I've played with guys that were so ridiculously shi!tfaced, ordered drink after drink after drink, double fisted, with their face practically falling on to the felt, and I've never seen a waitress, a Floorman or a dealer cut any of these players off. Never. And, I definitely think they're responsible to not let it get to that point especially when you can't even offer the guy a free room for the night.

As a player, I see absolutely zero reason to leave a game because someone is too intoxicated to think clearly. Just last week I had a drunk at my table(and I mean, drunk) who beat me out of about $600. I mean, even when you're trying to give it away, sometimes the cards just fall your way regardless.

hopefully he doesn't get behind the wheel because now he's putting all those lives in grave danger, which, as far as I'm concerned, is the real issue.

This whole thread reminds me of how ridiculous that lawsuit that is going on atm where that gambler is trying to recover for money lost at a Vegas casino because he blacked out from all the alcohol they served him.

I would say I cut people off from drinking an average of 3 out 4 times per week.

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Ok, and that's a very good thing. We need more like you.

No.

Casinos are adult playgrounds. If an adult wants to get hammered at a casino and give all his money away, he has every right to do so and if you are also there gambling and see someone doing this, it is none of your business.

No one can tell you what to do with your own body(getting drunk) or your own money(gambling).

I have frequently seen people cut off from drinking .... but usually it is after they have become a problem.

I try to let floors know when I see a problem in the making .... but most are not willing to cut off a player at that point.

I am told my current rooms policy is that if they cut you off from drinking they also cut you off from gambling.

I think this is reasonable if you are cutting someone off because they are too intoxicated already. I would prefer to see a more proactive approach of slowing people down or cutting them off all together before they become too intoxicated so that they can stay and play rather than being removed.

Sometimes I want to jump up and strangle a cocktail waitress as she drops off another double for the guy who is going to be my problem.....

Or one of my favorites is in a place where the waitresses are told not to give them a drink if they still have one in front of them ... so the waitress tells them to chug the one in front of them so she can give them another .......

Grunch:

This is essentially a political question, or one based on one's fundamental underlying morality. Should we impose an obligation to do what's clearly best for the common good? Should it only be so when another individual is clearly ruining their life, or is this an absolute principle?

Personally, I feel one should exist, but doing so would also require several other changes for legal consistency.

Personal responsibility, corporate responsibility, and government responsibility are three separate things.

1. Should YOU, personally, take advantage of a drunk? I don't give a ****, nor should anyone else. And that goes for the moralizers who are all "wah i quit so u have to quit too." If you can't stomach taking money from the {drunk, poor, stupid, math-impaired}, smile, say goodbye, and quietly leave the table.

2. Should the CARDROOM save these people from themselves? Maybe. (a) It is the law in many places. Whether or not it should be a law is irrelevant - corporations should obey the law. Corporations do not get to take principled stands like people, unless we start jailing corporations or more aggressively freezing assets. (b) It may be bad for the game, and they should stop it if it's going to keep a game from flaming out or give the casino a reputation and inflame the community.

3. Should the GOVERNMENT write laws to stop it? Maybe. (a) People certainly have the right to vote away their own freedoms.* (b) The government should certainly take an interest of minors - jackpots should be withheld from people who legally owe child support, casinos should be banned from advertising to minors, etc.

* On a practical level, the mechanism to prevent this is the supermajority. Changes which require a simple majority are designed to affect minor freedoms; changes which require supermajorities are designed to affect fundamental freedoms. If so many people feel that being able to gamble is a fundamental freedom, simply supermajority it into your state Constitution or local Charter. If not, pass a law and live with the fact that opinions change over time.

tldr: People should make MORAL decisions. Cardrooms should make FINANCIAL decisions. Government should make COMMUNITY decisions.

Personally, I'd cut off drunks from both alcohol and gambling as a card room manager. It only adds to the reputation of the cardroom as an unsavory place.

^^nice post, I think that while poker remains a game that is played in an attempt to win money you're right.

Then why is it the casino's job? Even if it is their job, why do you care if they judge that he isn't drunk enough to stop it?

Which is pretty much how John Q. Public views it. And if they were allowed to sweat games and heard the whining, cursing, went at night when the drunks show up they'd be even more confirmed in their thinking. Fact is poker has a dark side, a damn dark side that we on here don't acknowledge enough bec we are supposedly the ones in control of ourselves but if we are honest we look to the players that get drunk and compulsive gamble or gamble as therapy for our win. IIRC, Caro was the first I read who emphasized that we don't win bec we are geniuses, it's mostly bec our opponents make far more mistakes than we do.

At any rate I wouldn't give a second thought to taking money from the drunk out of control guy. In the end it's only a matter of degree: Most players we look to play against make many small mistakes, this guy is making a huge mistake and mistakes are what we are looking to exploit.

Pretty much sums up how I feel on the topic. Alerting the floor might also get you in super hot water with the rest of the table. Not that you should care what they think...

I had a similar experience to the OP at casino a few years ago with an added twist. This was at a $2/$5 table in a small “local” Midwest casino. When the guy sat down, he may have had a few drinks but was not even close to drunk. At this place, you can order two drinks at a time and the waitresses won’t bring more until those are gone. He buys in for $500, calls for the waitress, and quickly orders two vodka-tonics which he starts powering down when they get to the table. 3-4 hands in, he’s lost it all in a bluff. He gets a call from his wife and a few things are apparent: he is staying in the hotel, he just got into a fight with his wife before he came to the casino, and he is not planning on leaving any time soon.

