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Originally Posted by mathlizard888
Nice thoughtful post by The Great Outdoors, but not sure if the system of having players volunteer to bring the seat cards back up to the podium would work smoothly. What if a player who has been known to steal seats or seat cards volunteer to bring the seat cards? It’s a way for cards to get lost or stolen.
I appreciate you bringing up this concern. However, I wouldn't envision it being a problem. It wouldn't be too difficult to catch people taking a seat card off the table and then coming right back and sitting down at that table even though they weren't next on the list (regs, dealers, and staff will recognize who is next on the list and notice the discrepancy); these people can and should be punished severely (ban them a week or even a month). It would not take long for would-be cheats to realize, "Whoa, I better not try that trick!"
Currently, it's very easy for a seat stealer to just walk up to a table and sit down and be dealt in. When he is caught and reported, he just mumbles something to the staff and acts confused and the staff member either lets him stay at the seat (this is what usually happens) or simply makes him get up and wait for another seat, with no penalty. In other words, it's difficult to accuse the guy of willfully stealing the seat and even more difficult to justify kicking him out as punishment.
It's another thing entirely for someone to decide to take a card, circle back around and then steal a seat. Now, when he's caught (and he WILL be caught sooner or later) it's impossible for him to lie and act confused; his duplicity is clear as day and it would be SO MUCH easier for the supervisor to justify kicking him out for a week or more.
Regarding a player actually stealing a seating card, taking it home and bringing it back to use on another day...there are ways to catch them doing this too. Let's not go too far into it, but it would probably have something to do with noting when cards go missing and when they reappear, checking surveillance cameras, etc. And once even one of these thieves it caught...man, the punishment should be pretty severe; you now have someone stealing MGM gaming property and leaving the casino with it. Again, banning someone for a month or more sends a huge message and would virtually guarantee that problem is stopped in its tracks.
Just because a solution to a huge problem might create another less serious issue does not mean the initial solution shouldn't be employed. Currently, people are stealing seats and transfers left and right at MGMNH. There is no system to prevent and control this. Using seating cards properly would massively eliminate most seat-stealing issues. This more than justifies the potential problem of thieves trying other routes (stealing cards) to get around following the seating cards procedures.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathlizard888
There would also be a delay from the time a seat opens to a new player being able to be seated - the new player would have to wait for the card to be brought to the podium and then be given the card to get seated. That could take minutes.
If staff members as well as players on the waiting list and players already seated all help with running up a card here and there, using seating cards would not really create much of a delay.
Currently there are huge delays by not using seating cards. Every time there is an argument of who should get a seat, who is stealing a transfer, etc. the list attendants/floors/players/dealers are all interrupted. Not only does it stop the supervisors and list attendants from focusing on their job and slow down games currently in progress, but it frequently causes a ton of frustration to players and staff too. And as I've said before, this happens many times and every day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathlizard888
s Perhaps the floor person who’s assigned to handle all table transfers should also be responsible for picking up seat open cards whenever he sees a seat is open on Bravo. Sometimes he can call the next name on the list first, escort the player to the table, and pick up the seat cards when he’s there. Be sure to assign a floor person who needs or enjoys lots of exercise.
This is a great idea, if the staff member is only responsible for one particular section (2/5 for instance). In my opinion, asking a staff member to constantly walk all over the poker room collecting cards and go back and forth to the front or back podium is a very unreasonable expectation and not fair to that staff member.
Again, I really think both staff and players pitching in more than solves the issue of collecting cards.
Mathlizard, I appreciate your thoughts and I'm not trying to sound like a condescending know-it-all who is shooting down everything you say. It's just that this seating problem has been bothering me from the beginning and it's only gotten worse and worse. I've complained and discussed this with the staff so many times that I've already heard and thought about all those concerns you brought up.