This means that as a last resort, the casinos will turn to the county D.A.'s office to collect bad debt from gamblers.
Here's what happens.
Mr. G applies for casino credit at the Golden Slipper Casino in the amount of $50,000. He fills out the application (including his employer, Social Security number, date of birth, and banking information), submits the paperwork (including a blank check and a copy of a passport or drivers license), and receives approval. Mr. G arrives at the casino, sits down at a blackjack table, signs three markers, one for $5,000 and two for $10,000, and proceeds to lose the $25K.
Then he goes home without settling up with the casino, puts his head in the sand, and hopes the Golden Slipper forgets all about him.
Or maybe Mr. G just doesn't understand that casino credit isn't like a revolving credit card with up to a 30-day grace period. No sir. Instead, casinos expect credit gamblers to settle their debts before they leave Las Vegas. Casino credit managers frown on gamblers who tuck their tails and try to skulk away, though they might not compel the gamblers to pay up on the spot. For example, Mr. G's credit manager or host will often arrange for a short billing cycle (usually up to 30 days, depending on the gambler's credit and play history).
Now, if Mr. G walks without paying or arranging for a disposition, doesn't settle up in the agreed-upon time frame, or wins money at the casino and leaves without retiring his markers, the casino can simply deposit the marker in its bank account. How? Well, the marker is a negotiable financial instrument. It looks like a bank check. It waddles like a bank check. It quacks like a bank check. The casino simply deposits it, like it does any other personal check written to it.
If Mr. G's marker bounces, the casino will usually deposit it a second time. If it comes back then, a credit manager will attempt to contact and come to some payment agreement with him. But if he tries to skulk or doesn't pay, that's when the District Attorney fun starts.
The D.A. simply puts out a warrant for Mr. G's arrest. This warrant goes out over an extensive network, so the first time a law-enforcement officer, anywhere in the country, pulls up Mr. G's name for some reason (traffic stop? concealed-carry permit? border crossing?), there he is, with a living-color warrant issued in Clark County for his arrest.
Mr. G can be jailed till he makes bail. He can be held for extradition to Nevada. Meanwhile, the clock on late fees and fines has been ticking. He'll have to pay up in full before the warrant is retired. And he can even be prosecuted for and convicted of defrauding a casino and then he's a felon.
That's why you heard that Clark County D.A. is the official collection agency for the Las Vegas casinos.
