Misscraps wrote: “After these incidents I always pull my card every so often and reinsert to make sure points are registering. Problem seems to happen after several thousand accumulated points.”
NOTI responded But then they accuse you of card pulling. The card readers are notoriously unreliable and inaccurate. This is probably the biggest problem with slots today. Eventually it will get fixed, but it will probably be awhile. These card reader problems have been around for decades and may have decades to go before they get fixed. The problems are complicated and it’s easier for the casinos to just blame the customers, especially the video poker players.
Bob Dancer responded: I disagree. What she’s talking about is removing her card between hands when nothing else is going on. Card pulling is done in the middle of a hand.
At Harrah’s (CET) properties, I always remove and re-insert my card every 3000 or so points. I always assume I’m on surveillance and so I would not pull my card in the middle of a hand — but I’ve never had a problem with pulling a card between hands. Should I ever be confronted by casino employees who don’t understand the distinction between card pulling and what I’m doing, I’m convinced that I’ll be able to explain what and why I’m doing it.
I have to disagree with you Bob. I was barred from the El Cortez a number of years ago for doing exactly what Misscraps did. I played there on a double or triple point day and the points were not being multiplied. I was pulling the card every few hands to check. Went to the club booth and they acknowledged the multiplier was not activated but would be once a certain employee, who had the authorization and knowledge to do so, came to work. Eventually the multiplier did take effect. That day they also had a promotion for winning a “jackpot” of $300 or more. I was playing $1 10/7 DB and hit a few low 4ofK. The slot tech pulled the card to record the necessary info (name, club #, etc.).
The next time I played there, I was confronted by a suit and two security guards. The suit told me I was barred and they read me the trepass act. I was walked to the club where they gave me a voucher for whatever cash I had from the points, walked to the cage to cash the voucher and then escorted to my car, all the time with both security guards very close at hand. Guess I was such a threat they needed two armed security guards. When I asked, the suit refused to tell me why I was being barred.
As I told the story to other players in my circle, one of them was friendly with the El Cortez slot staff and said he/she would try and find out why I was barred. After a few weeks, I was told that it was because I pulled my card over 50 times in a three hour period. They thought I was pulling the card on good hands and therefore understating wins and/or overstating losses in their system. If the card was not in the reader when the win was registered, it didn’t show up in the system.
Don the Dentist