Can a casino do this?

Hello all,

It has been at least 4 years since I last logged in here. However, I have returned because I have just experienced something that has made my head boil and I am hoping the Wizard or any of you guys have an answer to this. I apologize if this is the wrong thread, but it happened at an Indian casino in California, so I'll post here.

I put in a $5 bill and a $0.47 voucher in a penny slot machine. I put my player's card in as always. After losing, I had $0.62 left, not enough for the minimum required to activate all bonus features, so I pressed the cash out button with the intention to move on. However, the machine failed to produce a voucher and instead displayed a "printer paper error" message. An attendant came by and reset the machine, but I still did not receive my voucher. The attendant went to his boss at the security desk to help me receive the $0.62 I was owed. The woman at the security desk asked for my player's card. After looking at her computer, she then told me that according to her computer, a different player's card number was shown to be used on the machine I was on and that it was someone else's 62 cents and therefore could not refund the money I was owed.

What? Really!?

I know it was just $0.62, but what if it was $10? $100? $500? It was clearly my player's card in the machine while I was playing and it was MY MONEY that I was cashing out! This experience ruined the rest of my night; it was infuriating. I felt cheated.

I have a few questions regarding this:

1. Has anyone else experienced a similar event? How did it go?
2. Can a casino refuse to give a person money that is rightfully his/hers?
3. What would happen if a similar issue took place in a casino in Nevada?

I look forward to your comments.

MikeV

I would have spoken to a casino manager or slot supervisor. I admit it would be hard to keep one's cool having been told what you were told. Furthermore, I know you said that it was your card in the machine, but I don't think it would matter whose card was in the machine anyway; it's the person that's playing it and put in the money that counts. (I might be mistaken about this but I don't think so.)

I have a feeling you were dealing with people that might not have meant you any harm, but they did not know the law. (And how they thought it wasn't your players card is a mystery.)

Indian casinos can pretty much do as they want.

I'll admit, one thing I regret is not being more vocal, though my initial reaction was shock - it took a while to sink in.

I remember reading somewhere that it is based on the person playing and putting the money (as you said), but does that apply outside Nevada? This casino's policy of tracking voucher cashouts by player's card through their computer system is unique to me. Apparently, it does matter who's card is in the machine to them and even though mine was clearly in as I played, their computer said otherwise.

I am aware that Indian casinos in California are not regulated as commercial gambling is in Nevada. I am still interested in a response to my 3rd question if something like this can happen across the border. Regardless, they lost a customer.

Something like this wouldn't happen in NVX well shouldn't anyways. They could and should pull the video and see who was there.