Video Poker People drinking at bar, but not playing!

What is the proper protocol if you want to play vp at the bar, but all seats are taken, some by non-players?

 

That's funny because I will play at a bar and not drink. Just the flip side. I wonder about protocol because I'm taking up bartender space without letting them earn their living.

 

I would personally go play somewhere else. To me a bar is different than a slot machine in that you have a purpose to be there (to drink), and sometimes there are no other seats at the bar besides those with machines atop them. I have on occasion asked someone if they are playing a particular slot if they're just sitting there, but I wouldn't do the same at a bar with machines.

 

inform the bartender that you'd to play....he will move someone.

when I show up they know i'm there to play and make a hole

 

Trouble is that sometimes the only good pay tables are at the bar...for instance the Boar's Head Bar in MSS.

 

I would not ask or expect someone to move if they are paying for drinks. however, the bartender will ask someone to move as Blacklabber said. it's a win-win. the casino is going to make money from your play, and the bartender is going to earn tips.

 

Just tell the bartender you want to play, this alone will usually be enough for someone to get up on their own. At worst the bartender will ask someone to clear a spot for you, though Ive rarely seen it go that far. Keep in mind the casino will favor the gambler vs drinker.

 

Wow, that's a new one on me. Sit at a bar to drink, not play the machines.

Just wondering, where would the drinker go if they ask him to move? Or guess they expect him to just leave the bar.

Maybe someone should ask a bartender what happens in that situation, will they kick out the drinker to make room for the gambler? Or will they let the drinker stay at the bar even though he isn't gambling?

 

It's up to the house on how they want to earn their money. If they have the posted placards (which seem to be making a comeback) that state 'seats are reserved for players', I will normally ask the bartender while leaning in over the non-player. At Casino Royale they have sports on TV and dollar beers, so non-players will monopolize the seats. It used to be up to the slot techs to roust someone if you asked for a seat. And the best is when you're a known quantity and bartenders clear a seat when you enter the room. Plenty of places to drink and get service without blocking a machine.

 

Bars are for drinking. If someone asked me to move when I'm paying for drinks, I'd tell them to pound sand. Unless the seats are marked for players*, they are open to anybody, playing or not.

* - If this then you move your carcass.

 

We play a lot at the Boar's Head Bar at MSS, the machines have little tags on them saying the seats are for players. If the bar is full the bartender can usually point out the folks that are about to leave and find us seats. He will notice me walking up and looking for machines to play.

 

I try to avoid this scenario at all possible. On the strip at least, non-players make bartenders and casinos significant money.

One time I asked a non player to move it was because there was a single gaffed 10/6 DDB machine at Gustav's. There were plenty of other open seats though and he immediately obliged.

 

remember, those bar top machines are still slots, even though some people may be playing VP with a good pay table, not all of the players are. and slots are the bread and butter of a casino. in most casinos, it is policy for the bartender to clear a seat for a player over just a drinker. it is what it is, you are in a CASINO after all.

 

I have had a bartender ask someone to vacate the seat for me. I did not ask him to. I bought a beer for the guy that moved, he was very kind about it., and the bartender was tipped well.

 

When I drink at at bars with machines on top, I move for players. The one exception was when a guy gave me a hard time about some terrible idea he had regarding the government, and I blew him off. So he told the bartender that he wanted to play the specific machine where I was sitting, even though there were roughly 7-8 totally empty barstools with the exact same $.25 video poker. Because he was a regular, the bartender (who had also botched my order 20 minutes earlier) proceeded to make me move. This was at Hooters just off the Strip, by the way.

 

Not the hill I'd choose to die on. Everyone is on vacation to have a good time and the last thing you really should want to do leave a bad taste in someone's mouth by trying to bounce them while they are enjoying themselves even if you are "right".

There's thousands of machines in town. Surely there is an empty one out there with your name on it.

My humble opinion only.

 

Good to hear all the different opinions. I used to play at the Hilton a lot, because they had my fave game picked. Only at the Bartops, however (long gone now, of course). The bartenders knew me, and would ask someone to move if all the spots were taken, and yes, I did forget that they had those placards.
So, I guess consensus would be, if it is not stated, don,t expect someone to move. Makes perfect sense! Glad to have a forum like this to keep me informed.

 

Two words for me. Crop dusting. ☺

 

I would be hesitant to ask someone to move, even if they're not playing. If they paid for the drink, I personally kind of see the seat as part of that $18+ price tag on the drink. I'd probably wait to take a seat that opened up on its own.

BUT this method has a plus side. I used to get annoyed if I went to a favorite machine and someone was one it----any machine, not just the bar. I'd stay in the area on something else, and then hop on my desired machine once it was free. 9/10 times when I do that, the machine I've been waiting on turns out to be in a bad spell.

On my last two trips though, now, if I go to a machine I want and it's booked, instead of getting annoyed/waiting for it to open, I look at it like maybe it's not the machine I'm supposed to play right then. Instead of stalking that machine, I now just walk around until something else calls my name.

Ironically? I've been finding a lot more machines on good spells now, and it's been kind of fun! (Versus having it be on a cruddy spell 9/10 times.)

So, if I want a specific machine, and it's taken, bar or not, I write it off as "not the right time, find something else."

In a bar, if you absolutely want a machine that has a non player sitting there (WITH a paid drink, seat warmer is different), I like Blabber's comment of asking a bartender if he can tell you when something opens up. If he moves someone, he'll do it artfully. If he DOES choose to flat move someone, he's probably going to pick the person that's annoying him/not tipping him.

 

well said.
and I do agree, when I can't get the machine I want, I just say it was not meant to be.