Bad SLS Gambling Experience

So I waited a few days after visiting SLS to share this post so I could make sure I wasn't overreacting to what happened. Don't think I did, so thought I would now share my experience.

I was in vegas last week at Palazzo and the gambling went really well the first day and a half. I was leaving Friday evening and needed to kill some time Friday morning. I didn't want to hang around Palazzo for fear I would get tempted to gamble at a higher level and give back my winnings. So I decided I would walk the North end of the Strip and maybe low roll somewhere. First, I checked out Lucky Dragon, which was shiny and new, but their tiny casino had a total of three table games open in the entire place. So then I decided to walk over to SLS.

I had only visited SLS once before, more than a year ago, and was underwhelmed. But I thought I would give it a second chance. It was about 10:30 Friday morning and the place was dead. There was a crowd eating or waiting in line at their café, but the casino was empty. So I decide to get a players card, walk into the high limit, and pull $2k in cash out of my pocket. There is one guy playing baccarat in the room, but nobody else. I sit down at the BJ table and start playing.

It does not go well. Down several hundred after the first shoe. Went even farther down with the second shoe, but then it finally turns a bit. I hit one of those big four way splits with two double downs and near the end of the shoe, I am back to even. I take a break to use the restroom (which isn't even in the HL) and debate whether I want to keep playing. I'm greedy, so I decide I will play a bit more. When I get back to the table, I ask for a new shoe. The supervisor says no problem and the dealer and I joke about how there were only one or two hands left in the shoe anyway.

The third shoe starts well, I get up a little, but then go on a terrible run. I lose all my chips and decide to take a step back form the table to return a phone call. It also gives me a minute to clear my head. After the call, I decide I am going to chase my losses a bit. I pull my bankroll out of my pocket, say something about buying in for more to see if I can get some back, and ask for a new shoe again. I would estimate there were maybe five or six hands left in the current shoe.

Before I can even start counting out hundreds, the same supervisor starts lecturing me about how he can't give me a new shoe, its against their policy to grant these requests more than once per shift and since I had already asked for a new shoe a half hour earlier, he wasn't going to give me a new one now. He then told me I should know better and should not have asked.

I looked around the room. The baccarat player was long gone. The only people in there were me, the one supervisor, and three dealers. Still, I felt a little embarrassed and seriously annoyed. I felt like they should have granted the request, but if he wouldn't, he definitely didn't need to lecture me on casino etiquette.

He just stared at me like he was waiting for me to finish the shoe. So I started putting the rubber band back around my bills and said to him, "No problem, I will just head back to Wynn or Palazzo. They've never said no when I ask for a new shoe." At that point, I think he realized he had screwed up. He immediately backtracked and said he would grant my request just this one time. I said no thanks, I did not appreciate his lecture, and left.

As I walked back down the Strip, I calmed down and thought about whether I had made an inappropriate request. Its not like I was asking for a new shuffle only a few hands into the shoe. And besides, SLS was using a shuffle machine, so the new shoe was ready and just needed to be loaded. Not sure if my situation was an example of a bad policy, bad customer service, or a combination of both, but I don't really care. For a struggling casino, I would have thought they would welcome my play and grant such easy requests, but I guess not. I will be a lifetime loser at SLS, though, since I never intend to play there again.

 

IMHO, you did the right thing. You made a reasonable request, they refused to grant it, you took your business elsewhere.

 

belive it or not its not uncoomon for one courstesy shuffle.i hear it all the time .so what i do i get up and walk they have to re shuffle and then sit back down.

if u have a good history with them u do get more leaway but yes one shuffle is common courstesy.


they always think ur up too something

theres one casino i would play for at over 10 years and all i could get is one shuffle.

 

You did the right thing UK. Terrible customer service and I agree they should appreciate the business.

 

I agree with regard to the main floor, but its typically not denied in high limits. The only time I have seen it refused in a high limit was at Aria one time because a very strange player kept requesting a shuffle after any time he lost three hands in a row. It was getting ridiculous in that circumstance

 

it shouldnt be ,but it is ,its all if they know u and rember customer service isnt what it used to be.
as i said i cant get it at one casino and ive playing 10 years and could be betting 1 k a hand so i just stand up and they have to shuffle.

sls should be happy u walked in there ,

the old story penny wise pound foolish .

except on nite when theres a concert the main casino is empty the hl room is dead basicly dead and the slots are tighter than an 18 year old.

and one day they will finish the ceilining and hl room realy isnt one , no bar or bathroom and i hate the colors, rant over

 

Actually, I liked the "monkey" felt and vests. Thought that was kind of amusing. But you're right, it doesn't feel like a HL room at all.

