What Are the Rules for Paying a Jackpot at a Table Game?

This might be casino folklore: A player hit the highest jackpot at a table game. He got so excited, he ran to the adjacent table to tell his friend. When he returned to his seat, the casino disallowed his winnings because he physically left the table before being paid. Whether this story is true or not, what are the rules?

[Editor's Note: This was a good question for long-time casino executive and table-game supervisor Andrew Uyal, who's also the author of our excellent book The Blackjack Insiders.]

I heard a story of a guy playing Megabucks. He hit the jackpot, but was playing only one credit, so he didn't win the progressive. His girlfriend was so upset that she cracked her beer bottle over his head.

Then there was the time that an old man was sitting at the change machine, feeding in dollar after dollar and, every time the quarters fell into the hopper, he exclaimed, "Another win!" Good fantasy? Dementia? The next day, he was back at the slots. When asked why he wasn't playing the change machine, he said, "After the repair, the change machine no longer dispensed six quarters for every dollar."

Are these stories true? I have no idea. I'm inclined to think they're not; stories like these are hard to kill. Where do they start? Who knows?

But as for your tall tale, nah. If a hand is deemed valid, it's paid, no matter what the player might do in the interim.

What makes a hand valid? Essentially, proof of identity and the verified integrity of the game. It's actually quite common for people to leave the table during the jackpot process. Sometimes they get up to call spouses or family or friends. Sometimes they have to run back to the room to pick up their ID or go meet their wife, who has it in her purse. (Wives often carry the important stuff.)

Integrity of the game is reviewed and verified for jackpots (different thresholds for different properties) by surveillance, the pit boss, and in some cases the shuffle machine.

Once that happens and the guest has provided the required ID and information, the hand is paid.

If a player can't provide the proper ID or information, the jackpot is put on reserve at the cage until he or she can do so.

If the hand is deemed invalid for some reason, which I've never seen, the hand would be canceled and play would resume in the usual fashion (in theory).

in short, the poor guy from the story who didn't get paid after getting up from the table is either completely apocryphal or has a hell of an argument for getting his money.

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Comments

David Sabo Mar-28-2023

BUMMER

I remember when I first came to Vegas I was staying at Vegas World. A Mexican lady hit keno 10 out of 10.Instead of getting paid they called immigration and they arrested her and took her away. The Polish Maverick saved a little money that day. I really felt bad for the lady. Going from totally happy to unbelievably sad in such a short period of time.

O2bnVegas Mar-28-2023

LOL

I'm pretty sure David Sabo is enjoying pulling our collective legs.  

Candy

[email protected] Mar-28-2023

A true story...

Ural's claim that all hands in Vegas are valid regardless of the player's action might be true in Vegas but not in some Indian casinos...several years a woman at one Indian casino was playing Caribbean Stud and was dealt a royal flush...she was so excited so got off her chair to show it to her husband at the next table.  The rules at the Caribbean stud table are all hands must not leave the table...she violated that rule and the casino declined her claim for the $140,000 plus jackpot.  I don't know if she took any legal action but the rule implies that a player can have a prepared royal handed to them by another player which is really ludicrous because the casino has a means to detect by simply checking the deck in play for duplicate cards...in any case, the rule was obviously enforced to the benefit of the casino...

Seamans Mar-28-2023

poor sports

I was playing high card flush at the Horseshoe in shreveport. I was playing this game for the first time and  I was having beginners luck. I played this game for about 4hrs without a break. I had to go so bad my eyeballs were floating. But I did not want to change my luck. I was winning about $300 every third or fourth hand.I have poor circulation in my legs and all of a sudden I started to get a leg cramp. I was sitting and I started to standup. At the same time I was dealt a 6 card fush and 3 cardstraight flush. I was really excited and stood up. The dealer told me my hand was forfieted because I left my seat. I was hopping mad my leg was cramping .The pit boss was called and after about 15 minutes I got paid. The dealer must of thought she was loosing her own money.I made almost 4 grand. I left immediately after the argument.

Tim Clark Mar-30-2023

informant

Years ago my friends parents were at Circus Circus and did the change machine till it ran out of quarters, after the second refill they shut it down to get repaired they were so upset. Their son inlaw was a police officer back home and when they told him what they were doing. He told them if they knew of the malfunction , which they did they could have been charged with theft.

Question of the Day - 28 March 2023

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