Worst slot policy/practice ever!
I absolutely hate it when casinos that have TITO systems set their machines to generate handpays at low amounts. There are at least several casinos in Michigan that will handpay at a $300-$400 "hit" instead of racking up credits or issuing tickets. I know they are trying to generate tips for their floor staff but it's ridiculous. Worst practice ever.
Mark
lion'sshare
I believe most have ended up raising the limits, though I haven't been to some smaller casinos in quite awhile so not sure.
Tipping is obviously part of it, but who want's to freakin' wait around to unlock the machine when there's no reason. I imagine places got feedback on that pretty quick.
Quote: MrVThe "Lion's Share" slot at MGM Grand requires a hand pay for ANY withdrawal.
If MGM Grand's machine can't punch out a $41 ticket, that is indeed pathetic.
About three years ago I played it. put in $100 and wanted to cash out at $300 when I hit some smaller wins. There were about 40 tokens left in the machine.
I called a floorperson to refill the hopper -- but they couldnt find the KEY to open the hopper. It took nearly an hour before a supervisor said that I should be paid in cash.
Keep in mind this is the last machine in a progressive bank of machines. Once this progressive is hit, the machine will disappear forever.
Under NGC rules the MGM could divide the progressive up among other progressives but they choose to keep this one going.
Caesars has a similar "single machine progressive" on its floor. I think its for about a half million dollars. A red-white-blue 7s machine. But its been about six months since I last saw it. Theyve moved it several times. It was in the slots area of the Palace Casino near the tobacco shop.
They have plenty. They're the same as the tokens used for the side bet on Let It Ride and Caribbean Stud. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that casinos still have the $5 slot tokens stockpiled for the day that side bets are $5.Quote: AlanMendelsonI'm not sure MGM even has the $1 tokens anymore.
I was wondering why they don't just retro-fit it for TITO. That would be a problem without a key.Quote: AlanMendelson....but they couldnt find the KEY to open the hopper.
Then again, how do they do ANY maintenance without a key?
Quote: DJTeddyBearThen again, how do they do ANY maintenance without a key?
A locksmith?
Considering the number of penny slots they have, I'd guess most of the TITO's have odd cents on them. Therefore, the players either walk with the sub-dollar TITO's, or else they play them off on the conveniently-placed penny machines near the parking garage door.
I guess that's a cheap way to increase the casino's hold.
Of course, the customers can always trek to the far side of the casino to get their cents from the cashier ;-)
Dog Hand
Beats me if that's a good system or not... I like TITO better.
There's no VP anyway, so it doens't much affect me.
Quote: NareedAt the Mexican "casinos" I know (slot parlors is more accurate), they charge money to a "smart card." You can recharge it at the cage or with runners roaming the floor. When you are finished, you can either keep your winnings in your card or cash out any amount at the cage. I think they ask for an ID and have to match it to their records.
Beats me if that's a good system or not... I like TITO better.
There's no VP anyway, so it doens't much affect me.
There is a laundromat run by Mexicans in my neighborhood that uses these cards for doing your laundry. You have to buy a card for $3 then load it with money to do your laundry. Then you can sell the card back to the laundromat or keep it.
Quote: ncfatcatThere is a laundromat run by Mexicans in my neighborhood that uses these cards for doing your laundry. You have to buy a card for $3 then load it with money to do your laundry. Then you can sell the card back to the laundromat or keep it.
I wonder how many people keep theri cards and never come back?
At the casino I played in Monterrey the card has no overt cost. There's a minimum buy-in of 200 pesos (rigth now about $15 US), and you have to show a valid ID when you get it, but when you leave you're paid to the nearest tenth of a peso if you have anythign left at all.
Quote: NareedI wonder how many people keep theri cards and never come back?
Same with gift cards for presents. Easy to misplace and you have to spend it where the giver has decided you should. Everyone would rather receive cash but give gift cards. Except me - I give cash.
Quote: dmExcept me - I give cash.
I'll PM you my birthday ;)
Seriously, I'd just rather also give cash most times. When getting presents for my parents for their anniversary, I'd just call my older brother and ask "How much?" I gave him cash, he bought the present.