 

It is refreshing to finally read a thread gone bad and instead of creating any number of scenarios merely voting with your feet. Good for you. If you stay and let them push you around that is fine; just don't bitch and look for validation.

I am one that seriously feels if you are not being treated fairly move on. There are things I don't like about downtown but more things I do so I go. Be happy. End of tiny rant.

 

i love the vests.
the only thing sam did right was the branding . the vests the felts and that it was a nite club feel. so la/

 

they were supposed to move the hl room at one point next bazzar meat for bj , but that never happend

 

Yeah, once I get annoyed I tend to just leave the table. If I'm gambling (with odds against me), I better be enjoying my time while I'm there.

 

Yeah I think he should have been more polite in his refusal; i would go ballistic if somebody lectured me while I was losing money. That's why I try to avoid playing in strange casinos...

 

Agreed. It wasn't so much the refusal that annoyed me, but the way he delivered it. And you make a good point about playing in new environments. At the casinos where I usually play, I know my favorite dealers and supervisors and I also know which ones I will avoid. I can at least say that the dealer at SLS was friendly and I enjoyed playing at her table

 

Oh I can't believe he said NO! Unfreaking real....you should have asked for "shift Mgr" and made formal complaint! I play bacarat at HL room all the time and when I do feel like it's not working I ask for new shoe and they have no problem. It's reasonable thing you asked especially HL room.... I'm pissed just reading this... im sorry you had to experience that I would write email to them. Now I know not to go SLS ...

 

its standard practice one curtesy shuffle. not a big deal. he got up and left. the bigger deal was that there was someone actualy in there playing.lol
its standard pratice especialy if they dont know u.

what is he going to write they did nothing wrong, in fact i agree the dealers are very nice in there. sometime the higher ups just dont use best judgement but rember there following orders from the top
i had an issue when doing a contest there they want 1 hour at 10$ average bet for an hour but if i played 50$ for 30 minutes it wasnt good enough they wanted the hour know matter what i bet i said it was stupid they said they called upstiars and thats what the bosses want so i skipped the contests .

 

Where is SLS anyway? Is it on strip or downtown? I mostly play at MGM property's and play mostly bacarat and they don't have any problem changing new shoe (never) I guess I don't play enough BJ to know the courtesy rules but still in my opinion they should have changed the shoe especially he only one playing. I'm sure he was betting few hundred a hand. Just my two cents

 

they did they gave him the one shoe curtesy shuffle ,its on the strip it oppened a year and a half ago.
and the dealer has to hand shuffle unlike bac the cards arent pre shuffled, he was a brand new player first time playing there no history, . he had 3 options play thru ,leave or get up walk around for 5 minutes and they would have shuffled the cards and he could have sat back down. yes its a pain in the ass.

also bac u can sit out as many hands as u want bj u cant,they just stop dealing.

 

Well, not entirely accurate. They wouldn't have to hand shuffle. They had a shuffle machine and the next shoe was ready, just had to be loaded. And I disagree that one courtesy shuffle only is a standard practice, but that's only because you and I have had different experiences

 

I hear ya, but somebody has to be especially atrocious for me to complain to their supervisor. You never know when somebody is just having a bad moment or a bad day and I would hate to damage their career or position because of a momentary mistake. The worst customer service I ever received in vegas involved a supervisor insulting me after I left a table (but she either did not care or did not realize that my gf was still sitting in earshot). And I did not report that (although I still see that supervisor form time to time and always avoid any tables she is working). This situation at SLS was not even close to that. Its enough for me to whine a bit on here and to not play there again, but it wasn't enough for me to try and get anybody in trouble.

 

I think that would be the part that would bother me too. I've been at a few tables where the pit or the dealer has said something to our group and it just killed the vibe. I don't mind having a losing session, but they don't have to talk down to players. Always best to vote with your feet.