big bets with no player's card

I was playing at a Harrah's property the other night, and a young man approached the craps table. He was young enough that the dealers insisted on some I.D. After he proved he was over 21, they gave him $3,400 in chips. Most of his bets were only $10 or $15, but occasionally he'd put $1,000 on the field. (Ouch, Harrah's has the worst field bet in the business, paying only double on 12, not triple.) In addition to his foolish field bet, he made another peculiar mistake: he didn't have a player's card. I was only at the table for another 30 minutes, so hopefully after I left the pit manager did the right thing and gave the kid a Total Rewards card.

Wagering $1,000 bets without a player's card is a sign of either: A) ignorance or B) deceit (perhaps the money wasn't his, perhaps he thought he'd avoid taxes, perhaps he wasn't really 21, perhaps he'd had himself barred, perhaps he wanted anonymity so no one would know he gambles).

Besides card-counting (or other advantage play) are there any legitimate reasons that an experienced high roller wouldn't want his play tracked?

Money laundering?

More like Embezzlement !

Let's assume he IS 21...

If he didn't want a player's card, it's probably because he still lives with his parents, and he didn't want them to see all the mail associated with the ranking he'd be getting.

I was playing blackjack at the high limit room at the Mandalay Bay last year. A young player walked up to the table, tossed in $3,000 in cash. Floor person asked for his ID to make sure he was 21. The young man complied. The floor person asked if he wanted to be "rated". The young man politely said, "No thank you."

The young man proceeded to play between $100 to $500 per hand. Made all sorts of strange (poor) plays including hitting on a hard 16 vs a dealer's 6. He rebought quickly for another $3,000 in cash. We got to talking and after a few more minutes, I asked him why he didn't want to get "rated" by the casino.

The young man said that he knew that he was not a very good blackjack player and he didn't want the casino to rate him as a "poor or bad player". I guess he was concerned that somewhere on some computer screen the words, "BAD AT BLACKJACK" would appear whenever he sat down and people would laugh at him.

I explained to him that the casino only wanted to give him free stuff based upon his action. I called the pit supervisor over, who agreed with me and got the young man set up with a players card. The pit then called for a casino host, who appeared very quickly at our table and offered the young man a free room for the night and a comp for lunch.

The young man had absolutely no idea that this is what was meant to be "rated". He did not understand, until I explained it to him, that this was a good thing.

Quote: gambler

The young man said that he knew that he was not a very good blackjack player and he didn't want the casino to rate him as a "poor or bad player". I guess he was concerned that somewhere on some computer screen the words, "BAD AT BLACKJACK" would appear whenever he sat down and people would laugh at him.

Ignorance is king!

Thanks for the story. I'm still laughing about it :)

Quote:

If he didn't want a player's card, it's probably because he still lives with his parents, and he didn't want them to see all the mail associated with the ranking he'd be getting.

That's what your corner private mailbox is for. Get new ID with the PMB printed on it and the Casino (nor anyone else who doesn't actually have to come to your house) never needs to know where you live. Pair it with a google voice number and you have a completely virtual address. You don't even really need to get new ID since there is no requirement to get a new ID with an updated address prior to the expiration date even if you move. If our example case had his parents address on his ID, he'd probably want to get a reprint however because he would otherwise be subject to mistakes made by the slot club personnel entering the wrong address despite specific instructions.

Problem areas:

Car insurance (they scrutinize the garaging address pretty thoroughly)
Bank accounts (the TeleCheck system they use to vet new account holders can reject the phone number/address combination)
Utilities (obviously if it's connected to your residence they need to know where you live)

Whether or not the DMV itself will accept the PMB address as your "residence" address is hit and miss. NV is pretty difficult. It might also not be entirely legal, though all they REALLY care about is that they have an address to mail process service, which they would have.

Quote: gambler

The young man said that he knew that he was not a very good blackjack player and he didn't want the casino to rate him as a "poor or bad player". I guess he was concerned that somewhere on some computer screen the words, "BAD AT BLACKJACK" would appear whenever he sat down and people would laugh at him.

What's worse is that they may even rate him BETTER if he's bad at Blackjack...I know some places fudge your rating based on apparent skill with BS. Play worse, get better comps...

Reno,
Watch yourself at Rincon...theres a young couple there who scams people at the crap table...she is a smoking hot young blonde who will walk up to the table with only $5 or $10...shell give a BS story about her bf...and she has no money to gamble...the dead giveaway is she has fucked up teeth...but you won't be looking ay her teeth, lol

And I'm still waiting for EvenBob to chime in any minute...

Quote: Tiltpoul

And I'm still waiting for EvenBob to chime in any minute...

SSSHHHHHHH ! It's the old man's nap time.

Unrated players are not allowed to bet the posted table max at some Atlantic City blackjack tables. The sign on the table has two different max bets - one for rated players and one for unrated players.

Quote: Tiltpoul

And I'm still waiting for EvenBob to chime in any minute...

I don't use the cards, I have no opinion on this.

Quote: reno

Besides card-counting (or other advantage play) are there any legitimate reasons that an experienced high roller wouldn't want his play tracked?

If you are never coming back, why go through the hassle. He could also be a "celebrity" looking for some anonymity. He could be so well off, comps don't mean much.

It could also be the case, that he is well known to the pit (but perhaps not to a new dealer), or that he was already in the system from a previous shift. The fact that he wasn't asked for his card when he bought in for a stack of cash could be a clue.