The Lost and Found Scam

Six or seven years ago, a regular blackjack player at Sandia Casino in Albuquerque told me a fun and interesting story. Unfortunately, I thought the story was unbelievable. A downright lie. In fact, I almost retold the story in my book, but decided against it at the last minute because I thought it was too much of a BS story. He said that while visiting a new casino, he would always check in with the Lost and Found office to see if anyone had turned in the “…$20 bill that he had lost.” He says that the trick had worked a few times over the years. He also said the trick worked once when he had asked, “Did anyone turn in a green ($25) chip?” The rationale behind the trick was that casino employees are forbidden to keep any cash or chips found in the casino. Since there are surveillance cameras everywhere, the rule usually results in the employee turning in loose chips or bucks to Lost and Found. Otherwise, they risk losing their job. The player also told me that he would never risk trying the trick more than once at the same place. Makes sense, but still unbelievable, right?

Last month, I experienced the unbelievable. While walking to the bathroom at a casino in a state that shall remain nameless for my own protection, I witnessed a female custodian picking up a bill about ten feet from a snack bar that sold coffee and pastries. I yelled out while walking in her direction, “Hey, I think that’s mine.” The custodian grinned while tightly clutching and covering the bill from my view, “Oh yeah?! How much is it?” I guessed, “Twenty.” The woman giggled while showing me the evidence, “Nope, it’s a ten.” I smiled back, and walked away silently as not to make a bigger fool of myself.

While in the bathroom, I thought to check Lost and Found later for the ten-dollar bill. Perhaps the custodian would turn in the money. I returned to playing blackjack for about thirty minutes. I figured I better wait awhile, or else the custodian may not have gone there yet. Or worse, she might be there when I asked about it again…that would REALLY be embarrassing. Then I had another thought: does this place even have a Lost and Found? I asked the dealer. She directed me to a podium near the casher’s cage where a uniformed guard usually sat. There was nobody there. I went back to playing blackjack.

While cashing out chips a couple hours later, I noticed that a guard was now manning the post. I said to him, “There you are. Is this Lost and Found?” He nodded. I then asked, “This may sound utterly ridiculous, but did anyone turn in a ten-dollar bill a few hours ago?” I expected the guard to reach under the podium and produce a cardboard box filled with sunglasses and gloves. Or, I expected him to look at me and start cracking up because I had asked such a fool question! Instead, he said, “Hold on.” He was a man of few words. The guard then walked into an area that appeared to share the same back-office space as the cashier’s cage. He returned a few minutes later with a small slip of white paper. “Here you go. Take this to the cashier.” He handed me a computer-generated voucher that was similar to cash comp coupons I had received at the casino on promotion days. It was for $10. I responded with a lie, “Whew…now I have gas money to get home.” I cashed out the voucher and left the casino in disbelief.

In hindsight, I wonder how much trouble I would’ve been in had the eyes in the sky reviewed the tape to see that my inquiry was false. Did I break a law? Will I get arrested or kicked out the next time I visit that casino? Now for the bigger question…will I begin asking Lost and Founds in other casinos for lost stuff out of the blue in the future? I don’t know if the con is worth the consequences.

Has anything like this ever happened to anyone else?

Glen Wiggy
Author of "1536 Free Waters and Other Blackjack Endeavors--Finding Profit and Humor in Card-Counting"

Perfectly believable.

Possibly you could score a fancy pair of lost sunglasses with a lucky guess.

It is nice to know that the casino staff is honest (in turning in found money), even though some players are not (in claiming money that is not their own).

Shameful and despicable. I also find it a bad way to sell your book by associating yourself with a low classed individual.

I have asthma and used to go to the lost and found at theme parks and asked if anyone had turned in my "lost" albuterol inhaler. It was long ago and I don't remember what the results were from me asking. I was a broke student at the time and wanted to save the $35 or so I would have to pay to get a new one.

Quote: glenwiggy

In hindsight, I wonder how much trouble I would’ve been in had the eyes in the sky reviewed the tape to see that my inquiry was false. Did I break a law? Will I get arrested or kicked out the next time I visit that casino? Now for the bigger question…will I begin asking Lost and Founds in other casinos for lost stuff out of the blue in the future? I don’t know if the con is worth the consequences.