But for close friends I prefer to shop for something I think they will like (and always keep the receipt so they can exchange it or get cash back). I don't do this often, but when I do I have a pretty good track record. One of the best gifts I ever got someone was a Large, all-color book on the F-4 Phantom II.
Quote: DogHandThe Silver Slipper on the Mississippi Gulf Coast has TITO for all their machines, but the ticket-cashing kiosks near the parking garage door do not have coins: thus, if you insert a ticket for $3.57, you get 3 singles and a 57-cent TITO.
Dog Hand
I go here frequently and I find this highly annoying, so I just play and keep one ticket to cashout at the end of the night. There are always the <$1.00 tickets sitting around everywhere you look. The cashier line on a busy night is usually 3 miles long.
Quote: NareedI'll PM you my birthday ;)
Seriously, I'd just rather also give cash most times. When getting presents for my parents for their anniversary, I'd just call my older brother and ask "How much?" I gave him cash, he bought the present.
But for close friends I prefer to shop for something I think they will like (and always keep the receipt so they can exchange it or get cash back). I don't do this often, but when I do I have a pretty good track record. One of the best gifts I ever got someone was a Large, all-color book on the F-4 Phantom II.
Best for you or the someone? Gift giving is very wasteful, except cash, which can be turned into TWICE, at least, the merchandise they would rather have after Xmas. Since I can't risk mailing 10 bucks cash, I'll PM you my home address. I have often pondered whether
the giver picks out the gift based on whether they like it, or think you will like it. Has to be part of each. The courteous thing is to always include the receipt - don't embarrass them by making them request it.
Quote: dmBest for you or the someone?
The someone. He loved it.
It was easy, though. At the time he was assembling an F-4 model, and he already owned two books on it. So. But it was a trill finding that book just days before his birthday!
Quote:Gift giving is very wasteful,
Oh, I agree. I can't think of many gifts given to me I have actually liked. My sister in law is the worse, because she actually has a clue. The good thing is she asks first. A good gift came from the F-4 guy. He found a similar book on Greek Mythology and art.
Quote:except cash, which can be turned into TWICE, at least, the merchandise they would rather have after Xmas.
Fortunately I don't shop for Christmas presents. If I did, I'd buy them all on Dec. 25th and onwards. The drop in price is unbelievable.
Quote:The courteous thing is to always include the receipt - don't embarrass them by making them request it.
Manners dictate you do not let the recipient know how much or how little you spent on a gift. That rules out including the receipt As a practical matter, though, you're right. So I split the difference and say "Let me know if you need the receipt" after I give the gift.
Quote: dmGift giving is very wasteful, except cash
I should start a thread on giving casino promos as gifts.
Well, I've done it once ...or twice maybe. Yeah, yeah, I knew they would like a serving dish with a casino name printed on it. Who wouldn't, heh.
Quote: dmProblem is, their manners often dictate that they don't feel comfortable TELLING YOU THEY DON'T LIKE YOUR BRILLIANT SELECTION. SO, I choose to show bad manners rather than make them do so.
yes. That's why I offer the receipt freely when giving the gift. They know I recognize the possibility they may not like or have a use for my gift, and that I won't mind if they want to return it. This frees the recipient from any obligation to pretend to like the gift. Of course dicretion and manners do dictate they should ask for the receipt later and privately.
Quote:And, really, why should you feel the need to hide how much you spent? I let my own common sense dictate what I do. Granted, it's pretty dang uncommon. We're still friends.
Let me count the ways:
1) if the gift is too expensive, you're seen as showing off
2) if the gift is too cheap, or it was on sale, or you bought it at a discount store, you're seen as being cheap
3) some people are touchy about money. They may get unconfortable knowing how much you spent, or react more strongly in the ways desribed in points 1 and 2
4) other simply react badly to the breach of manners.
I can come up with more, too.
I haven't seen friendships broken over a gift, but I've seen fights break out over gifts. I had one with my dad once over a gift he gave me.
Oh, here's a rule fo etiquette you'll just love: it's bad manners to ask for gifts, but it's good manners to let people know where you're registered. Except that including the registry info in the invitation is seen as asking for gifts, and so is calling people to tell them.
