What Happens to a Marker Owed to a Casino if the Player Goes to Prison?

If a gambler goes to prison for 5, 10 or even 20 years and he owes a casino a lot of money, how does the casino get their money back? Do they wait until he serves his sentence or do they just chalk it up as a loss? Or is there another way to settle his debt?

[Editor's Note: Andrew Uyal, supervisor at the Cromwell and author of our upcoming book Blackjack Insiders, tackled this question.]

When a player is approved for a line of credit, it's done through the player's bank. So anytime a casino issues a marker, it has the player's bank-account information. When you take a marker, you're essentially signing a personal check over to the casino for the amount of the marker. If the marker isn't paid back within the agreed-on term, usually 30 days (with a possible grace period), the casino will "dump" that check, in other words withdraw the funds from your account.

So if Player A takes a marker, then goes to jail for some reason, the casino will still attempt to cash when the term has expired. And why not? It's owed the money and it has the convict's account information. Nothing really changes with the player behind bars; it's the same as if he's still walking free as far as the casino is concerned.

Some banks freeze accounts after periods of inactivity, i.e., if someone is incarcerated, but that doesn’t happen for at least three months. The casino will usually cash the check in less than that.

Where it becomes tricky is if there aren't enough funds in the account to cover the marker. This is the same as bouncing the check. If this happens, the casino has the right to pursue the debt legally and you better believe it will.

If a person tries to skip out on a marker of a mere $500 or more, he can be slapped with a felony charge under bad-check laws in most states. Indeed, the Bad Check Unit at the Clark County District Attorney's office is the official collection agent for the Las Vegas casinos.

In unusual cases, such as a player going to prison for a long time with no funds to retire a marker, the casino can’t keep all unpaid debts on the books forever, of course. If an unpaid debt is 24 months old, the casino typically writes it off, situation dependent. But by that point, serious legal charges have been brought. The player might have escaped the marker, but even if he's in prison, in all likelihood, he'll be in even more trouble than what put him there.

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Kevin Lewis Feb-12-2019

Can't escape

People who go to prison often do so with debts, which they have no way to repay, and courts and collection agencies make sure that they will be pariahs upon release and never be able to live a normal life again. That's by design.
Remember, crime is only legal at the government level, not in the private sector. So if you have some money, pay your casino debts FIRST and only then fund your grandma's lifesaving cancer operation.

Dave in Seattle. Feb-12-2019

Indebted prisoners.

Federal prisoners have access to E mail,for a fee.Corr Links.
They can instruct loved ones to pay certain debts.

Question of the Day - 12 February 2019

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