What are markers?

Not to hijack the thread... but what are markers and how does it work?

 

Line of credit with the casino. You do need to apply for it in advance you will have to have an average balance approximately double the requested amount in your checking account for an average (not just current) balance. When you want to draw on it, you go to the cage (not sure how tables work) and ask for a marker or a draw on your line. They ID you and you complete a voucher. They do check your card and make sure you are playing. They don't want you to draw $1000 at Paris and then only play it at MGM for example. But never any issue as long as you are playing in the same 'casino family' - also to prevent 'payday lending' by locals too I expect. With CET you need to have a line at each casino - you can't draw at Harrahs on a line at Planet Hollywood for example. And normally they want a minimum draw so you don't do 10 vouchers for $100 each on a $2000 line. You can pay it back prior to departure (I did when I hit a handpay once) or they will automatically deposit it 3-4 weeks later - no interest - no fee. To be honest I much prefer doing this vs. carrying cash.

 

At the tables you just hand your ID and players card then tell them the amount you want against your marker. A person eventually comes over with a slip to sign then you get your chips.

 

Thanks for the replies... I'm too low of a roller to have a marker, lol

 

It's not quite credit, despite the term "line of credit" that is associated with taking markers. It's really just a glorified check cashing service that you typically have 30 days to pay back after your trip, assuming you don't pay it back at the casino. The check cashing / credit distinction is critical. You can't be arrested for not paying off credit. You CAN be arrested for not paying your markers, just as you can be arrested for writing a hot check.

 

Also, with the check cashing services, they normally charge you a fee as most all are handled by a 3rd party company now (a certain amount per hundred). Even high level players no longer have the fees waived for check cashing at some places. Another reason I prefer my 'line of credit' as no fees involved. The logic of the 3rd party check cashing companies is also odd to me. Prior to marker days I could cash checks for up to $2500 at my 'home' property with no fee because the casino ran the service. When they switched to a 3rd party service I went to write a check for $500 and discovered that the company had assigned me a limit of $400 PER MONTH - on an account with an average balance in the 1000's, opened in 1980, no overdrafts or returns and a credit score in the range of 780-800 at that time. I ended up using the ATM & had the daily withdrawal limit increased (ATM fees were lower then). It took a LONG time and someone from the cage area finally found a contact person at the check cashing service. After a long call with them they grudgingly increased my limit to $1200. I used it one more time and have refused to write out a check since. That's when I applied for the marker service.

Sorry - one of those things that just burns me.

 

Think of it as an "authorized hold" on your bank balance as a way of accessing your money for gaming purposes. To be clear, markers make the most sense for high rollers and foreign players. There isn't really an incentive to use markers as a low-roller.

For high rollers... let's say your bankroll is $25,000, you basically have two traditional options to bring it to Vegas. One is to carry it in cash, the other is to wire transfer it to the casino. Cash, you have the risk of getting robbed, and you can also trigger suspicion at the airport if you're discovered to be carrying that much cash. Wire transfer, you have to pay a fee on both ends of the transaction. Say that amounts to $100... you'll have lost 0.4% of your bankroll for no reason.

Also with a wire transfer (and cash too for that matter), the money has to actually leave your account. So let's say you're trying to hide your gambling habit from your spouse... they'll get real suspicious at a $25,000 wire transfer or cash withdrawal. But since a marker doesn't automatically withdraw the money from your account, it can effectively be left untouched. So say you have $50,000 in your chequing account and you establish a $25,000 marker. As a simple example, you play one session of blackjack where you buy in for $25,000 and you cash out with $28,000. You'd "buy back" your marker with $25,000 in chips and you'd be free to cash the additional $3,000 in chips. In this case, there would be no activity on your bank account and you'd "magically" come home with $3,000 in winnings.

On the other hand, say you cash out with $20,000. You'd then owe the casino $5,000. You can then either let them withdraw it from your account (and thus as far as anybody is concerned, you "only" lost $5,000 and didn't actually risk $25,000)... or if you have a "secret" account elsewhere, you can pay the casino the $5,000 owing from that, once again leaving your main account untouched.

Then for foreign players, these same benefits apply from a currency conversion perspective. If you take your $25,000 USD in cash or send it by wire transfer, you'll buy the USD with CAD (and vice versa) at a "premium" exchange rate, which will also cost you a few percentage points (especially if the exchange rates fluctuate unfavourably). But since no money actually changes hands at first with a marker, the only time I'd ever have to exchange actual currency is if I have to pay the casino if I lose. So given the example above in which I get a marker for $25,000 and lose $5,000, it's much better to have to convert $6,500-ish CAD to $5,000 USD one time to pay off my losses, compared to converting CAD to the whole $25,000 and then the remaining $20,000 USD back to CAD.

It can be pretty handy I think... but again, it only makes sense if you're dealing with a lot of money, or a decent amount of foreign currency.

 

Depends on what you mean by a lot of money, I guess. My line is $5k, and I don't think I've ever taken out more than $3k (just straight to the cashier and they hand me cash at the start of the trip), and I think it makes a ton of sense for me. Much better than carrying that kind of cash onto the plane or dealing with ATM fees.

Also, it's literally the same as a check cashing service for me (other than there being no fees), because I write a check for any balance before I leave town.

 

I don't think anyone's definition of "roller" is relevant. If you have a verifiable bank history and a checking account, you can likely be approved for a line of credit.