Well, let’s see. In order to prove where the $10 came from, a review would have to be done. Who is going to request it and why? The answer is usually nobody and for no reason, at least not for $10.

But say they did. They see the $10, see it drop from someone, mark the person. Now they have to review the return of the $10 in order to see you. Who and why? No one and for no reason.

But say they did, and ooops!, y’all don’t match. Now they’d have to review the times you claimed (a “couple hours ago”), if not your entire stay, to see if you lied, or maybe really lost $10, but not this $10. Who and why? NO ONE and for NO REASON. I’d laugh that review right out of my office. $10? GMAFB.

Of course, snags pop into simple stuff like this. You never know what we’re looking at or what we’re going to review. If you are caught, then you’d be subject to state law which varies all over the chart. I imagine anything from “finders keepers” to theft or making false claim charges, going about your day $10 richer to 86’d from the joint and the guard losing his job.

It amazes me that someone who is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy with its Honor Code ("We will not lie, steal or cheat nor tolerate among us anyone who does.") would engage in such deceit to "steal" $10. And to top it off, to then pose the question about whether surveillance might catch him and "whether the con is worth the consequences."

Quote: Face

to 86’d from the joint

I've never known security not to toss people they catch in any kind of petty theft or moocherism if they catch on to it. Doesn't it go under getting out the riffraff, freeloaders and bums? They see these people to the door. At least ,as far as I have seen in Vegas.

Well everyone has their price. For some it's $10.

Too bad the guard didn't show you an actual ten dollar bill... and then you could have said... "nope, this wasn't the one." It wouldve made for a better story.

Quote: rxwine

I've never known security not to toss people they catch in any kind of petty theft or moocherism if they catch on to it. Doesn't it go under getting out the riffraff, freeloaders and bums? They see these people to the door. At least ,as far as I have seen in Vegas.

I tell ya, it really is a crap shoot with these cases. Speaking just for my place, the different scenarios are endless.

Was the lost and found in the form of credits on a machine? Was it in ticket form, with ticket hanging from machine? Was it in ticket form, but on the floor? Was it cash? Was it more than $1? Was it more than $100? Did the l/f include personal effects? Did it include other financial items like checks, debit or credit? Each one of these results in a different response.

Then there’s the personnel themselves. Did Slots find it? Security? Janitor? A Patron? And who’d it get turned in to? Security? Slots? An Inspector? And of the different departments, was it Mrs A? Mr B? Ms C? Every single one of these factors are going to determine how the issue gets handled. Some personnel are customer service kings and queens; if you lose your virginity, they’ll try their best to get it back to you. Others are moral hardasses; if you get shady, they’re gonna try to nail you any way possible. And yet others are just here to put in their 40hrs and go home, last thing they want to do is…well, anything at all, and certainly not trouble themselves over someone else’s irresponsibility.

And for you, there’s no way to tell. Best to leave the $10 and continue your day paranoia free.

Quote: Jimbo

It amazes me that someone who is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy with its Honor Code ("We will not lie, steal or cheat nor tolerate among us anyone who does.") would engage in such deceit to "steal" $10. And to top it off, to then pose the question about whether surveillance might catch him and "whether the con is worth the consequences."

Your critcism is fair, Jimbo. However, history shows that many military and government leaders decisively defeat the enemy by being deceptive. What you call "dishonesty," others call "strategy." What you call "stealing," the military once called "spoils of war."

If it means anything to you, my moral compass differs depending on whether I am inside or outside the confines of the casino. I once spent over an hour in a coffee shop investigating the contents of a lost purse and making phone calls to return it (with $800, plus credit cards) to the rightful owner. But, I am also the same guy who once convinced a blackjack dealer that my eighteen pushed his nineteen on a $100 bet. And, on a different occasion, I yelled "twenty-one" when I had a six-card twenty-two...the dealer paid me without hesitation.

I may be dishonest in the casino, but I am honest about my dishonesty...let me know if you'd prefer stories of hypocrisy.

