The most insulted/embarrassed I've ever been

So I know this may not be the exact forum for this story (sorry it's long), but it's where I post most often in. I'm a local player who gambles almost every day. I've lived here for 15 years and have never been this insulted/embarrassed in a casino. I was Noir at mlife with over 3 million tier credits until they dropped me this month to platinum. I also play at Cosmopolitan. I'm gold there.........and probably earned around 70,000 points this year. One month.....I know I earned around 20,000 points, since there was a gift card promotion and I was checking with the club. I guess I'm pretty close to platinum.

Anyway, I was gambling tonight and I was down 120 dollars. I had cashed out 35 cents from a slot I was playing max credits. I sometimes leave change in the machine but I've been on a losing streak recently and need all the pennies I could get. I noticed a machine near me had 40 cents left in it. I cashed that out. I then was walking to go play video poker and I saw another cash out button lit. I figured I'll get this change up to a dollar and play 1 spin at video roulette and try to turn it into 35 dollars. I take that change out, noticing it was only 14 cents........and a woman security guard stops me and asks me for id. I said "wow do I look that young? I'm 36 by the way. She says yes- I say thanks- and laughed. I thought it was a cool compliment. Well something else was going on here. She calls for back up security and takes a photo of my id. I'm like "what is going on?". She said I saw you take that voucher out of the machine. That's a crime in the state of Nevada. I said, I had no idea (which I didn't). I showed her my gold card and told her to look me up in the system. I told her that a few months back I earned 20,000 points in one month and remember losing almost $3,000 in one day. Back up security gets there and is treating me like a huge criminal. Everyone is staring at me. I show him my platinum card at Mlife, gold card at cosmo, platinum card at Stations........and tell him that I still have my mlife Noir card in my car as they just dropped me. I figured I would get an apology for the way I'm being treated. Well.......he became even more of a jerk. The woman security guard was being kind of nice to me in comparison. Telling me that they have to escort me out tonight (they walked me across the whole place to the parking garage).............but it's just a warning and I'm free to comeback another day. As they were walking me to my car I asked...... doesn't someone have to get the money that is left in the machine? I've left money in the machine many times........did I cause trouble for others that found it? They didn't really want to answer my questions.

So yeah, that's the story. I actually have stomach pains from the nerves/embarrassment this caused. Was I being punked? Was Ashton Kutcher going to come out and say- hahahaha- we got you good. I have never received a food comp from them and I feel like I should complain to someone about this. A part of me doesn't want to think about it though. Thanks for reading- and I'd like to hear your opinions on this.

 

Yeah, don't leave credits in a machine and don't take anyone else's credits, even if it's 10 cents.

 

Security was correct.
But......
it must have been a slow day and
somebody wanted to show the Eye In The Sky
they were actually working at their job.

 

What about playing on a slot that had money in it? Can you put in $20 and play it or do you just have to leave it alone? I had heard not to take money from machines but would think you at worst would be warned about it and not made to look like a thief.

 

Well, I hope they reviewed tape to get that 14 cents back to its original owner. The player who forgot it must have been worried sick over it.

 

But what would be your complaint? I understand you were embarrassed, but Security simply did their job. They escorted you out after informing you that you were observed doing something which is illegal in Nevada.

Whether or not you have received any comps from this casino or your status with this (or any other) casino is immaterial.

This topic has come up on this board a few times.

 

Doesn't really surprise me that Cosmo cracked down on that. I think there is a problem (real or perceieved, I don't know for sure) with homeless and transient people trying to cobble together credits gamblers leave behind in machines. Cosmo has an imasge to maintain (or so they think) and are probably being harsh on this stuff even when the person doing it is clearly a player

 

The money that's left in machines is split between the casino and the state.

What I've done in the past, shame on me, is to put more money in and play a few hands before cashing out. It would be hard for them to prove that I knew there were credits there before I put my money in.

BTW, I learned this from security after someone took my credits ($136.00) while my buddy was watching my machine but was also BSing with the guy on the other side of him. When they went over the tapes, the guy walked up, put some money in my machine, played a few hands then cashed out, took my beer and my players card to make it look good.