Nice, isn't it? :D
Quote: Nareedyes. That's why I offer the receipt freely when giving the gift. They know I recognize the possibility they may not like or have a use for my gift, and that I won't mind if they want to return it. This frees the recipient from any obligation to pretend to like the gift. Of course dicretion and manners do dictate they should ask for the receipt later and privately.
Let me count the ways:
1) if the gift is too expensive, you're seen as showing off
2) if the gift is too cheap, or it was on sale, or you bought it at a discount store, you're seen as being cheap
3) some people are touchy about money. They may get unconfortable knowing how much you spent, or react more strongly in the ways desribed in points 1 and 2
4) other simply react badly to the breach of manners.
I can come up with more, too.
I haven't seen friendships broken over a gift, but I've seen fights break out over gifts. I had one with my dad once over a gift he gave me.
Oh, here's a rule fo etiquette you'll just love: it's bad manners to ask for gifts, but it's good manners to let people know where you're registered. Except that including the registry info in the invitation is seen as asking for gifts, and so is calling people to tell them.
Nice, isn't it? :D
I can't exactly disagree. How about putting the receipt in an envelope that is given with the gift that says: "BEWARE! Receipt inside. Open at your own risk, and in your own presence, ONLY." That's what I really meant at the start - I just didn't realize it at the time.
I labeled the Wiz as the most interesting man in the world. Might Nareed be the most interesting other in the world? Don't take that in a bad way.
Quote: dmI can't exactly disagree. How about putting the receipt in an envelope that is given with the gift that says: "BEWARE! Receipt inside. Open at your own risk, and in your own presence, ONLY." That's what I really meant at the start - I just didn't realize it at the time.
Too much work, too little interaction.
If it works for you, then it's fine. I'll stick to my method of saying the receipt's available.
BTW I didn't do that with the last gift I gave, but only because it was bought in one country and given in another. I'm not aware of many rules regarding transnational gifts.
Quote: DogHandThe Silver Slipper on the Mississippi Gulf Coast has TITO for all their machines, but the ticket-cashing kiosks near the parking garage door do not have coins: thus, if you insert a ticket for $3.57, you get 3 singles and a 57-cent TITO.
That was the case at Casino Arizona in Scottsdale, so my friend and I combined our tickets in a nickel machine thinking we could lose our odd cents on one pull, then ended up winning $1.20. Big win!
2011 is shaping up to be the first year in a long time in which I can't go to Vegas or Atlantic City. I got an evening in the AZ joint, but it's just not the same. Maybe next year.
Quote: NareedToo much work, too little interaction.
If it works for you, then it's fine. I'll stick to my method of saying the receipt's available.
BTW I didn't do that with the last gift I gave, but only because it was bought in one country and given in another. I'm not aware of many rules regarding transnational gifts.
Well, just keep on sticking to it then. Just be aware it's simply a method to force the recipient to ask for the receipt if he/she is willing to risk hurting your feelings. Don't bother to tell them it's available, they will assume that. It will just be a matter of how much they dislike the gift. By the way, if the knew how much you actually SPENT on it, they could much better decide whether to let your money be wasted.
And it doesn't work for me: it would work for you. I give them the receipt freely - no begging required.
Quote: NareedThe someone. He loved it.
It was easy, though. At the time he was assembling an F-4 model, and he already owned two books on it. So. But it was a trill finding that book just days before his birthday!
He gave the impression of loving it, you mean. Maybe he just wanted to make you feel good. So you gave him B-3. Maybe he's craving B-4 or even B-100. Maybe he told you he loved it. Maybe he didn't love it.
Quote: NareedThe someone. He loved it.
It was easy, though. At the time he was assembling an F-4 model, and he already owned two books on it. So. But it was a trill finding that book just days before his birthday!
He gave the impression of loving it, you mean. Maybe he just wanted to make you feel good. So you gave him B-3. Maybe he's craving B-4 or even B-100. Maybe he told you he loved it. Maybe he didn't love it.
Quote: dmHe gave the impression of loving it, you mean. Maybe he just wanted to make you feel good. So you gave him B-3. Maybe he's craving B-4 or even B-100. Maybe he told you he loved it. Maybe he didn't love it.
Give me some credit. Not only do I know the guy, he's read the book several times over.