Then, it happens. He reaches into his pocket to re-buy, and there is $4-5k there in hundreds. He quickly buys in again and starts throwing his money around and getting drinks as fast as he can. About an hour in, he’s gone through 3 rounds of buy-in and 3 double rounds of V-Ts. At this point, every pot he enters has 8-10 people in it and he is losing pretty much every hand that he’s in the pot, mostly by just bluff shoving with nothing. This is just a day in the life at the casino. Then the waitress and floor start to notice that he is getting pretty sloshed and start to respond to his drink requests a little slower. One of the players at the table wins a pot against him and says, “Lucky one on my part, let me buy you a drink” and does. A few of the other players start to pick up on it and order drinks which they find a way to get to him during dealer changes when the dealer starts to look suspicious. Finally, one of the players actually went up to the bar and got two more drinks for him so the waitress wouldn’t see. All of this was done with the full intention of not letting the dealers, floor, or waitress know that this guy was the only one at the table drinking.

The inevitable end to the story is that he left up 10-12 drinks and down about $5k after a little over 2 hours at the table. He stumbled out of the casino and up to his hotel room (He walked right past the ATM on his way out, so I’m guessing he didn’t get himself in too much more trouble). Drunks are just part of the game (particularly at this type of casino), but I think there is a line to cross when you purposely trying to take advantage of a player at the table. I wasn't sure how I felt about it as I was driving home later that night.

PA Gambling Code 501a.2 - Compulsive and Problem Gambling Plan - requires casinos to have an approved plan of action to address inebriated customers. I think we can reasonably guess the the plan would have to include cutting them off from drinks and gambling.

It's awfully easy to have a high moral standard when the situation is hypothetical and you have no actual skin in the game.

As a professional player, I provide a service to gamblers - an outlet for their desire and decision to gamble. The casino does the same thing. My obligation to other humans in a social setting is different than other competitors at a poker table. It's business, not personal.

I'm a scumbag? Maybe, but not for failing to take responsibility for the actions of other adults at a casino.

Actually, it is more of a legal question. There are several issues that lie herein.

1) Continuing to serve alcohol to an obviously impaired person. In many jurisdictions, bars can lose their liquor license for doing this.

2) There may be liability attached for the person's subsequent actions (i.e. getting behind the wheel of a vehicle intoxicated and injuring/killing another person)

3) State Gaming authorities will have issue with letting an obviously intoxicated person continue to play. Not sure if there would be different issues with table games/machines vs. poker.

In terms of moral issues for the player, I have no issue with OP and the others sitting there and taking his money. I have been in his spot several times, and have benefitted from the situation. I can remember several years back when I was at the Venetian, there were four guys in their mid 30's having a college reunion. I watched how they drank 8-9 drinks over the 2 hours I was there at the table. I was playing 1-3 NL, and made about $2400 in that short time. Everyone else at the table also was loving it, as we all made easy money. They even called me a pussy because I wouldn't do shots with them. It was mid-day and I don't drink when I play. I just smiled and kept on collecting their chips. One time, I bet with the nuts and told one of the guys (because I already had a ton of his money) "Do NOT raise me, because I will call you." The guy called me a pussy and re-raised me all in, I of course called and that was that. And YES, I said what I said intentionally to get him to raise me. I knew he was hammered and would do the opposite of what I told him to do. I didn't feel bad, because they looked like they could afford it. He sat down at the table with his friends at a legal game in a licensed casino. They were grown men, not kids. They are fair game.

I don't know if you guys missed it, but I had stated that the casino stop serving alcohol at 2 AM... This guy was going to his car for the next six hours loading up on his own booze... He was that big of an alcoholic

If the guy is drunk and belligerent, then the floor should have him removed. You don't want a drunk ******* upsetting the players in the game.

If you knew he was a millionaire who normally plays upwards of $1k+ NL but is playing lower limit because he wanted to drink, would you fell bad for taking the drunk's money?

If a sober man who was trying to pay his rent was playing next to you, would you feel bad taking a pot from him? Or bluffing him?

The answer is we don't know. The guy next to you could be a compulsive gambler just scraping to get by, or he could be loaded and this money is just pennies to him.

If you are questioning taking money from people while playing poker, then you shouldn't be playing poker. All's fair in love and war.

That does not mean he is an alcoholic. Please stop assuming.

"Anyone who drinks his own booze is an alcoholic." —what PhillyEagles9 actually believes

Yeah, it pretty much does.

Actually, I do know; the answer to all of your questions, is no.

You're not supposed to bring "feelings" into account when you play. Heck, I'm playing to pay my mortgage; Ya think anyone "takes it easy" on me cause maybe they dont have a mortgage? I don't think so and it hasn't happened yet.

You try to make the best decisions every time the action is on you and whatever happens, happens. I can't control someone else's drinking, but I can try to exploit that, just like I would try to exploit a weak opponent. What's the difference? As long as I'm not cheating, yes, all is fair.

Trying to stay on topic: Yes, OP, the casino should absolutely step in here. They stop serving at 2 am yet this guy is clearly going to his car and filling up a giant cup with alcohol. Well, if it was obvious to you and everyone else at the table what he was doing, then it should have been spotted by one of the dealers and/or a Floorman. You can't just bring booze in your car and then drink it in an establishment that doesn't serve booze! Let me be more clear: if they have a law stating that they can't serve alcohol after 2 am, then clearly bringing in your own stash is prohibited. I'm sorry but a good dealer or Floorman would've spotted this problem and called the police and let them give him a ride somewhere. Otherwise, you're just basically saying that it's ok to let this *****faced man get behind the wheel.

No, it pretty much does not.

So if I drink alcohol in a taxi or bus on my way to a club that makes me an alcoholic?