Pai Gow Electronic Card Set Error

This past weekend we were in Tunica Gold Strike checking out the new Super Three Card Game. While there, we played the "face up" Pai Gow they began offering not to long ago. Recently though, both Horseshoe and Gold Strike have implemented the new Hand Setting Devices that some Vegas casinos have had for a while. (Basically it tells the dealer how to set the hand the "house way".

An interesting situation came up.

The dealer (who reveals their hand first in the face up version), had a hand of Q-Q-6-6-5-3-2 (no flushes or even 4 to a flush)). Obviously, the correct play is to play the pair of queens in the back along with the trash and play the pair of 6's in the low hand, BUT the hand reader told the dealer to play 6-5 in the low hand. The dealer realized this was a mistake and called the pit boss over, at which point he declared the entire hand void because of a machine "malfunction". Now, obviously this was ok for most at the table as that hand is going to win more than losing (we wouldnt know as our hands were folded while still face down)

My question and/or concern is (and I realize the caveat of "pit boss has final decision" on everything comes into play), but the machine in my opinion did not malfunction, it was the program or the card reader that was in error. Why the decision to fold all hands at that point and not play the hand as required by house rules? Also, this brings into question of how many times is there a less than obvious mis-set that was not caught because it is one of those house ways that different casinos play differently.

I realize a lot of this relates to the long thread about card readers and "does the casino cheat question", which i dont believe they do, but suppose the dealer had a King high paigow, I am pretty sure the table would have objected simply because the computer "played the hand wrong". In my opinion, the correct play would be to either set the hand according to house rules or play as the computer suggested even though it is obviously wrong. I think there is a gray area when it comes to calling this a malfunction and any inconsistent rulings they may follow.

I'm guessing that pit boss wanted to avoid the barrage of "NO THE SCREEN SAYS 6-5!" that would come if he told the dealer to put the sixes up. I wonder if there was a hard copy of the houseway on hand.

I don’t know which state you live in but my states gaming laws are the rules of the games you could try there first

Quote: Deucekies

I'm guessing that pit boss wanted to avoid the barrage of "NO THE SCREEN SAYS 6-5!" that would come if he told the dealer to put the sixes up. I wonder if there was a hard copy of the houseway on hand.

Actually that happened anyway. When the screen said 6-5, the cat was already out of the bag. I imagine there is a hard copy as the table had been in play for a couple of months before the automatic setters came in.

The automatic setters drive me crazy. I was playing at NYNY, and I believe they require their dealers to use the setter every time, even if it's glaringly obvious. Nothing is more annoying than seeing you've lost to Aces and Kings, and having to wait while the dealer fumbles with the touch screen to see how they're gonna set it.