued, the chips “evidence a debt owed to their custodian.” The regulation expressly states “custodian,” thereby rendering chips a bearer item. The regulation does not say “patron,” does not say “customer,” and does say “custodian.” Thus, chips represent a debt owed by the casino to the person in custody of the chips.

Against this clear statement of a debt, there is a conflicting provision that states, “A licensee shall not redeem its chips or tokens if presented by a person who the licensee knows or reasonably should know is not a patron of its gaming establishment . . .”. So, the end result is that it is possible to have a non-patron who is owed an express legal debt by the casino, but the casino has a corresponding duty to not redeem those chips. This truly appears to be an irresolvable conundrum under the law.

Still, the proscription is that the casino “not redeem” the chips. There is no right, implied or express, that the casino may confiscate this representation of a debt owed to the custodian. It appears that the casino, if it knows that the presenter is not a patron, is restricted to telling the presenter that they cannot redeem the chip from him. The obvious way around this is to give the chip to a “patron” in order that the “patron” can redeem it.

I would also suggest that the burden under the regulation allowing for a refusal to redeem is on the casino. Note that the language says that the casino cannot redeem a chip from someone that they “know” or “reasonably should know” is not a patron. First, if the presenter is a “patron,” then there is no excuse whatsoever for failing to redeem. If you could ask the casino a question such as, “How do you know that I am not a patron?”, and no answer can be given, then the casino is obviously outside the regulation in refusing to redeem. Maybe carrying a copy of Nevada Gaming Regulation 12.060, showing it to the cage boss, and pointing out the unsuitable practice of refusing to redeem could result in prompt payment. When the gaming agents arrive, do the same. Again, it is the casino’s burden, and if such a course is taken it should be repeatedly pointed out that you don’t have to justify or prove yourself as a patron, the casino has to prove you aren’t or weren’t.

You might even walk over to a machine, put in a quarter in front of the cage personnel, and say, “Now I’m a patron, pay me.” The regulation does not restrict the redemption of chips to persons who have received the chips through means other than play, but to non-patrons. In this respect, the direct language clearly says that if you are a “patron,” then the casino must promptly redeem their chips from you.

Another factor playing on this is the legal status of how you hold the chips. While you may be cashing the chips for another advantage player, the law of contract and the common law generally, allow for the free assignment of contract rights. Likewise, evidence of indebtedness is freely assignable. As an assignee of the “patron,” you take on the status of the “patron.” This should include the “patron” status under principles of assignment. Another factor playing into this scenario is that persons in society are allowed to use agents to conduct their business. This includes agents for undisclosed principals. The agent stands in the shoes of the principal. If the principal is a “patron,” then redemption should occur on presentation by an authorized agent. Again, the burden is with the casino to show that they know or reasonably should know that the presenter is not a “patron.”

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has again shown its worthlessness and lack of integrity. Clearly the MGM Grand should be punished for its illegal bullying tactics.  I hope that one of the victims eventually is willing to go forward with legal action, perhaps forming a class action lawsuit on behalf of all patrons who have been similarly victimized.  The challenge will be to remove the matter from the jurisdiction of the Gaming Control Board, where we all know nothing will be done to punish the wrongdoers. In civil court, where the victim still has an uphill battle in Nevada,  at least there is a reasonable chance of prevailing, and a jury awarding  appropriate damages against MGM Grand for its continuing despicable conduct.

Pi Yee Press Blackjack Bundle --  Get Professional Blackjack, Blackjack Secrets, and Basic Blackjack for a total price of $39.95.  This is an approximately  20% discount off the normal $49.85 price for the three books.  Order any of the three books by clicking this link. In the Special Instructions section of the order form, specify Blackjack Bundle.  Along with the book you ordered, you will receive the other two books in the same shipment. It's that simple!  Green Chip members get an additional 10% discount.

Professional Blackjack is 350 pages of card-counting advice for beginners to experts. It presents the high-low and the halves. The high-low is the best combination of simplicity and power, and probably is the most popular system used by card counters. Halves is a level-3 system that yields almost perfect estimates of your advantage, information you need to determine your optimal bet size.

Blackjack Secrets is advice for expert card counters, and also a good book for someone who is interested in learning about blackjack but not how to count cards. I know that sounds like a strange combination, but being proficient in counting cards is no guarantee that you will win money in casinos. What good does it do you to be able to count a deck down in 30 seconds and be able to reproduce a table of strategy numbers from memory if you are sending out signals that identify you as a card counter? Blackjack Secrets teaches you how to look like a gambler, how to play a winning game of blackjack without sending up red flags that alert casino management to your skill at the game.

Basic Blackjack presents basic strategy and expected value for almost every unusual rule variation ever offered. Examples of rules covered: no hole card to dealer, doubling down on three or more cards, splitting when there is a bet riding that will go on one hand and not have to be matched with a like bet on the other hand, early surrender, five-card hands can be turned in for a half win, over/under, multiple action, double exposure.

Beat the Players - Casinos, Cops and the Game Inside the Game, by Bob Nersesian

This book should be read by everyone who sets foot in a casino: average casino patrons, skilled players, casino employees, and anyone else. It should be required reading for police officers, regulators, other public officials, and attorneys who may represent any of the aforementioned.

Bob Nersesian is an attorney who represents victims of casino wrongdoing against patrons. In an enjoyable writing style, he takes a look at the often too-cozy relationship between casinos, police, and regulators. He discusses specific cases and dispenses sound, practical advice that patrons, casinos and public officials would be wise to heed. Cases discussed are from Nevada and other jurisdictions.

Chapters include: Your Money or Your Liberty; Scary Cop Statements; They'll Take Your Liberty Anyway; Gaming Agents Speak; The Take of the State; Rules for Casino Patrons; Gambling at the Legal Limits; Cops Hate Card Counters; Griffin Investigations; Casinos Cheat With Impunity; A Judicial and Government Overlay; Finding a Nickel Brings Trouble; Names and Aliases; The Security Office and Surveillance Functions, and Casinos and Cops.

Appendices include Nevada Cheating and Detention Laws with Commentary; Other Nevada Gaming Laws of Interest; Gaming Cases of Interest, and Nevada Gaming Regulations with Commentary.

The 320-page book includes a bibliography and an index

The price is $19.95 plus shipping (plus sales tax if sent to a Nevada address). Green Chip members get their normal 10% discount.

To order Beat the Players, click here

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