If the player is wrong,
see rule #1
19 May 2000
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
Good-day from Melbourne, Australia. While having
a surf on the internet I came across your
columns and found them interesting. The
questions you receive as a dealer took me back
to what I didn't know about casinos until I
started to work in one. I found some of your
past columns informative about a patron's
feelings towards certain situations that can be
quite distressing to those uneducated in casino
etiquette. Patron feelings are something we
dealers tend to forget about in our very
repetitious and occasionally stressful shifts.
That said, in your years of dealing roulette,
did you ever have a patron that did not
understand the words "no more bets," and then
drop a stack of chips over the whole layout to
make a reconstruction of the winning wagers more
difficult (thank god for surveillance).
This happened to me today, for the first time,
and all I could do was stand there with my lower
jaw dropped to the table thinking obscenities
I've never thought before. I was amazed,
shocked, annoyed and possibly disappointed at
the extreme actions of the player. Unfortunately
for me the management decided it was my fault.
How? That I will find out later. Any thoughts?
No identification please, for job security
Front-line casino employees have two rules when
it comes to casino patrons. One, the player is
always right, and two, if the player is wrong,
see rule number one. Not easy when a certain
percentage of players have an attention deficit
disorder in need of a Ritalin prescription. BUT,
didn't you state in your question "not knowing
about casinos until you started to work in one?"
Like you before casino employment, inexperienced
players don't know or understand casino
procedures. You, in an untiring way, need to
patiently explain the rules to casino guests.
Casinos are not in the business of harassing,
then alienating, a patron for life. You will
never win an argument with casino management on
customer service. Their main business is to
extract as much money out of the customer as
possible and put a smile on his face. Not allow
you to wipe the smirk of his kisser.
So unless a player is cheating the house on the
roulette table-past posting, I suggest you slow
down, educate new players on the proper
etiquette of play and be more tolerant of
unskilled patrons.
Dear Mark,
I witnessed a rare sight at the Monte Carlo in
Las Vegas this month. In a Caribbean Stud Poker
hand, the player and dealer tied-they had
exactly the same 5 cards. There was a minor
dispute on what to do with the bet. The dealer
initially ruled a push, then called over pit
boss one, who agreed. Pit boss two then wandered
over and declared that the player should lose
because the object is to beat the dealer's hand.
The player objected (he had a $25 ante and $50
on the back). Finally, a third manager was
called and he declared the hand a push,
returning the ante and bet back to the player.
Would a certain suit rule over another in case
of a tie? Also, what is the official ruling?
Vincent K.
No poker game, video or otherwise, is suit
specific on any hand. There are machines and
games that offer a special bonus for certain
suited hands, but that does not affect duplicate
hands on Caribbean stud poker.
The correct ruling on identical hands would be a
push.
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