vpFREE2 Forums

leaving a machine - a true story

#1

It happened a couple of years ago.

I was sitting and playing at a bank of 10 full-pay machines. Every
seat was taken. Most players had been there a long time. After an
hour or so, the lady beside me announces that she is leaving for a
while and can the rest of us save her machine. We all mumble, yeah,
and keep on playing. The lady cashes out her chit but leaves her
card in the machine.

A couple of minutes later, some guy comes by and starts to sit down
in her seat. We all tell the guy that the machine is taken and that
there is a lady coming right back. He sits down anyways and says,
that's okay, he will only play it until she returns and then will
give it right back to her. He takes her card out and puts his card
into the machine and starts playing.

Of course, he soon hits a Royal and the machine locks up for a hand
pay. The lady returns in time to see the "Call Attendant!" sign
flashing on "her machine". She goes nuts and starts screaming about
how she had played that machine for four hours and how he hit "her
royal" and why didn't the rest of us stop him. We try to tell her
what happened but she is having none of it. The guy doesn't help
matters by laughing and telling her that if she didn't want anyone
to play, she should've left money in the machine. He also "offers"
to give the machine back to her as soon as he receives his hand
pay. She gets even madder and calls security.

The poor security guard arrives and has to listen to her screaming
about the guy taking "her royal" and the guy taunting her about her
failure to leave her money in the machine. The security guard tries
to appease the lady but she is getting angrier by the minute. She
finally storms off.

The guy hangs around for a while trying to get the rest of us to
agree with him that the machine was "up for grabs" because there was
no money in it. Nobody talks to him and he finally leaves.

A couple of questions:

1. I realize it wasn't "her royal" but it was "her machine". When
the guy sat down anyway but announced that he would give the machine
back to her as soon as she returned, would you have continued to try
to dissuade him (none of us did)?

2. What do you do when you want or need to leave a machine for a
short while?

Slowpoke

#2

Slowpoke wrote:

1. I realize it wasn't "her royal" but it was "her machine". When
the guy sat down anyway but announced that he would give the machine
back to her as soon as she returned, would you have continued to try
to dissuade him (none of us did)?

If I gave someone the understanding that I would hold their machine
for them (for a reasonable time) I'd stick by that commitment, doing
what was necessary.

- H.

#3

  After an

hour or so, the lady beside me announces that she is leaving for a
while and can the rest of us save her machine. We all mumble,

yeah,

and keep on playing. The lady cashes out her chit but leaves her
card in the machine.

A couple of minutes later, some guy comes by and starts to sit down
in her seat. We all tell the guy that the machine is taken and

that

there is a lady coming right back. He sits down anyways and says,
that's okay, he will only play it until she returns and then will
give it right back to her. > A couple of questions:

1. I realize it wasn't "her royal" but it was "her machine". When
the guy sat down anyway but announced that he would give the

machine

back to her as soon as she returned, would you have continued to

try

to dissuade him (none of us did)?

I wouldn't try to dissuade him - There are too many crazies out
there. She took her chances when she left.

2. What do you do when you want or need to leave a machine for a
short while?

When Paris still had 25c 8/5 BP, the bank was often full (most
playing blackjack), so if I got a precious seat and had to visit the
powder room (I love that quaint term), I would put the change light
on and an attendant would watch the machine for a few minutes. Many
people playing the BP on that bank would do the same.

Pam

···

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

#4

For the very reason this unlikely senario unfolded is the very reason the woman's wishes should have been honored.

Grumpy

···

-----Original Message-----
From: Slowpoke <decca@shaw.ca>
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, 3 May 2008 2:12 pm
Subject: [vpFREE] leaving a machine - a true story

It happened a couple of years ago.

I was sitting and playing at a bank of 10 full-pay machines. Every
seat was taken. Most players had been there a long time. After an
hour or so, the lady beside me announces that she is leaving for a
while and can the rest of us save her machine. We all mumble, yeah,
and keep on playing. The lady cashes out her chit but leaves her
card in the machine.

A couple of minutes later, some guy comes by and starts to sit down
in her seat. We all tell the guy that the machine is taken and that
there is a lady coming right back. He sits down anyways and says,
that's okay, he will only play it until she returns and then will
give it right back to her. He takes her card out and puts his card
into the machine and starts playing.

Of course, he soon hits a Royal and the machine locks up for a hand
pay. The lady returns in time to see the "Call Attendant!" sign
flashing on "her machine". She goes nuts and starts screaming about
how she had played that machine for four hours and how he hit "her
royal" and why didn't the rest of us stop him. We try to tell her
what happened but she is having none of it. The guy doesn't help
matters by laughing and telling her that if she didn't want anyone
to play, she should've left money in the machine. He also "offers"
to give the machine back to her as soon as he receives his hand
pay. She gets even madder and calls security.