The worst that they could do to him, if caught, would be to trespass him from the casino and have him arrested if he ever came back.

 

Thanks for sharing your story as I also had no idea that it's a crime to take a voucher out of a machine.

 

I find this hilarious, sorry, think you should be embarassed i would be if i got caught taking something i knew wasn't mine. Insulted? How would you be insulted if the money is not yours in the first place?

 

I would expect security to do just what they did if I somehow found myself cashing out of multiple machines and taking money that was not mine. Look at it from their point of view, they cannot read your mind, only see your actions. Someone just happening to see that many cash out buttons lit is a strange coincidence. I have read articles that state the law is in effect because there were peeps that just walked around casinos looking for cash outs.

 

Good to know this. I recall wanting to play a machine that had like 40 cents in it. Wasn't sure what to do.

So I moved on. I didn't think it was worth it to call for assistance. Not for 40 cents.

I did on many ocassions cash out my 20 or 30 something cent tito and leave it on the machine. Didn't want to bother going to the redemtion machine to cash it.

Why I didn't play those machines to zero is beyond me. Just too frustrated or stupid I guess...:Þ

 

Having lost an $180 dollar voucher at the Cosmo when I forgot to cash out for about 2 minutes, I'm glad to hear the Cosmo has stepped up to take this matter seriously. I think they did their job and probably wanted to send you a strong message that your behavior was not going to be tolerated.

 

Justified in taking action of some sort never justifies being an ass. Security guards often seem to have a real axe to grind and quite enjoy pushing their weight around. It would have been just as easy for a single guard to have expressed the need for the OP to take a break for the day because that's the policy every time this happens. If it's not the policy, then they should have checked the value that was cashed out to see if it was worth potentially losing a customer over.

Yes the rules are there for a reason. To protect against someone cashing out a couple of TITO's less than a dollar because someone left them in the machine is not the reason.

 

I get embarrassed. But insulted? Its not like they accused you of something you didn't do or called you names. I'd just chalk it up to lesson learned and not try to cash out machines anymore.

For one, I'm kind of happy they weren't swayed by your players club status, either. One can argue its a nitpicky offense, but if its going to get people booted, it should get anyone booted. BTW, I know that you were using those clubs just to prove you weren't just some scammer and not for favouritism, I'm just saying.

 

After waking up too many times in the morning wondering if I cashed out and rushing over to my wallet/bankroll to check, I now have a big sign in my wallet where my player's card goes, saying CASH OUT CASH OUT.

My problem is I pull the card out first, thinking any wins won't register on my win/loss statement if I cash out after the card is removed. It's probably flawed logic, but I do it anyway.

 

Taking money out of a machine that you know belongs to someone else is morally equivalent to reaching into someone's purse that was left behind on a seat - you know the money is not yours, and definitely belongs to someone else who can be identified if need be. It is dishonest, no matter what Players Club status you held, how much you were down, or how much was left in the machine. And it is definitely a crime, not just in Nevada (something I learned a while ago from one of those Travel Channel specials). As rude as you think those security guards were being, they could have really pushed the issue if they wanted and caused major trouble for you because whether it is 1 cent or $1000, it is the same crime.

 

They have been cracking down because of unsavory people around the slot machines...tried to sell my mother fake diamond ring, pointing to "hot" machines expecting a tip, etc...I've been complaining...

 

I disagree. It was 14 cents. You're "stealing" way more by picking up a quarter on the ground. At that level it was almost certainly someone not bothering to cash out. Now if were talking about dollars I might agree, but at a few cents it was most likely just someone not caring and leaving it for the next player or whatever.

 

Right. To take it even a step further, what about the TITO's someone cashed out and then just tossed beside the machine? Even more like picking up a quarter. Worth kicking someone out for? Not particularly.

Granted you need to draw the line somewhere, but a conversation like that is easily done without needing two security guards and an escort out of the building. A discreet conversation will be sufficient for most people which can be followed up with an escort if they don't make their own way out as requested.