First, I'm not going tho name the Casino in question unless site staff require me to. Second, yes I know I'm new here, I registered to post this question. If site staff needs proof I'm not full of BS, I will happily email proof privately. Third, please read the entire post before offering advice. Now, on to the problem:

I'm at a 1/3 NL table. As expected late night/early morning, lots of people come and go either from broken tables or just because that's how live poker works. Player A came to my table from another with 3 times max buy-in and sits in position 4. I'm at 6 and hovering at max buy in most of night and player 5 (who I met that night and have been playing with for several hours) has about 2x buy-in. Player A is at table for well over an hour with this stack, possibly up to 3 hours. Pretty tight player, not making huge moves often but definitely splashing in and should be considered a medium level threat simply because he had so much money and was hard to read. Not a fish, not a pro.

Turns out Player A came from 20/40 limit, not another NL table. This vital information was never communicated to anyone at my table or anyone who joined later. Dealers didn't know either (disputed as to whether the dealer at the time he sat down new, absolutely certain no others did). Dealers rotate a lot and we never had a repeat dealer.

Eventually, he goes all in - here's where the SHTF. He claims that majority of money (about 70% current stack size) not in play and was told that by a dealer (I remember him saying from previous table, casino now claims first dealer when he sat down). I look to position 5 player and ask about the other $500, which has been on the table in a rack the whole time. I honestly have no idea if he ever dipped into the full $500 rack, never crossed my mind to pay attention to that aspect. Others have money in racks and play out of them so not unusual (even though floor claims against house rules, lots of people do it and no enforcement).

My question gets very little response at first, I was admittedly quiet as I was confused and not in that specific hand. I confirm with position 5 that the chips have been on the table the whole time. Once confirmed, I tell dealer to stop and get floor immediately.

Floor eventually rules that since player A came from different game type, only legal, max buy-in plays. Player then told to remove rack and house colors up to five black chips and he's told to put them in his pocket since they can't let him cash them out. I do not in any way believe that player A did anything intentionally to deceive anyone and English is not likely his first language. Very quiet guy, very polite. Have no problem with him as a person. The only thing the casino claims differently now is that some players at the table knew those were no in play. This is not what anyone said that morning but the claim of the poker room director the next afternoon.

Based on table position and comparative stack size, I folded hands to him that I would not to a short stack. As a result, I am out actual, non-speculative money. Best guess, around $50. The money isn't the issue; this is all about how the casino handled it. Casino admits player A has illegal funds on the table for hours.

At this point, I get up, cash out and walk away pissed. I take a few min to clear my head and go back to talk to the floor. Explain this is my first visit to his poker room (play in a lot of others but wanted to try this room) and feel cheated. Tell him I expect some compensation for the actual money I am out. Tell him the same ($50) and the money isn't the issue but how they handle it if they ever want me back on the entire property. The floor guy clearly just wanted this to go away so he offers me a buffet comp. I tell him not even close to enough. He claims more than fair since it was my fault just as much as theirs since I didn't specifically ask if the chips were in play (won't go into that further, just giving this for background).

Tell him I need to talk to his superior, he tells me when they will be around. I come back and meet with the director of all poker operations for the casino in his office. He fully admits what happened (other than some players knowledge as stated above) and that it was wrong. He offers me the same buffet comp and I tell him I expect more. At no point did I yell or curse at anyone so they have no reason to be dicks to me.

He refuses to do anything more (other than to say he will up the comp to $50 food and beverage instead of the single buffet), I inform him there are gaming law problems and customer service problems. Additionally, I explain I really do believe the player was told the wrong thing and I seriously doubt the dealer in question wanted to screw anybody. I'm not trying to be an ass, just want them to make up for a horrible experience and convince me to come back. He asks what i want and I tell him a room for a weekend (have no intention to use the requested comp, just wanted the offer) he says no way.

Day after this I get in touch with his boss outside the poker room. I'm told that based on my gaming history at their casino the offer of a buffet was more than generous.

If this was a $100/200 game, I know my next few trips would be free and include private jets, free play, etc. - their decision to treat me as a piss-ant player probably bothers me even more than the actual game play problems. So, what would you do? What would you expect?

Sent from my iPad, please excuse typos.

You demanded compensation for hands that you might have lost on because of his stack being too deep? Is this a joke ?

No, I demanded compensation for the casino allowing illegal money on the table for between 1.5 and 3 hours of active play and the resulting deception it caused. This is a no limit game; stack size and table position mean more than the cards at least 50% of the time.

I don't think you know what the word illegal means.

Laughed pretty hard at this.

Unfortunate situation but I don't know why you expect the casino to compensate you for money that you might have won if the situation was more clear.

I haven't played at a ton of rooms but I've never seen a room that let's you play out of a rack in a NL game for more than a few hands. So this guy having a rack on the table for 3 hours seems weird. I certainly would have asked about the rack sooner.

Edit -

Yeeeeeah. If you expect to be financially compensated every time casino staff makes a mistake, you're gonna be in for some disappointment.

I'm snap accepting any comps offered.

I'm also finding a way to clarify that the money is or isn't in play before 3 hours go by.

Thread title should definitely be changed. "Major" definitely doesn't need to be there.

I agree with SirRawrs, when anything a little weird happens (like someone transferring to a table with a rack) you should clarify if that $ plays or not.

Be happy you only felt you lost $50. There are plenty of other poker rooms in Vegas.

When a floor doesn't enforce its own rules, bedlam. The rest of the story is a wash. Plain and simple.

Perhaps you should read the gaming regulations, specifically section 5.