The poor security guard arrives and has to listen to her screaming
about the guy taking "her royal" and the guy taunting her about her
failure to leave her money in the machine. The security guard tries
to appease the lady but she is getting angrier by the minute. She
finally storms off.

The guy hangs around for a while trying to get the rest of us to
agree with him that the machine was "up for grabs" because there was
no money in it. Nobody talks to him and he finally leaves.

A couple of questions:

1. I realize it wasn't "her royal" but it was "her machine". When
the guy sat down anyway but announced that he would give the machine
back to her as soon as she returned, would you have continued to try
to dissuade him (none of us did)?

2. What do you do when you want or need to leave a machine for a
short while?

Slowpoke

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

#5

It would have been even more interesting/explosive if it were a
progressive machine with an extraordinarily high royal.

The few times I've left machines that I didn't want to give up for a
brief bathrroom break, I did four things.

1. Asked a person next to me to keeep an eye on the machine for me
(I'm hitting the men's room.)

2. Cashed out any significant money, but put a couple of dollars in
the machine so it still registered credits.

3. Left my player's card in the machine.

4. Put an empty coin cup or an empty ash tray on the seat.

I think leaving money in the machine, gives the guy next to you more
credibility in convincing a would-be player that in fact the machine
is tied up.

I've had people ask me to hold their machine, but they leave none of
the above evidence that someone is actually playing the machine. Then
it becomes more difficult to convince someone not to play the machine
while they are gone -- particularly as time goes on.

If you're going to leave a machine and ask your neighbor to "guard"
it, at least leave a couple of bucks in the machine and some other
evidence you are planning on returning.

Otherwise, I'm not going to risk getting into a confrontation to
guard a stranger's machine that to other reasonable people appears
abandoned.

ST

For the very reason this unlikely senario unfolded is the very

reason the woman's wishes should have been honored.

Grumpy

From: Slowpoke <decca@...>
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, 3 May 2008 2:12 pm
Subject: [vpFREE] leaving a machine - a true story

It happened a couple of years ago.

I was sitting and playing at a bank of 10 full-pay machines. Every
seat was taken. Most players had been there a long time. After an
hour or so, the lady beside me announces that she is leaving for a
while and can the rest of us save her machine. We all mumble, yeah,
and keep on playing. The lady cashes out her chit but leaves her
card in the machine.

A couple of minutes later, some guy comes by and starts to sit down
in her seat. We all tell the guy that the machine is taken and that
there is a lady coming right back. He sits down anyways and says,
that's okay, he will only play it until she returns and then will
give it right back to her. He takes her card out and puts his card
into the machine and starts playing.

Of course, he soon hits a Royal and the machine locks up for a hand
pay. The lady returns in time to see the "Call Attendant!" sign
flashing on "her machine". She goes nuts and starts screaming about
how she had played that machine for four hours and how he hit "her
royal" and why didn't the rest of us stop him. We try to tell her
what happened but she is having none of it. The guy doesn't help
matters by laughing and telling her that if she didn't want anyone
to play, she should've left money in the machine. He also "offers"
to give the machine back to her as soon as he receives his hand
pay. She gets even madder and calls security.

The poor security guard arrives and has to listen to her screaming
about the guy taking "her royal" and the guy taunting her about her
failure to leave her money in the machine. The security guard tries
to appease the lady but she is getting angrier by the minute. She
finally storms off.

The guy hangs around for a while trying to get the rest of us to
agree with him that the machine was "up for grabs" because there

was

no money in it. Nobody talks to him and he finally leaves.

A couple of questions:

1. I realize it wasn't "her royal" but it was "her machine". When
the guy sat down anyway but announced that he would give the

machine

back to her as soon as she returned, would you have continued to

try

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, BANDSTAND54@... wrote:

-----Original Message-----
to dissuade him (none of us did)?

2. What do you do when you want or need to leave a machine for a
short while?

Slowpoke

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

#6

Yeah, there might have been a confrontation because he was already in
the seat despite being told that the lady was returning. Then again,
he made it very clear that he would leave as soon as she returned so,
who knows?

I am not trying to justify my own inaction (well, maybe I am a little
bit), but it didn't occur to me that he would hit a jackpot and I
really didn't think that the lady would mind if he gave up the machine
as soon as she returned.

Slowpoke

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "straub4" <straub@...> wrote:

Otherwise, I'm not going to risk getting into a confrontation to
guard a stranger's machine that to other reasonable people appears
abandoned.

#7

In most casinos, I have asked change people to hold the machine while I use the head. With one exception (don't recall where), I have never had a problem with this and a $1 tip for the service has always been appreciated, or $2 if playing dollars or higher. This is especially true if you don't have a trusting neighbor to "hold" the machine for you.
   
  As for the "my royal" this is nonsense due to how the machines actually work.

