7. Number 1 Rule of Craps - Count Your Chips When you Buy-In
Date: Sun Dec 28, 2008 6:37 pm ((PST))
I went to the Las Vegas Hilton yesterday to collect $10 in cash and use a
matchplay from ACG. I bought-in at the craps table for $1,000 but since I was
so into the game, I made bets right away and did not take the 30 seconds
necessary to count my chips. I played a little while betting mostly $10 and $15
don't pass and don't come bets. I did win the $10 matchplay betWhen I was
done, I went to the cashier, thinking that I was up $37. She counted out
$1,012. I looked at her count and thought that it couldn't be right. I then
noticed that she had taken $25 in red chips and stacked them by the $475 I had
in green. I told her that there must be some mistake because I never ended
wagered a green chip so therefore I should have still had $500 in green. She
said nothing she could do. I asked her to call a manager and have them pull the
tape from the table. After about 5 minutes waiting for a manager on the phone,
she hung up and said they would not
pull the tape of the table for $25, but they would give me the $25.Thanks again Hilton for stepping up and doing what was right.
Glad they made it right for you, and smart of them to realize that it would eat up more than $25 in total employees' wage-time to pull a tape and review it.
Needless to say, this is not unique to craps - there is NO time that you should not count your chips when purchasing at the cashier, and do so before you leave the window; likewise your cash when the transaction is going the other way. Unless you're absolutely certain that you watched the cashier count correctly - which, since they usually double-count in front of you, is possible if you watch carefullyy (but I'm always afraid of their fast counting of cash, and double check my cash when I cash out). Furthermore, you want to do this in plain sight of the cashier and the cameras, without even temporarily removing the chips or money from their sight, so there can be no questioning as to whether you yourself might be trying to remove some of your chips or money and then claim that you were shorted.
For poker players, same applies at the cashier, AND if you use a chip runner, AND if you're not absolutely certain the dealer counted correctly when you purchase from the dealer, AND it applies to counting your tournament chips at the start of a tournament.
For that matter, it applies when doing transactions at the bank cashier window too.
On those occasions where I use a "cash machine" to cash a TITO ticket, I stand right there when the money comes out and spread it to assure it's correct, again, so if it's not, I can have a tape record of what I removed from the machine.
The cashiers are only human, and the machines are only machines
--BG
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