Glen

Quote: AlanMendelson

Too bad the guard didn't show you an actual ten dollar bill... and then you could have said... "nope, this wasn't the one." It wouldve made for a better story.

This.

"I lost a $10 bill. Some chick at the bar wrote her phone number on it. I REALLY want that bill back."

I don't see this as glenwiggy scamming to make $10; it's more an experiment to see if the scam actually works. Toward that end, I give him a pass... But he should donate the $$ to a good cause, to balance out the social forces involved.

My .02, worth whatcha paid for it.

The only time I stooped to this trick was on a drive from Vegas to L.A.. My son was a baby at the time and was screaming his head off for his pacifier, which we evidently forgot to bring. We finally arrived in Baker where I tried every (namely two) convenience stores for pacifiers, to no avail. So I had to resort to going to a restaurant and asking for the "lost pacifier we must have lost when we were here earlier." The staff rummaged through a box of abandoned junk people left behind, but no pacifiers. Damn!

So we had to admit failure and hope for better luck in Barstow. Fortunately, my son screamed himself to sleep before we got there, and remained asleep the rest of the trip. I'd like to think I don't lie very often, but that was one time I did. If the good Father should read this, please let me know my penance. I've been carrying around a guilt trip about it for ten years now over it.

An interesting use of semantics by using the word “strategy” to replace “dishonesty.”

Quote: glenwiggy

I yelled "twenty-one" when I had a six-card twenty-two...the dealer paid me without hesitation.

There is another thread about “dealer mistakes” started only a couple of weeks ago in which the Poll is in response to the question as to what do you do if a dealer overpays you on a bet. The majority, so far, is “don’t say a thing” while the minority would “alert the dealer of the mistake.” Not only would you likely vote with the majority and not say a thing, but you will even engage in trickery to try to induce the dealer mistake.

Quote: glenwiggy

If it means anything to you, my moral compass differs depending on whether I am inside or outside the confines of the casino.

Quote: glenwiggy

I may be dishonest in the casino, but I am honest about my dishonesty.

It is not my desire to debate a particular person’s moral compass (nor is this perhaps appropriate under the Rules of the forum), but your points underscore a fundamental question about how one views the relationship between player and casino. Your response about “defeating the enemy” and your analogy of “spoils of war” highlight this as well—that for some, “it is war with the casinos and we must win at all costs even if it is dishonest.”

Maybe there should be a new Poll to inquire about how many on this forum agree with this position. Based on what I have read elsewhere, I have no doubt that there will be some.

There are many threads and posts in which the player clearly looks upon the casino as an adversary in a negative sense—as if the casino is trying to “take” their money unjustly. Admittedly, some casinos may contribute to this outlook in the shameful way they treat their players and the poor and disrespectful attitude displayed by some dealers.

But even patrons who perceive themselves as Advantage Players do not necessarily stoop to dishonest means to win. Most play by the rules and within the rules.

For me, if there is an adversary, it is not the casino. It is the game being played. The casino is not there to “take” my money. They offer me the game. And if I am fortunate during an individual session, then I defeated the game, not the casino.

Perhaps my outlook is due to the fact that I’ve been treated well by the casinos, especially where I play regularly. I think I am treated with respect. I know I am comped generously. Regardless that I tip very well, I feel that the dealers and pit supervisors genuinely want me to win and they commiserate when I lose. (I know this may heretical to some.)

Entering a casino should not be an occasion to alter one's moral compass. I certainly want and expect the casino to treat me honestly. And I will treat the casinos honestly in return.

I think it's much more useful and realistic to look at the casino as a partner, not an adversary, if you're an advantage player. Without the casino, you couldn't play and win. The casino is staffed by human beings, and they are real people. There is no excuse to be rude or obnoxious toward that staff. As a recreational player, it should be obvious that the casino is not the enemy. It's a business providing you with entertainment and taking a profit for doing so.

That said, in the very common event of a dealer error in favor of the player, in my opinion, the right thing to do is say nothing. Why? Because it's the casino's job to run the game. The casino sets up games at which they have mathematical advantages, in order to cover costs like employees, utilities, maintenance, insurance, debt service, and to make a profit. It's their job to run the games and supervise their own dealers.

