How do I Reserve My Machine If I Need To Go to the Bathroom?

I'm playing at a slot machine/bartop machine and need to go to the bathroom. How do I save my seat so I can return and play the same machine? Is it safe to leave your players card/money at said machine?

What you're talking about here is "capping" a slot machine. That's the casino term for locking it down.

This is most often done by a slot attendant on behalf of a player at that machine who wants to take a break: go to the bathroom, step outside for some fresh air, get a quick snack, etc. Perhaps the player has been on the machine for hours and knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he or she is about to hit the progressive and doesn't want the next player to come along, insert a five, press the spin button, and steal the jackpot. But the player can't hold it any longer or is about to expire from hunger.

Some players have been known to abuse the capping privilege. For example, they'll claim to just be going for a quick snack, then sit down to a four-course dinner in the steakhouse. Or they'll lock down one machine and you'll see them an hour later firing away at a different machine in the high-limit pit. Or they simply never return.

It's a tough call for the casino. In some, the slot attendant has discretion and asks about how long the player will be gone. If he or she isn't back within a reasonable amount of time, the SA uncaps it. At others, the SA has no discretion and has to follow whatever the slot manager or player's host decides. Still others declare certain slots off-limits for locking up; when this is the case, you might see a sign noting that for particular machines, capping isn't permitted.

Of course, in casinos and for machines where capping is allowed, showing your advance appreciation for the slot attendant (translation: handing over some green) goes a long way toward keeping your game out of action and in your "possession." Just be sure to live up to your end of the bargain and return when you say you will, lest you put the SA in an awkward position.

As for you second question, we can assure you that it's never safe to leave money in a slot machine from which you walk away, whether it's locked for you or not. As for your players card, take that with you as well,to prevent unauthorized use or loss. Casinos generally advise keeping your card secure.

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Doug Miller Jul-06-2025

My experience . . .

At video poker bars I have occasionally seen the bartender, at the player’s request, put some kind of cover on top of the machine with the word “Reserved” on it.  But more commonly I have seen players tilt their stool against the machine if they wanted to use the restroom and come back later.  While I’m sure there is no formal policy barring another player from tilting the stool back and then playing the machine anyway, there seems to be an unwritten rule against doing so.

O2bnVegas Jul-06-2025

I'm too trusting

If a friend is playing side by side with me we will 'watch' the other's machine, even leaving our card in and usually some credits showing, a small amount.  Also...I'll ask someone else playing beside me "are you going to be here for a minute?" and we watch each other's machine.  Mostly I have a 'feel' that person is trustworthy, and have never been ripped off, but I suppose I've been lucky?  Also, it is only a minute or so that I'm away.  I've always felt that folks playing around me in the casino are the most trustworthy on earth!

I wouldn't leave a machine like that if no others around playing.

Candy

Kevin Lewis Jul-06-2025

Not to worry

If you have played long enough so that you have earned a jackpot, the machine will recognize that and not pay it out to anyone else. All you have to do when you return from the restroom is forcibly drag away any interloper.

Randall Ward Jul-06-2025

slot capping

pretty easy in the smaller casinos or high limit but in the big casinos it's almost unheard of now. I go before, I can go without food

Edso Jul-06-2025

Echo Doug and Candy

What Doug mentioned about the Reserved sign happened to me this weekend at the Westgate.  I let the bartender know I need to use the restroom and he put the placard on the machine.  I left my players card in the machine, but took my money.  I also left my drink right in front, and tilted the stool.  Gone maybe 5 to 7 minutes, and back.

Many times my wife and I will play next to or near each other and will "watch" the other's machine while they go to the restroom.  I just tilt my wife's chair over the machine so that people know it is being saved.  She usually just puts her leg over the my chair to "save" it.

Scotski Jul-06-2025

Harrah's Did The Right Thing

Years ago at the Harrah’s in Las Vegas, my mom was playing a Blazing 7s machine with a progress of $1,173.74 jackpot and had to get a bite of food. She had a Slot Attendant cap her machine and told the SA she will be back in around 45 minutes. When she came back around 35 minutes later, the machine was uncapped and the jackpot was hit. She call the SA over and he said someone told him that she was not coming back and to uncap the machine. My mom had a supervisor come over and they looked at the records and times and the supervisor told him the machine should not have been uncapped. And believe it or not, the supervisor then ordered the personnel to pay my mom the amount that the machine had hit on and paid her $1,178.23.

John Goodale Jul-06-2025

Who to Trust?

I've had this happen a couple times on slot machines moving toward a progressive payoff.  I've looked for people walking by who looked trustworthy and asked if I could pay them $5 to sit at the machine for a couple minutes while I ran to the bathroom.  Last time I did this, a couple weeks ago in Vegas, the guy said he'd be happy to do that and refused my money.  Impressive!

VegasVic14 Jul-06-2025

Along the same line...

I was meeting a buddy at the Mega Bar (Circa) and when I sat down to start playing VP, I asked the bartender if he could reserve the seat next to me for that buddy. He put a "Reserved" sign on the machine and he earned a nice tip from me. Not sure if this was a typically honored request but because of the dozens of empty stools still available, apparently it was an easy thing for the bartender to do.

Llew Jul-06-2025

Last week at Hard Rock Atlantic City

I was playing Aces bonus machines at Hard Rock. This game is one of the best odds-wise in AC.  
There used to be a lot of machines with this game. Many of them are gone. Some have been replaced by games with worse pay tables, others by slots. To make matters worse, several of the remaining machines with Aces bonus are often out of service.  Others have bad keys that make play difficult. 

Sooo..one day last week, a youngish woman (late 20s-30s) was playing my favorite machine. There was a large purse on the seat next to her, in front of a playable machine. I assumed that she was saving the machine for a friend and moved on.  

After passing these two machines several times over the next hour, I finally said, “Excuse me, may I play this machine?”  She removed the purse in a huff, made a big show of wiping off the space next to her machine and put the purse there. She had tied up one of the few good machines for over an hour because she didn’t want to get her purse dirty!!! Grrrr

Gene Brown Jul-06-2025

I’m Confused

Llew 

Maybe I missed something or misunderstood the “cap or capping “ process being discussed today. You wrote a long discourse that didn’t fit the topic. Are you okay, today? Well, maybe it’s me. LMBO @U

Llew Jul-07-2025

Gene

A few people mentioned reserving seats.  That’s what made me think of the incident I described. 
I’m fine.  Thx for asking. 🙂

Question of the Day - 06 July 2025

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