{"id":88739,"date":"2018-11-20T13:27:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T21:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/?p=88739"},"modified":"2018-11-20T13:27:19","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T21:27:19","slug":"experience-gaming-part-ii-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/experience-gaming-part-ii-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"My Experience with Gaming — Part II of II"},"content":{"rendered":"

In last week\u2019s blog, I laid out the nature of my beef with the Rainbow Casino. I was basically fighting over whether I could have someone play off $2,400 in free play — or get a check for $1,200. Whether my case had any merits or not, this was too small to involve a lawyer.<\/span><\/p>\n

I called up the Gaming Control Board and told them I had a complaint. An agent listened and said that if I wished to go forward with the matter I could come down to the office and fill out the paperwork. I told him I\u2019d be down the next day.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nevada GCB here in Las Vegas is located off of Las Vegas Boulevard at Washington, which is in the downtown area, immediately north of Cashman Field. It\u2019s in a building housing a number of other governmental agencies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The night before I went to the office, I spent considerable time writing out exactly what I wanted and why I felt I was entitled to it. I had been led to believe that whatever I wrote down the next day was basically all I got to say before the decision was rendered. So, I wanted to give it my best shot. I suspect they would have written the report for me if I was not capable of doing so, but I believe I can better present my own argument for myself — given it\u2019s too small to justify hiring an attorney.<\/span><\/p>\n

I saw the same agent I had spoken to on the phone the day before and he brought me a form to fill out. I told him I thought I would need five or six sheets of paper and he provided them.<\/span><\/p>\n

After I finished writing up my report, the agent read it. He surprisingly advised me to take the $1,200 and not ask to gamble with the $2,400. He told me it was possible I would end up with less than $1,200 and then I\u2019d feel so bad. I didn\u2019t tell him the game was available for quarters and if you play $2,400 coin-in for quarters on NSU, it\u2019s basically impossible to end up with less than $2,000 — let alone $1,200. <\/span><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t think it was in my interest to make it obvious that I was an experienced player. I thanked him for his suggestion and told him I\u2019d prefer to take my chances.<\/span><\/p>\n

The agent asked if I were an advantage player and then added that it really didn\u2019t matter if I was or wasn\u2019t. I didn\u2019t know if I was on the record or not, so I said I wasn\u2019t a beginner and let the matter drop.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was then told the GCB would investigate the complaint and issue a ruling within 45 days. If both parties accepted the ruling, that would be it. If either side wished to appeal the ruling, the appeal would be held in a hearing room that was within the same complex of offices.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ruling came back in about 30 days, basically denying all parts of my claim. The casino was ordered to pay me $1,200 by check within two weeks. While I\u2019m writing this before the two-week period has expired and I haven\u2019t received the check yet, I\u2019m not expecting that to be an issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

The decision listed several findings it had made, including mentioning that I was no longer allowed on the property. Many of those findings were clearly made after talking to casino employees. Several were different than what I remembered happening. I also recognized that I didn\u2019t record the conversations, and it would be a form of \u201che said-she said\u201d to figure out what actually happened.<\/span><\/p>\n

I considered appealing — if only to make this into a three-part blog rather than just a two-parter. After all, whatever happens at the GCB is generally interesting to my readers and the listeners to my podcast.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line in my decision to not appeal was that I didn\u2019t think I had a case. If you focus on the right part of the slot club rules, it\u2019s clear that I only get 50% if I redeem the points in cash and the casino was within its rights to refuse to let me play the points off. Those rules were \u201chidden in plain sight,\u201d but they were there, nonetheless.<\/span><\/p>\n

While I could force the system to chug along and rule absolutely that I wasn\u2019t going to get my way, I believed that eventual ruling was essentially a certainty. The idea of going through the appeal just to have more to talk about in this blog or on the podcast strikes me as more selfish than I like to view myself. I basically am doing nothing, which means I accept the ruling.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, I find it useful to have gone through this process. Someday I may well need to go through it again and there are advantages to having gone through it previously.<\/span><\/p>\n

After I wrote this, I did get the check and deposited it. An agent from the GCB, Kevin Smith, called and asked me to call him back on a personal matter. I did, and he just wanted to verify that I had received the check.<\/span><\/p>\n

I asked him why he had referred to this as a personal matter. After all, this sounds like ordinary GCB work. He told me that he couldn\u2019t know who would listen to that message, and didn\u2019t wish to be broadcasting that I had just received a check that would be considered large by many people. So he called it a personal matter. <\/span><\/p>\n

Makes sense. I\u2019m the only one who listens to that voicemail — but he couldn\u2019t know that. I appreciate his extra care.<\/span><\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"youtube\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In last week\u2019s blog, I laid out the nature of my beef with the Rainbow Casino. I was basically fighting over whether I could have someone play off $2,400 in free play — or get a check for $1,200. Whether my case had any merits or not, this was too small to involve a lawyer. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[428,196],"yoast_head":"\nMy Experience with Gaming - Part II of II - Gambling With An Edge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/experience-gaming-part-ii-ii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Experience with Gaming - Part II of II - Gambling With An Edge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In last week\u2019s blog, I laid out the nature of my beef with the Rainbow Casino. 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