          It would have been even more interesting/explosive if it were a
progressive machine with an extraordinarily high royal.

The few times I've left machines that I didn't want to give up for a
brief bathrroom break, I did four things.

1. Asked a person next to me to keeep an eye on the machine for me
(I'm hitting the men's room.)

2. Cashed out any significant money, but put a couple of dollars in
the machine so it still registered credits.

3. Left my player's card in the machine.

4. Put an empty coin cup or an empty ash tray on the seat.

I think leaving money in the machine, gives the guy next to you more
credibility in convincing a would-be player that in fact the machine
is tied up.

I've had people ask me to hold their machine, but they leave none of
the above evidence that someone is actually playing the machine. Then
it becomes more difficult to convince someone not to play the machine
while they are gone -- particularly as time goes on.

If you're going to leave a machine and ask your neighbor to "guard"
it, at least leave a couple of bucks in the machine and some other
evidence you are planning on returning.

Otherwise, I'm not going to risk getting into a confrontation to
guard a stranger's machine that to other reasonable people appears
abandoned.

ST

For the very reason this unlikely senario unfolded is the very

reason the woman's wishes should have been honored.

Grumpy

From: Slowpoke <decca@...>
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, 3 May 2008 2:12 pm
Subject: [vpFREE] leaving a machine - a true story

It happened a couple of years ago.

I was sitting and playing at a bank of 10 full-pay machines. Every
seat was taken. Most players had been there a long time. After an
hour or so, the lady beside me announces that she is leaving for a
while and can the rest of us save her machine. We all mumble, yeah,
and keep on playing. The lady cashes out her chit but leaves her
card in the machine.

A couple of minutes later, some guy comes by and starts to sit down
in her seat. We all tell the guy that the machine is taken and that
there is a lady coming right back. He sits down anyways and says,
that's okay, he will only play it until she returns and then will
give it right back to her. He takes her card out and puts his card
into the machine and starts playing.

Of course, he soon hits a Royal and the machine locks up for a hand
pay. The lady returns in time to see the "Call Attendant!" sign
flashing on "her machine". She goes nuts and starts screaming about
how she had played that machine for four hours and how he hit "her
royal" and why didn't the rest of us stop him. We try to tell her
what happened but she is having none of it. The guy doesn't help
matters by laughing and telling her that if she didn't want anyone
to play, she should've left money in the machine. He also "offers"
to give the machine back to her as soon as he receives his hand
pay. She gets even madder and calls security.

The poor security guard arrives and has to listen to her screaming
about the guy taking "her royal" and the guy taunting her about her
failure to leave her money in the machine. The security guard tries
to appease the lady but she is getting angrier by the minute. She
finally storms off.

The guy hangs around for a while trying to get the rest of us to
agree with him that the machine was "up for grabs" because there

was

no money in it. Nobody talks to him and he finally leaves.

A couple of questions:

1. I realize it wasn't "her royal" but it was "her machine". When
the guy sat down anyway but announced that he would give the

machine

back to her as soon as she returned, would you have continued to

try

···

straub4 <straub@shore.net> wrote:
--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, BANDSTAND54@... wrote:

-----Original Message-----
to dissuade him (none of us did)?

2. What do you do when you want or need to leave a machine for a
short while?

Slowpoke

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

---------------------------------
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.

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

#8
#9

It would have been even more interesting/explosive if it were a
progressive machine with an extraordinarily high royal.

The few times I've left machines that I didn't want to give up for

a

brief bathrroom break, I did four things.

1. Asked a person next to me to keeep an eye on the machine for me
(I'm hitting the men's room.)

2. Cashed out any significant money, but put a couple of dollars in
the machine so it still registered credits.

3. Left my player's card in the machine.

4. Put an empty coin cup or an empty ash tray on the seat.

I do basically the same thing, plus one more step. I take the string
that is attached to me card and clip the other end to the back of the
chair or to the cup if necessary. It kind of puts a barrier that is
quite easy to see (it helps if you have a bright colored cord)

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "straub4" <straub@...> wrote:

#10

If I gave someone the understanding that I would hold their machine
for them (for a reasonable time) I'd stick by that commitment, doing
what was necessary.

- H.

Harry, you're a good guy but that would be just plain stupid to possibly put
yourself in harm's way over a machine! Just how much is "necessary?"

Scot

#11

If I gave someone the understanding that I would hold their machine
for them (for a reasonable time) I'd stick by that commitment, doing
what was necessary.

- H.

Scot Krause wrote:

Harry, you're a good guy but that would be just plain stupid to
possibly put yourself in harm's way over a machine! Just how much is
"necessary?"

I appreciate the compliment and trust it means that you don't feel I
might just be blowing smoke with these words.

Look, I'm a practical guy and if "push came to shove" you can look for
me to cede way. But also look for me to push back harder when a guy
wants to sit down where a woman has stepped away but left her card to
hold the machine. It should be clear that to do otherwise is a set up
for trouble.

