It’s a very rare casino that overlooks a
half a grand shortfall
May 29, 2009
Dear Mark: An
interesting thing happened to me at the casino.
I was on a crap game and after a great roll that
lasted over 40 minutes, I decided to call it
quits. The dealer asked me if I wanted to trade
in all of my $5 and $25 chips, of which I had
plenty, for $100 dollar ones. What happened next
was the interesting part. The dealer
accidentally overpaid me $500.
All right, I didn’t say anything, figuring I
could use the $500 more than the casino could,
so I walked over to the cashier’s cage to cash
out. Within moments, the pit boss that was on
the game came over while I was standing in line
and politely explained that I was overpaid and
he would like the $500 back. Without creating a
scene, I gave in. Please tell me how you would
have handled this both from my end as a player,
and as a former pit boss? Forrest R.
Okay, next time, “run, Forrest, run!”
Sorry, Forrest, I couldn’t resist. It’s one of
those “box of chocolates” lines from a favorite
movie, coaxed out of memory by your first name.
Seriously, if it’s an overpay, be it on a slot
machine, keno ticket, roulette payout, or in
your case, on a color up, it’s still their
money; ‘taint yours. You didn’t expect him to
come up and say, Merry Christmas, did you? He
was only doing what his job required, protecting
his rump as well as the company assets.
Being that the overpay was undisputed, and
that’s top-hole important here, in the joints
where I worked, we would have done exactly the
same, but further, I would have tried to put a
smile back on your face.
I‘d have walked up beginning with tactful idle
chit-chat, maybe shifting smoothly into friendly
joshing, but the five $100 chips would
definitely have left your possession, surgically
if necessary. If a modicum of smoothing things
over seemed in order, I would have happily
offered you a feeding frenzy opportunity at our
Free-All-You-Can-Eat buffet, just so we didn’t
lose you as a customer for life.
Dear Mark: I think blackjack players
should not tip dealers in casinos that pay only
6-5 for a blackjack. Since the casinos are
making so much more profit, they should pay the
dealers more. Frank H.
Let me tell you Frank, with 100% certainty,
what’s NOT going to happen: The dealers getting
paid more!
This column has oft-repeated the basic principle
of NOT wasting your hard-earned money on any
blackjack game that pays less than 3:2 for a
blackjack, but what it has NOT recommended is
stiffing the dealers.
On a conventional blackjack game, a blackjack
typically pays 3:2 ($15 for $10), while these
new 6:5 games pay only $12 for a $10 wager.
Tweaking this one rule has dramatically
increased the house advantage—an extra 1.39%. So
step away, don’t play, but that doesn’t mean
don’t tip out of revenge against the house. You
settle the score by good ol’ perfect strategy in
a casino that offers 3:2 for a blackjack.
What you might not realize, Frank, is that most
front-line casino employees are low paid elves
dangling from minimum wage. The majority of a
casino employee’s pay comes through the
gratuities of casino patrons. If you are
winning, and the dealer is being courteous and
helpful, it is customary to show your
appreciation. Naturally you are under no
obligation to tip, but an occasional gratuity is
always in good form.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "Keno
demands so little of the player that it is
almost a spectator sport." --Dawin
Ortiz, Gambling for the Clueless
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