vpFREE2 Forums

Bob Dancer's Column and YOUR Safety

#1

Bob Dancer's column this week deals with a Quick Quads promotion at the Tropicana. I'm not a serious QQ player. And I don't gamble at the Tropicana. But, I always read the entire column anyway to see if something else pertains to me.

Sure enough, about two-thirds of the way through, Bob mentions that his particular high max-bet machine isn't in High Limit but in a more public area. The use of the word conspicuous is certainly appropriate.

I raised this issue a few months ago on the vpFREE California website. Fantasy Springs placed its $1 8/5 Super Aces 10 Plays smack dab in the middle of their "low roller" area. At $50 a pop I mentioned the discomfort I felt while playing. And the attention of a $2K hand pay for getting Four Aces was the last thing I wanted or needed.

More recently, Pala installed Dreamcard in a similar "wide-open" location. This machine has $2/5 3/5/10 Play games on it. At the very least, you bet $60 per play max coin. It zooms right up to $500/hand for the $5 10 Play.

I have a few suggestions if you are caught in the situation of wanting to play a high max bet game which is not in the safest of locations:

1) Don't load your machine depositing one $100 bill after another in front of full view of bystanders. Instead, buy a ticket ahead of time in High Limit and deposit that into the machine instead of cash.

2) Hide the denomination of the game you are playing with an index card. People who pass by won't know whether you are playing 5c or $5.

3) Most machines offer you the choice of viewing CREDITS or CASH in the lower right corner. Always choose CREDITS. Many 5c players are used to seeing 1000 credits and don't react to it.

4) Request any large taxable jackpot to be paid at the cage.

5) Ask for a security guard escort back to your room or the parking lot if you feel the least bit apprehensive.

Good luck and have a great weekend,

Mikey

#2

Great post...I agree with that completely. Vegas is the only place I carry large amounts of cash.

···

To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
From: mikeymic@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 16:45:46 +0000
Subject: [vpFREE] Bob Dancer's Column and YOUR Safety

Bob Dancer's column this week deals with a Quick Quads promotion at the Tropicana. I'm not a serious QQ player. And I don't gamble at the Tropicana. But, I always read the entire column anyway to see if something else pertains to me.

Sure enough, about two-thirds of the way through, Bob mentions that his particular high max-bet machine isn't in High Limit but in a more public area. The use of the word conspicuous is certainly appropriate.

I raised this issue a few months ago on the vpFREE California website. Fantasy Springs placed its $1 8/5 Super Aces 10 Plays smack dab in the middle of their "low roller" area. At $50 a pop I mentioned the discomfort I felt while playing. And the attention of a $2K hand pay for getting Four Aces was the last thing I wanted or needed.

More recently, Pala installed Dreamcard in a similar "wide-open" location. This machine has $2/5 3/5/10 Play games on it. At the very least, you bet $60 per play max coin. It zooms right up to $500/hand for the $5 10 Play.

I have a few suggestions if you are caught in the situation of wanting to play a high max bet game which is not in the safest of locations:

1) Don't load your machine depositing one $100 bill after another in front of full view of bystanders. Instead, buy a ticket ahead of time in High Limit and deposit that into the machine instead of cash.

2) Hide the denomination of the game you are playing with an index card. People who pass by won't know whether you are playing 5c or $5.

3) Most machines offer you the choice of viewing CREDITS or CASH in the lower right corner. Always choose CREDITS. Many 5c players are used to seeing 1000 credits and don't react to it.

4) Request any large taxable jackpot to be paid at the cage.

5) Ask for a security guard escort back to your room or the parking lot if you feel the least bit apprehensive.

Good luck and have a great weekend,

Mikey

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#3

Excellent suggestions, Mikey! Thank you for posting them.

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On 5/7/10, mikeymic <mikeymic@yahoo.com> wrote:

<SNIP>
I have a few suggestions if you are caught in the situation of wanting to
play a high max bet game which is not in the safest of locations:

1) Don't load your machine depositing one $100 bill after another in front
of full view of bystanders. Instead, buy a ticket ahead of time in High
Limit and deposit that into the machine instead of cash.

2) Hide the denomination of the game you are playing with an index card.
People who pass by won't know whether you are playing 5c or $5.

3) Most machines offer you the choice of viewing CREDITS or CASH in the
lower right corner. Always choose CREDITS. Many 5c players are used to
seeing 1000 credits and don't react to it.

4) Request any large taxable jackpot to be paid at the cage.

5) Ask for a security guard escort back to your room or the parking lot if
you feel the least bit apprehensive.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#4

5) Ask for a security guard escort back to your room or the parking lot if you feel the least bit apprehensive.

Nice Suggestions Mikey. I usually don't worry up to $3,000-5,000 in nicer casinos, but after that...maybe. There are casinos where I'd be wary about carrying more than a few hundred.

I've been mugged at gunpoint twice (neither time carrying more than $100), so I'd suggest not carrying more than you are comfortable losing. Not worth getting injured with some $8,000 knee surgery for some paper money. Maybe worth carrying a thin mugging wallet with $20-40 as a decoy.

Some ideas.

A) Use safe-deposit box at casino (hotel check-in or poker room) to drop off most of your money. Don't leave much money in your wallet or "wad/bankroll" and go to another casino (your car, hotel room, etc...), come back, and pick up your money.

I've had that recommended by a friend who gets paid to escort people out of casinos, however I've never done it.

B) I have brought money back to my room, taken it out to my car in a few trips (hidden in multiple places), then driven my car to one of my local banks for deposit.

I will sometimes deliberately detour through bathrooms, high-limit areas, etc... after a big win.

Sometimes when counting money/chips out of site of cameras, I will head into a bathroom stall. I have had casino employees come into a bathroom to see how many chips I had - when I was counting chips on a bathroom counter (analogous to the call from a pit to the cashier to ask how much I'm cashing it...)

Mitchell

#5

I have used many of the "be safe" ideas already mentioned ..... but looking at it from the opposite side, the high limit room is exactly where I would lurk, propbably playing 1 coin at a time while keeping an eye out for big hits if I wanted to robbed someone.

#6

The high limit rooms are hard to "lurk" in. One coin people will stick out. Many casino staff are on the lookout for non-players.

Why? High limit people often leave $100-$1,000 just sitting in the machines - after a big jackpot has been cashed, or they're playing multiple machines, or it's leftover change ($65 on a 100-play $1, not enough for one hand).

Probably easier to hang out "around" the high limit area (not in it), because you will see people gather if there's a big $20,000-100,000+ handpay.

Mitchell

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--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "derfkark" <derfkark@...> wrote:

I have used many of the "be safe" ideas already mentioned ..... but looking at it from the opposite side, the high limit room is exactly where I would lurk, propbably playing 1 coin at a time while keeping an eye out for big hits if I wanted to robbed someone.