Naive?

We both retired and my husband isn't so naive as not to recognize a working woman when she solicits him after a he hits a jackpot.

This last trip at the Cosmopolitan we both had two unusual experiences in one evening. We both play video poker though not necessarily sitting together.

The only thing in common was that we both had several hundred dollars of credit at the time.

My husband had a fellow sit beside him and start to bang on the buttons like he was playing but had no money in the machine. He declined a drink when the CW came by and then left in a huff.

I was playing and a young woman bounced into the seat beside me and gave me a huge smile and hello. I had no interest in chatting and ignored her and she was gone within one minute.

At the time neither of us thought anything of it. In hind sight, were we being solicited? Needing to worry about someone trying to cash out our TITO? Or was this just weird and we weren't friendly?

 

I'd put it in that category...

 

I doubt you were being solicited. If the man sat next to you, and the woman next to your husband, then maybe... Other way around would be very very unusual in my opinion. I guess it probably happens, but I personally have never seen same sex solicitation in a casino.

 

The man by your hubby was just weird, no worry there.
But the young woman that sat next to you, smiled and said hi............you were correct in NOT talking to her. In my 25+ years of gambling experience; she was going to ask you for money for sure!

Remember that the 'service' button on your machine is there for security to assist you as well as help you with a machine or TITO issue. If that happens to me, and they ask for money, I always tell them to leave the casino or I will hit that 'service' button and report them to security.

 

I agree that the dude was just a weirdo and the chick was probably about to bum some money so she could go buy her fix of h. That said, I am southerner by birth and have lived in southern states by choice my entire life. If somebody makes eye contact with me, I almost reflexingly say hello. Its the culturally polite thing for me to do and dont do it in any sort of imposing way. However, I am typically not looking to chat a stranger up except in rare cases. And when I sit down, I will be feeding a stack of Benjamin's into the machine I am going to play so it would be obvious that I am not there to get my dope money from some kindly soul who will kick me down a few bucks.

 

You're spidey sense was correct in going off. In the future, it's probably better to cash out and reload and than show a huge balance for everyone to see.

 

I'd say being guarded is your best bet. Better to be safe than sorry. I personally don't go to Vegas to make new friends so I would be the same way.

Last summer, my husband and I were staying at the GN. We were playing next to each other on the $1 slots against the back wall by Rush Lounge. We each had a couple hundred in the machines. This kid (25 at best) comes up to my husband and says "WTF dude, I saw you looking at my mom", clearly trying to start a fight. Oh, I should mention that we were the ONLY two people playing in the area and are FACING THE WALL (lol).

I think the kid either thought I wasn't with my husband or I wouldn't say anything but I told my husband not to get out of his seat and watch our machines. I got up in the guy's face and swore up a storm and then threw my drink is his face. He wouldn't leave until I threw my whole glass at him.

I have NO doubt that he had a partner in crime around the back of our machines ready to cash our TITOs if we both got up....

Funny that this lasted for 5 minutes and security was NOWHERE to be found and the "eye in the sky" must have been on a bathroom break...

Stephanie

 

Damn... where do you work as a bouncer!

LOL

Really... good for you to get in his face. Not sure I would do anything quite so physical, as you could be the one ending up in the slammer. In the face is great though!

 

Um, I always smile and say hello when I sit down next to someone at a machine... I usually say hi, how you doing? Having a good day? As I'm sticking my hundo in the game. Most of the time this is at the bar and we strike up a short conversation. If it's a grunt then I just focus on my game. No harm, no foul.

I've had some great and really weird conversations this way. And that is why I love siting at the bar.

B

 

It's not unusual for someone who is playing next to you to speak. It sounds like the young lady in question didn't have any intention to gamble which makes it odd that she chose to sit near someone with a huge credit balance and tried to engage them.

 

Meanwhile on another board somewhere a lady posts a story about sitting down at a machine and saying hello to a woman next to her and being ignored....

 

I think people are overstating the risk of the girl who sat down next to you. What's going to happen? She asks you for money? Big deal...just say no when it happens. Odds are pretty good that a young girl trying to solicit anything would target men, not women. You were at Cosmo...she was probably drunk.

I'm not suggesting you should turn your back on your machine. But you don't have to totally blow someone off. While you're not totally safe in a casino, the odds of someone robbing you on the casino floor at the cosmo are pretty low.