Yes, private jets was a bit of an exaggeration. My point is only that the casino would bend over backwards for a regular or a higher limit player.

I've played a bunch of rooms in Vegas, all have different rules. Some even have different rules for racks of chips when for limit compared to no limit play. The only consistent rule for no limit is that all money on the table is in play. I've been asked about a single dollar bill I pulled out for the cocktail waitress (player was seriously asking too).

No, I don't expect financial compensation for mistakes especially if unintentional. This was much more than a single mistake and the casino admits I was essentially defrauded for a long time.

So your not going back to Bellagio op? The floor clearly offered you $50 comp so you should stfu and leave. Are you new to poker or just entitled? I mean honestly if you or anyone else had concerns about player A having chips on the table that were not in play, somebody at the table should have asked.

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This is ridiculous. The casino doesn't directly make much off of poker rooms and poker players in the poker room no matter what limit you're playing. The casino isn't going to win thousands off of you in a 100/200 game. You just lose that money to other players.

Asking for rooms was outrageous. In fact I'm surprised they even offered you a buffet and when they offered you more I would have been very happy with the offer. I would have quickly accepted the buffet offer.

I agree that the situation at your table sucked, but I wouldn't have been surprised if the floor had listened to you, shrugged his shoulders and said "Too bad."

Edit: I actually have a higher opinion of this room after reading this thread. People used to complain that the staff was rude and that you had to bribe them to get them to do anything extra. You could ask for comps after playing in the room and they might have said no.

Things have really improved in the last few years.

In general you play more hands when effective stacks are deeper and less hands when they are shorter. Not vice versa, which is what you seem to be suggesting here.

Not to mention most $1/$3 games in the city have max buy in at 166.66bbs ($500) the others are still a full 100bb's. He would not be allowed to play anything less than max buy in, so there is really no way he would have been short stacked.

Accept the apology and the comp, which is more than I would expect from the casino.

If his stack impacted the way you were going to play all the hands you should have clarified as soon as he sat down.

Of course high rollers get treated differently, they give the casino more money than you do. Take the free food and get over it, the time to speak up was when he sat down, not when you leave the table down.

At this point, I think he's the one that owes the poker room/suits an apology for wasting their time with this bull****.

Not trying to be an ass when I ask this, but do any rooms in Vegas, or anywhere, allow players in NL game to have a rack of chips on the table (and be in play) for 3 hours?

You are correct, the casino actually makes more per hour on the 1/3 that a very high limit where rake is hourly rate not % of pot. They do, however, want people with big bankrolls to play other casino games and offer a lot to those who do at high $ levels.

The offer "with more" was accompanied by a personal insult. I'm not looking to take a casino for a ride and would likely never use a room comp. I have a free place to stay and free food all year long already. I wanted them to make a good faith showing that this was unacceptable.

Max buy-in was $300. He sat down with over $800.

Why should I (or anyone who sat down 30 min after him) have to ask if money on the table plays in a no limit game? That is just stupid.

Normally no, but it happens a bunch and neither the dealer, players, nor the floor ever have concerns about it. The ultimate standard is all money on the table in either chips or cash play.

The only recent change is that cash can't actually be used and pushed forward, but if you put it on the table you are required to convert to chips and it is in the pot if you call an amount over the chips you otherwise have in front of you.

Op you seem like a whiner. Can't believe casino offered you anything.

Btw was expecting a much better story. I think you owe me $50 for asking me to read entire post.

Because there are rules about max buy ins for a reason. Maybe the fact that when I play it's in supernitville so I've been spoiled, but I cannot imagine someone sitting at a 1/3 table with $800 and not having at least 2 people freak out and get a ruling on the money immediately.

It sucks, that you made decisions that night based on faulty information, but you could have gotten correct information and they have offered you something, which seems like a lot when you consider how small of a transgression this is in reality.

Are you clairvoyant or a relative of an employee there? I'm neither new nor entitled. I consider Vegas to be one of the few places in the world where I can leave my cell phone, wallet and hundreds on dollars sitting in a public room in plain view of anyone walking by and not be remotely concerned that it will all be there untouched when I return. I don't feel that way about $5 sitting on a local bar (outside of a casino) when I turn around to hand someone a drink.

Again, perhaps you should learn the rules of no limit poker and what "table stakes" means.

Can you clarify something.

Did they have him take the extra money off the table during a hand? You say he went all-in and thats when the issue came to light.

If they took the position that the money came off the table during the hand, then if it would have mattered (that is his opponents had enough money that they more than covered what he was left with) then that was a bad decision.

If they made him take the money off in between hands that defeats the basis of your objection. You seem to feel that he was free rolling. Getting the benefit of scaring you off by having the extra rack on the table while not actually risking the chips. And if that is the case I feel you have a legitimate claim to feel that you treated unfairly (well not actually you since you say your stack was around the max buyin and that is the amount they ruled was in play.... so it actually never would have mattered in a hand with you your full stack was covered by the chips ruled to be in play).

But I suspect that in fact had he been in a hand where the overage came up... that the ruling would have been that the chips were in play for that hand. After the hand I would expect him to have to reduce his stack to the game limits.


You also say you believe the player was told the wrong thing about the rule. I really doubt this. At best if the player was a complete newbie to poker I could believe he honestly misunderstood. I suspect that he asked the dealer at the table he was leaving .... and that dealer may have told him only the max-buy in could play ..... but taht doesn;t mean you get to sit the rest fo the chips on the table and claim they are out of play.

The dealer wouldn't have told him the wrong thing. The dealer would have been correct. The dealer didn't say just keep the rest of them on the side and say they don;t play.