Not being present in the actual circumstance, I can only write with
some speculation. But my guess is that had someone firmly asserted
that the guy should leave the machine alone, he would have backed off.
Instead, my sense is that people decided they didn't want to invest
themselves that deeply. If that was the case, there shouldn't have
been any implicit assurance to the woman (even by tacit consent) that
the machine would be held. She should have been told that they'd try
to hold it, but if someone came along who wanted it there were no
guarantees.

We're as good as our word, and it shouldn't be given lightly. I fall
short of the mark at times (as you personally know, Scot). But that
doesn't diminish the responsibility.

- Harry

#12

If I gave someone the understanding that I would hold their machine
for them (for a reasonable time) I'd stick by that commitment, doing
what was necessary.

- H.

Scot Krause wrote:

Harry, you're a good guy but that would be just plain stupid to
possibly put yourself in harm's way over a machine! Just how much is
"necessary?"

I appreciate the compliment and trust it means that you don't feel I
might just be blowing smoke with these words.

Look, I'm a practical guy and if "push came to shove" you can look for
me to cede way. But also look for me to push back harder when a guy
wants to sit down where a woman has stepped away but left her card to
hold the machine. It should be clear that to do otherwise is a set up
for trouble.

Not being present in the actual circumstance, I can only write with
some speculation. But my guess is that had someone firmly asserted
that the guy should leave the machine alone, he would have backed off.
Instead, my sense is that people decided they didn't want to invest
themselves that deeply. If that was the case, there shouldn't have
been any implicit assurance to the woman (even by tacit consent) that
the machine would be held. She should have been told that they'd try
to hold it, but if someone came along who wanted it there were no
guarantees.

We're as good as our word, and it shouldn't be given lightly. I fall
short of the mark at times (as you personally know, Scot). But that
doesn't diminish the responsibility.

- Harry

Ok, dude. Lots of crazies out there. Does Bev agree that you should display
your prowess over a machine if it came that that? Guess I'm much more
cowardly. Peace. Call security but don't put yourself at risk. I can see the
headlines now.

Scot

···

-----Original Message-----
From: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vpF…@…com]On Behalf Of
Harry Porter
Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2008 7:22 PM
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [vpFREE] Re: leaving a machine - a true story

#13

Scot Krause wrote:

Ok, dude. Lots of crazies out there. Does Bev agree that you should
display your prowess over a machine if it came that that? Guess I'm
much more cowardly. Peace. Call security but don't put yourself at
risk. I can see the headlines now.

I'll grant you that much (re the crazies), Scot :wink: But, without
making too much of it, my guess is that (generally speaking) you're
probably inclined to bare your teeth in more situations than I am.
(Most are.)

Here's my point -- It's my sense that that when the guy said he was
going to have a seat until the woman returned that the other people
involved pretty much rolled over without any argument -- because they
felt that had no stake whatsoever in the situation. I'm not
suggesting an exercise of "prowess" ... just to express that it wasn't
appropriate, having effectively given the woman the idea that they
would do just that. If the guy still insisted, let it go -- at least
they hadn't just shrugged their shoulders with a "well, that's her
problem".

But I'm really beating a dead horse at this point ... I don't expect I
need have clarified these thoughts.

- H.

#14

This is very interesting. I have had 'neighbors' watch my machine, I
am sure at least 100 times and unless it is a very good friend have
never left any money in the machine, but always my card. Sometimes I
do something additional to show the machine is in use, but not always.
I have never had any problems with someone attempting to play my
machine (thankfully), but from reading the posts here, in the future I
will always put at least a $1 in the machine to show that I have an
interest in it and will truly be returning.

thanks to the posters, we learn something new every day

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "straub4" <straub@...> wrote:

It would have been even more interesting/explosive if it were a
progressive machine with an extraordinarily high royal.

The few times I've left machines that I didn't want to give up for a
brief bathrroom break, I did four things.

1. Asked a person next to me to keeep an eye on the machine for me
(I'm hitting the men's room.)

2. Cashed out any significant money, but put a couple of dollars in
the machine so it still registered credits.

3. Left my player's card in the machine.

4. Put an empty coin cup or an empty ash tray on the seat.

I think leaving money in the machine, gives the guy next to you more
credibility in convincing a would-be player that in fact the machine
is tied up.

I've had people ask me to hold their machine, but they leave none of
the above evidence that someone is actually playing the machine. Then
it becomes more difficult to convince someone not to play the machine
while they are gone -- particularly as time goes on.

If you're going to leave a machine and ask your neighbor to "guard"
it, at least leave a couple of bucks in the machine and some other
evidence you are planning on returning.

Otherwise, I'm not going to risk getting into a confrontation to
guard a stranger's machine that to other reasonable people appears
abandoned.

ST