I generally have $1500 to $2000 as my bankroll for a 3-4 day trip, but I have lines of credit at South Point and the California for $2500 each (I prefer to stay downtown, but I spend a lot of time at South Point). I bring about $500 in cash on the plane with me (safer to travel with a small amount) and once I get settled into my hotel, I request the first marker from the cage or table. No ATM fees, no check cashing fees, no credit check, etc, etc.

You can pay them back at any time before you leave, so if you get on a run you can go to the cage and pay them off.

I've always managed to pay off my SP markers before I leave, but my luck isn't so good at the California/MSS (which is why the comps keep flowing, I guess). The Cal sends me a statement within about two weeks, and I have another two weeks or so to send them a check. If I don't, they will deposit the draft I signed when I get the cash. I always mail them a check, so I don't know if there is any detriment to letting the draft become deposited.

It has also been stated on some podcasts that if you get the marker when buying into a table game, your rating begins immediately because you are in the system right away to process the marker, as opposed to the dealer who puts your card aside when you buy in for cash, which the floor person enters into the system when s/he gets to it.

 

Hearing about the hassles of taking the money off the property at some places has kept me from trying it, I could use that @mjames1229 level though, at those same two places too.

the upside for a relative low roller is either not needing to bring much cash in, or having a chance to go deeper without the hassle of finding more cash.

if you get on a session run, you can pay them off at the table.

Had one way back in the Frontier days, to be honest, I have a stack of them to remind me the money is sometimes too easily accessed. It makes chasing losses very easy.
I did think back them it might raise me on the comp radar. (maybe I ratholed a few chips and they thought I lost more-take a bunch out, pay em at the end)

In the end though, it's writing a check for the full amount, instead of schlepping the cash in first.

Anyone have thoughts on the current lowest amount is that's worth pulling a marker for at a table (without dirty looks)? wayyy back then I considered it $500.
and I felt kind of bad when I flashed a five on my hand but had to clarify five hundred, not thousand. (the line wasn't that high)

 

When I buy into table games, I get a $300 marker.

When I get one from the cage for slots and VP, its usually $500.

 

I'm just curious to your reasoning for utilizing markers at that level....not to question you, but rather for my own knowledge.

I am a lower roller (usually about $1k per day bankroll) and have never considered using markers at my level, but perhaps there are advantages that I'm unaware of?

 

Many years ago I established credit lines in Atlantic City and Vegas, but concluded that for the amounts I typically bring, it wasn't worth the hassles. Not that anyone should be in that much of a hurry at the tables, but you have to wait for the pit boss to come over, check their computer or call the cage, and print out the marker for you to sign. Unless you're talking BIG BUCKS, it's so much easier using cash.

To tell the truth, I originally opened the credit lines to feel like, and maybe appear to the uninitiated that I was somebody special. I also thought I might get better offers, though I can't say that happened. In any case, I always paid back the markers before leaving and would have hated owing money to the casino once I left.

I think casino credit is terrific and I may use it again one day, but probably for amounts greater than $10K. And unless it's changed, credit lines don't remain past several months of inactivity.

 

Again, maybe it's different at different properties, but I've had a different experience than a lot of you. I have my line at The Cromwell, and at the beginning of my trip I go to the cashier and get $3k. It takes 5, MAYBE 10 minutes for them to verify my line, get the necessary bank draft together and hand me $3k. I can take that cash to the Bellagio, to the mall, whatever.. Now, I've always gambled enough with CET while in town that they don't worry about me as a "flight risk" with that money, but there's no immediate restriction on what I can do with that cash. At the end of the trip, I take whatever hundys I've still got and either pay the thing in full in cash or supplement with a check to pay off the balance. No fees, very little hassle, no need to carry cash while traveling (unless it's to take it home as a winner!), and no money owed when I leave. Also, I access my line once a year in March, because I only go to Vegas once a year...in March. There's never been any indication that the line will be cancelled for inactivity because I didn't touch it for a year.

I'm mostly a table games player, and I have literally never taken a marker at a table.

 

Very informative thread. Thanks for the questions and the answers!

 

Both SP and the Cal have indicated that their credit doesn't expire.

 

Convenience, mostly. I am not a fan of carrying a lot of cash (my motto... "I identify as a Millennial, therefore I am one") and my ATM limit from my credit union is $500 a day (I've tried to get it raised, but to no avail). Casino credit allows me to carry minimal cash through airports, while not having to worry about ATM limits or fees.

I don't disagree with others that they are more strategically used for bigger players, but it works well in my situation and I have been approved by two casinos, so I will take advantage of it. With all of the profit centers in resorts, frankly this is still one of the perks that a smaller player can utilize with no charges or hassles.

 

Speaking only of my experience, when I get to a table (usually craps) and ask for a marker, both SP and the Cal floor people come right over to check my ID and player's card, then they set out lammers for the marker amount next to the money drop and has the dealer send the chips. I can play while the paperwork is being done. Other properties may not process markers the same way.

All of my responses on this thread are NOT to sell anyone on the value of markers, but I was in that "I am not a big player, they'll never approve me" until I was convinced to try. Once I tried, I was sold on the process. YMMV, but for me, I can't even imagine bringing $2K on an airplane again.

 

This distinction was a most interesting revelation to me. I had no idea.

I had always wondered why Las Vegas is able to put people in jail for not paying back markers. After all, credit card companies cannot put people in jail for not paying their bills (although they can be pursued through collections and civil suits of course). I guess writing a bad check is a felony and that is the rule Las Vegas casinos use.

 

This is exactly what I do!