When the casino botches something, I’ve learned NEVER to complain directly to a boothling. They will pitch ANY lie at you just to get you away from the counter, and–amazingly, to me–there are never any negative consequences to them from doing so. They will just tell you blithely, with a bland smile on their face (or a faux apologetic look) that we’re sorry, triple points days don’t apply if your first name begins with “B” or it’s between 2:09 and 6:44 PM. Or that your free play has to be used on machines in some other casino. Or that the buffet coupon isn’t valid, because you had to sign a waiver saying that you would eat only the celery and the breadsticks.

The key to getting ANY customer service problem resolved is threefold: 1) Find someone in authority who basically stands around all day and picks his/her nose (casino host!); 2) Construct a way that taking care of your complaint will be far easier than not doing so; 3) However much it galls you to do so, adopt the role of the obsequious, fawning supplicant (this works particularly well when the person you’re dealing with is male).

Also, never forget that not only the people who work in casinos but also those who run them are, with shockingly few exceptions, very, very, very stupid.