 

Just a little more info. There was a major convention going on and there were some working women around the bar.

The gal that sat beside me was about 30, nice looking, well-dressed, not drunk and sitting down with the sole purpose of saying hello. She didn't even try to take her wallet out to put in some money. I gave her a friendly hello and went back to playing, because that's what I'm there to do. I did double check that my purse was closed and the TITO wasn't easily accessible, just in case she was a distraction. I didn't feel insecure because she was gone in less than a minute.

My husband said that the fellow beside him was average looking. He didn't really notice him until he started punching the keys and saw there was no money and the guy kept it up.

Neither situation seemed normal. If it hadn't been the same night, I probably wouldn't have thought about it twice.

The suggestion to push the service button is a good one.

 

I think it is more likely they were going to scam you out of your money by distracting you and then hitting the cash out button. Last year at Wynn, I had just hit quad aces ($ DDB) and had about $1100 in my machine. A guy came and sat down next to me (lots of open seats on this bank) and proceeded to start chatting. I just ignored him and kept playing. He wouldn't shut up and then ordered a drink from the cocktail waitress. He continued to talk to me until I asked him to stop talking. He never put any money into the machine. Finally, I told him I was calling security.....at which point I hit the service button and he became irate. He told me he just needed some money because he had just gotten out of the hospital (forgot to mention he lit up a cig too). When security came, they asked him to leave and he started screaming at them for taking my side. The security folks know me as I am a regular visitor. Bigger security people came and escorted him out of the casino.

Frankly, I think random people sitting next to you are likely scammers and I ignore them all.

 

Good Story/Post!

And the OP no matter your age should be aware of your surroundings at all times. I was at Luxor once sitting at a Penny machine... You know the kind that make a lot of noise just to win $5.
It was early morning and the place was dead. I had a guy sit next to me and he started chatting me up. Called me by my first name reading it off the Slot Screen which is a pet peeve of mine.
Both him addressing me by my name and it being on the screen for all to see. That's a major security risk if you ask me! Finally I got the sob story how he needed money so I cashed out and left.

Other times you will see old men sitting on the end of a bank of machines and as you walk by he will say; Such and such machine is hitting or due to hit in hopes (I think) of getting a tip.
And I've had Ho-Ho's sit next to me at Paris pretending not to know how to work the machine and then once some small talk was made Bam! I get the ole... Where are you staying? Are you alone?

Speaking of Ho's haha I had something happen in Atlantic City once. It was clearly a Pimp & Ho situation. They hung back as I played and the Ho kept yelling at me "Hey Mr. - Yo Mr." trying to
get me to slide down to the next Slot because it was due to hit. I was the only one sitting at that bank of machines. Finally I got up and stared both of them down and then I left!

Not really sure what their game was... I hate that crap! Don't talk to me you Frigg'in little Mutts! Damn Losers!

da1chifan - I bet you're correct! The kid was starting a distraction! That's why if I hit a decent win I'll cash out, put that ticket in my pocket and start over with a smaller bill.

 

Must make it hard to step out into the world...and you know...be part of society.

 

perhaps they were working in pairs. distract you so you look left while the person you dont see on you right is taking your purse.

either this or display odd behavior so your response would be to guard your money, msybe put your hand over yoy pocket where you wallet is. this way they know where you keep it when you get up.

 

Some of you need to stop being so paranoid. Not everyone in the "big bad city" is out to rob you. Someone said hello to the OP...not sure what kind of place you live in where that's such major cause for alarm but you'd last about 3 mins in any major city if that's how fearful you are of strangers in public places.

 

I'm the same way, if I sit down at a machine and someone is right next to me I always say Hey hows is going, any luck today? Then I'll leave it at that and the other person can choose if they wanna have a conversation or not.

lol I totally agree. WTF is wrong with some people? You know there are still a lot of good people out there and not everyone is a scamming dick.

 

Exactly. Here's a 'scam' I've seen a lot in vegas. Person with little or no money sits down next to someone playing VP. Orders a drink while talking to the player. Gets a free drink without playing more than a dollar or so, and it's not obvious to the CW because the person just happens to be talking to a player.

The horror!

Not saying this is what happened to the OP.