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LVSun - Responsible gaming probe @ LV Binion's Horseshe
Cut/pasted with permission from Al Rogers, employee of Pi Yee Press
(aka bj21.com) in Las Vegas.
ยทยทยท
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Email I sent today to the Horseshoe and to Harrah's. The names of the
casino employees were in the email, but I omitted them here:
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Harrah's often claims to support "responsible gaming." However,
responsibility was not evident in the conduct of your employees in an
incident, which I would like to bring your attention. It occurred
Tuesday, May 11, 2004, between approximately 8 PM and 9:30 PM, at the
Las Vegas Horseshoe.
At table BJ-41 (one of your 6 to 5 games), an obviously severely
intoxicated patron was playing large stacks of red chips. The patron
was so drunk that he could not even stack his chips. He repeatedly
knocked the stacks over, and chips were scattered all over the
layout, and a few were on the floor. Though he was playing from $100
to $200 per hand, he only had red chips, apparently at his request.
He was behaving obnoxiously, sometimes throwing his cards, sometimes
walking away from the table mid-hand, etc. Eventually, his antics
caused your pit personnel to instruct security guards to stand by the
table to keep bystanders back. The other players who were at the
table left, and the drunk was playing alone, at a de facto "private
table." Amazingly, the cocktail waitress kept bringing him alcohol.
At one point he was so drunk, he could not even pick up his cards.
The Assistant Casino Manager, ... came over, picked up the cards, and
played the patron's hand for him. When a concerned citizen asked the
cocktail waitress why they were still serving him alcohol, she
replied that he was a known regular, was staying in the hotel, and
they did not care how drunk he gets because he doesn't get overly
belligerent regardless of how much he loses, and he tips well.
A crowd was gathering to watch. Some of the crowd was starting to
heckle the floor supervisor, ..., asking why he did not terminate
play because of the patron's obvious intoxication. Mr. ... ignored
the questions, and play continued, and the serving of alcohol
continued.
After the patron nearly fell down a couple of times, the Gaming
Control Board was called, due to the flagrant violation by your
employees of Nevada Gaming Regulation 5.011, which states, in
pertinent part:
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5.011 Grounds for disciplinary action. The board and the commission
deem any activity on the part of any licensee, his agents or
employees, that is inimical to the public health, safety, morals,
good order and general welfare of the people of the State of Nevada,
or that would reflect or tend to reflect discredit upon the State of
Nevada or the gaming industry, to be an unsuitable method of
operation and shall be grounds for disciplinary action by the board
and the commission in accordance with the Nevada Gaming Control Act
and the regulations of the board and the commission. Without limiting
the generality of the foregoing, the following acts or omissions may
be determined to be unsuitable methods of operation:
1. Failure to exercise discretion and sound judgment to prevent
incidents which might reflect on the repute of the State of Nevada
and act as a detriment to the development of the industry.
2. Permitting persons who are visibly intoxicated to participate in
gaming activity.
3. Complimentary service of intoxicating beverages in the casino area
to persons who are visibly intoxicated.
*****************************************
A Gaming Control Board agent responded, and instructed Mr. ... to
terminate the patron's play. The Agent then left. However, Mr. ...
failed to stop play, despite apparently telling the Agent that he
would do so. The crowd was becoming unruly, at which time the
security shift supervisor, ..., arrived on the scene. In response to
an observer's polite question about why play was not stopped, Mr. ...
snapped, "That's between the casino manager and Gaming, and is none
of your business."
Subsequently, at least two individuals called Gaming back, and the
Agent was re-dispatched to the Horseshoe. Pending his return, play
continued. The patron was so incapacitated, he once stood on a total
of 6.
After the Agent arrived the second time, play was finally halted, and
the patron staggered away, leaving hundreds of dollars of his chips
on the table. No effort was made to escort the patron to his room, or
assist him in any way. Mr. ... and his subordinates simply let him
walk away without his chips. Mr. ... subsequently placed the chips
into racks, and took them in the direction of the cage, without any
other employees accompanying him. It did not appear to witnesses that
any verification of the total was made prior to Mr. ... departing
with the racks of chips.
The fact that this patron was, according to the cocktail waitress, a
known regular drunk, losing player, does not justify or excuse what
happened. Your employees failed miserably in the discharge of their
duties under Nevada regulations, and I'm sure under Harrah's internal
policies as well. The patron, a known drunk or otherwise, should have
been cut off long before Gaming had to be called.
I hope that Harrah's will take corrective action, including
appropriate reprimands and additional training for Mr. ..., Mr. ...,
Mr, ..., the cocktail waitresses, and everyone else who was involved
in this sordid situation. It was truly an embarrassment to Las Vegas
and to the gaming industry.
Al Rogers
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Today, the story made the LV Sun
From the article, a quote by Gary Thompson:
"We are investigating the allegations made by Al Rogers and to
determine if they indeed occurred as he described them," Thompson
said. "However, surveillance tape does not appear to support the
accusations he made. Nevertheless, we are continuing to investigate."
Reply from Al Rogers:
I was careful to report the facts exactly as they occurred, without
editorial comment. I hope that the Gaming Control Board sees the
surveillance video, and not just Harrah's personnel. Today, I sent
Mr. Thompson the following email:
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Dear Mr. Thompson:
Regarding the Horseshoe incident I reported to Harrah's, you are
quoted in the Las Vegas Sun as saying, "However, surveillance tape
does not appear to support the accusations he made. ...".
Please advise specifically which "accusations" you believe the
surveillance video "does not appear to support."
If you would like, I would be willing to personally view the entire
surveillance video with you at any reasonable time and place of your
choosing, and point out each "accusation" as it occurs.
Al Rogers
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