Taking cash or setting up casino acct?

Wanted to ask everyone if they have any concerns traveling with so much cash. Sounds like some posters gamble a lot more than I might bring and wondered if anyone has had any problems or been stopped by security/police. Have heard stories of TSA stopping passengers who have a lot of cash with them. Have also heard stories of police stopping travelers with a lot of cash and confiscating the money. I've never used markers or set up accounts with the casinos. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

I brought $1,600 cash through the airport. No questions or hassles. I would get large bills as not to draw attention by having a stuffed wallet. I honestly wouldn't worry about it, just keep your eyes on your wallet at all times.

 

I carry Traveler's checks that came free at my Credit Union, but I actually rarely use them. I usually take them home for the next trip. I use my Bank of America account. There is one out Tropicana beyond the Orleans, one in walking distance downtown, one directly across the street from Eastside Cannery on Boulder. I like it best when I'm depositing winnings so as not to have too much cash in my pocket, but it works fine the other way as well. No fees. Of course, I'm a low roller so a few hundred keeps me gambling a long while.

 

I'd set up casino credit with any of the main joints you frequent.
Not only is it convenient & safer, it is a better way to get funds if you run short on your trip with no add on fees such as an ATM or cc advances. It also helps with any niceties from the host you deal with as they will know your credit worthiness.

No experience with any $ problems through TSA, but I would imagine if you brought enough through on your person or in a carry on it could be a little suspect.
Others will know the limits allowed through TSA and it would not hurt to call the ariline carrier. Like Maylene said, no problem with that amount.

Good idea dewey on the banks and travelers checks.

On a side note: if you hit a big win you can have the casino write you a check. You can also store your cash or chips at the cage to keep safely or draw on as if a marker as opposed to in your room vault or on your person.

 

This question got a lot of play in the sticky post in the Getting around section:
https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?70785-Cash-and-airport-security

 

I have never heard of any issue with cash and the TSA. They have no rules, no issues. When you travel intl, you must declare anything over $10,000 and that is not illegal to carry.

I have thousands of cash going through TSA checkpoints often. It is buried deep in my bag so it can not be "lifted" as they do NOT open bags without you standing there.

As to police stopping people - where did you hear such a thing? Ask here and you will wait a long time to find anyone that has been stopped and frisked by the police. It just does not happen.

On the other hand, people doing bad things that are stopped by police and eventually frisked may have serious amounts of money confiscated, thinking it is drug money. But, it needs to be a fair amount of cash and other issues.

Bottom line - the TSA and the Police have no idea who has cash and how much. Nor do the bad guys.

 

Define "a lot of cash". People going to Vegas bring lots of cash which I'll define as $10k. It's not suspicious. Now, people coming home from Vegas carrying lots of cash might raise an eyebrow or two. :confused2:

 

The last trip I had $3500 in an envelope in my carry on. I figured that unless they had a very small person inside the screening device, I was safe.

 

There is a neat little show on Canadian TV called Border Security which I think is "real" reality TV. It covers the Canadian Border Security officers at various land crossings and other ports of entry although mainly set in BC with some Toronto and Niagara stories as well. On a recent episode they questioned a young man bringing in @ $35,000 from his weekend trip to Las Vegas. He had declared it on his customs card and no problem. He had a good weekend!

It is a great show to watch and gives you a great idea of how they work the border. I believe there is an Australian version too.

 

We always carry more than mentioned in this thread and never have had even a bag checked. Normally it is in a carry on bag or my wife's purse. We've travelled out of several airports and been to many casino locations without even an issue.

This is our starter money and we have LOC at several locations to follow up.

Don't worry about carrying money with you

 

Am I the only one that refuses to let money get out of sight? It stays in my wallet or in my hands while I go through the scanner. I would never leave money/wallet/passport in my carry on.

 

You beat me to it. I've been watching them on YouTube, and not a bad show. Some people are just idiots. The guy even took a pic of the win, the agent just said, good going, and he went on through. I was looking for the pic on here. There's also a US version called Homeland Security.

But, for local travel you can carry anything you want, or at least feel comfortable with. I carry mine in my front pocket, about $1500-$2000. If I were to budget about $10k, I'd probably setup a line of credit, or see about front money.

 

I'm a little scared of some of the stories I've heard of civil forfeiture. A cop in America if he pulls you over can legally take the cash you have on you and it is then up to you to legally prove the money was yours and acquired through legal means. There was a cop by Winnemucca that was targeting gamblers leaving Reno http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2014/03/two-civil-asset-forfeiture-lawsuits-settled-in-nevada-2919126.html

I'm sure that the Las Vegas Police have been trained to be cautious about civil forfeiture. If it gets out in the media that the police in Vegas are in essence "stealing" gamblers winnings the repercussions would be huge. As a middle aged white male I wouldn't worry too much about this but if I was a younger person who was prone to be pulled over by the police I would be leary of traveling with too much cash.

 

Thanks Shock. I've been going through the post and saw a lot of traffic on the thread. I don't take close to 10K with me to Vegas, but maybe half that. I wouldn't feel comfortable with that much cash on me. I put the cash in my carry on bag and wait to put it through the security scan until it's clear on the other side. Makes sense that if you're up front with security and don't send red flags out, there shouldn't be any problems. I was just curious if anyone had an incident going through TSA. At least I'm not the only one concerned with this topic.

 

Ditto.

I stopped carrying much cash in transit many trips ago. When I'm on the way to Vegas, my mind is going a mile a minute the whole way and it's just too easy to misplace a thin wad of hundreds. I just carry a couple of hundred in 20's on down, enough to get me to the hotel and checked in. I either wire money or use a credit line while I'm there.

And I keep my wallet and cash in my hand through the scanner. The wallet's usually bulky with player's cards etc., so I've had security look at it a few times, but I'd never willingly put it in a bin to go through the X-ray. Only been instructed to once.

 

I take over 100k in cash (carry on) most of the time. I've been bag checked twice (bricks show up on xray) and always ask for a private room. I take past W2's from the casinos to show slot payouts and some of the bricks still have the casino seal on them. The 'suits' are cool about it and I'm now in the airport 'system'. To avoid any future 'drama', the 'suits' recommended I speak to a TSA agent prior to getting in line and going through the xray and request a private screening - I've yet to do this.

I'd be more concerned about 'others' than the TSA.

 

As an overseas visitor, how would i go about forwarding my BR to my home casino?
I made enquiries on my last visit with the dept that deals with credit lines and was basically laughed at, there response was how do we check you out and enforce repaying your debt?
I couldnt answer this as I had no idea what was involved hence my initial reqest. Needless to say i just carry cash as always but it would be nice to have a fallback other than plastic :evillaugh

 

No sir you are not. I'll carry 2-3k but it stays in my hand through the scanner. Or, if I get pre check, just stays in my front pocket.

 

You can wire the funds to the casino in advance and have access as front money. Which casino laughed at you when you asked to setup a credit line? There are plenty of visitors from out of the country that have markers.

 

The Aria
Stayed here 4 times out of the last 5