The casino has an army of employees looking out for its bottom line -- dealers, floormen, pit bosses, shift managers, surveillance, security guards, undercover security, etc. -- while the player only has himself. Unless the casino is going to put me on its payroll to protect its game, it's simply not my job to point out an error in my favor.

Consider an analogy. I might be against pot holes in streets, but unless I am getting paid for it, I am not going to go around jackhammering pavement and patching holes in roads. Even if that pot hole is on my own street. It's just not my job.

Quote: Wizard

Fortunately, my son screamed himself to sleep ....

lol, I do this myself sometimes. Drink, pace the house, scream, cry, and pass out. Some of us never grow up I guess. kidding, sort of

Quote: AlanMendelson

Too bad the guard didn't show you an actual ten dollar bill... and then you could have said... "nope, this wasn't the one." It wouldve made for a better story.

Agreed, honesty is the best policy. I'd have to take a hot shower for an hour if I even thought of doing something that dishonest. Not my money, I have no right to it.

Quote: zippyboy

kidding, sort of

COOL

Just yesterday i got up from the poker table to use the bathroom, there is an ATM machine right next to the bathroom and while i was walking by my eye noticed a $20 bill just sitting in the atm... ?... i tried not to be suspicious and just grabbed it then walked into the bathroom. while going to the bathroom all i could think of was "oh shit like 5 cameras just saw me do this" I then proceeded to give some action to the house and placed the $20 on baccarat banker and won, tipped the dealer $2 and sat back down in my poker seat.

Figured if i was questioned or asked about it i would just claim i was drunk ( i had been drinking ) and who wouldnt grab $20 just sitting there. Then most likely return it.

Never did get asked about it and proceeded to lose my ass...karma. :(

Quote: nezbit

Just yesterday i got up from the poker table to use the bathroom, there is an ATM machine right next to the bathroom and while i was walking by my eye noticed a $20 bill just sitting in the atm...

No, that wasn't my $ 20 bill.

But not that long ago, I think I was using one of those
Ticket Redemption / Bill Breaker machines to get change
for a $20 bill, and it took it and I looked away at some-
thing, while sortof keeping a hand by where the
change spits out.

In that moment, for whatever reason, the machine
decides to reject my $ 20 bill out of the intake slot,
and it spit it out onto the floor. I didn't see that.

But fortunately, the lady behind me did and mentioned
it to me.

I'm glad she did. It was the right thing to do.

i thought it was a set up for sure, but i couldnt resist LOL

Several months ago, at a casino where I play regularly, I left one table to play at another. I only colored up a few of the lower denomination chips. When I got to the new craps table and started betting and putting my chips in the rack, it looked like I was missing one of my $1,000 chips. I counted and recounted. I was pretty sure I was short $1,000, but I could not figure out how that could happen. After a couple of minutes, I decided to go back to the original table and check. I looked around on the floor where I had been and a woman asked if I had lost this--it was a $1,000 chip--and she had just discovered it. I hugged her and asked if she would marry me--since my wife would never have given it back to me.

I mentioned this to one of the floor supervisors--saying how nice it was to find honest people around. He mentioned that it was good she returned the chip to me since if she had tried to cash it at the cage, it would have been caught and she would have been charged with a felony. (I know how closely the casino tracks $1,000 chips and the cage would have called the pit to find out where she got this higher denomination chip and when they discovered she did not earn it, then surveillance would have been alerted and the surveillance tapes would have reviewed.)

By the way, I gave the woman 2 black $100 chips.

A few years ago I found an expensive Rolex at the health
club where I go. My friend said turn it in and if nobody
claims it in a month its yours. So I did and the desk said
no way, if its not claimed in a year the employees split
up everything in lost and found. My friend thinks he
knows everything..

Quote: EvenBob

A few years ago I found an expensive Rolex at the health
club where I go. My friend said turn it in and if nobody
claims it in a month its yours. So I did and the desk said
no way, if its not claimed in a year the employees split
up everything in lost and found. My friend thinks he
knows everything..

With friends like that....