Watching the Big Boys Play

[BillyJoe]

FYI:  My cousin just reported to me that he went to AC a week ago and stayed at Ballys, where his BOSS just happened to be staying and playing as well (My cousin works in a brokerage in Manhattan, and usually pulls in over 750k per year, so you can imagine what his boss possibly makes).....my cousin is all about Blackjack and high stakes Poker (Omaha is his game of choice, all levels, but he also will play 25-50 n/l holdem if the game is live), and he sighted his boss playing with a companion at a BJ table in the high limit area (or what passes for it these days) at ballys-AC, with a apparent minimum of at least $2,500 per hand, since that was the LOWEST he saw either of them play at!!!!   The highest he witnessed was $15K for his boss and 20 K for the other guy.....sick, just sick!    He did not hang around long enough to see how much either won or lost, but he could never really know since action like that invlolves, markers, lost and lots of markers!!!!What's that booze Billyjoe loves, Markers Make??    


Yeah - may have a few this weekend in Vegas, DB.

As I am sure that you realize, one of the smartest things that casinos did was use chips rather than cash to play. In that way, after a while, it kinda doesn't 'feel' like real money.

Could you imagine counting out 150 Benjamins for that $15k bet?   

[Casino Knight]

Billyjoe,
Speaking of chips. Have you ever asked to be paid off in chips instead of cash? I thought about asking a time or two when I've been hitting some large hand pays.
CK

[DaBurglar]

Billyjoe,
Speaking of chips. Have you ever asked to be paid off in chips instead of cash? I thought about asking a time or two when I've been hitting some large hand pays.
CKI hit a $1 royal at Golden Nugget las Vegas back in 2004 and asked if I coul dhave 2000 in cash and 2000 in Table game chips and was tersely told "Absolutely not"     It has something to do with the laws about how chips in a casino are never to be used for buying stuff or paying off debts, etc (actions that CASH is supposed to be used for....)    Since a Handpay is taxable, and since if you win the same amount at a table game like BJ or Craps you do NOT get a w-2 and taxed, one could simply make the argument that if the casino pays a handpay on a Slot or VP machine in chips, no w-2 is needed

[DaBurglar]

 
Could you imagine counting out 150 Benjamins for that $15k bet?   pffft, I have a problem if I have a actual $20 bill on the bet spot instead of chips (I know this from past experience with the old "money plays" routine in Vegas when I sit down at a table and try to get in the hand before it is almost dealt, and not enough time to buy chips.......of course this is no longer a reality in modern casinos, since most will stop the action and count out chips for whatever money you PLOP on the table to bet!)I can bet chips easy, but actual cash just does not make me comfy.FYI -  Ballys AC typically has a table limit of max bet $1000 to $1500, so to bet something like 10 or 15 grand, they need to call the highest casino brass and get permission!     Of course, this is what did in the old Tropicana COO/GM back in 2010 or  2011 when that guy who won all those millions of dollars playing blackjack at the Trop-AC and Caesars (and Borgata) was on his tear......the guy (i forget his name) wanted to up the action at the Trop AC blackjack table to something like 15 or 20K per hand (or maybe higher even), and of course the lowly Casino floor boss at the time had to get authorization from the highest of the higher ups (the guy at the trop-ac's name was Mark something-Italian-sounding, who is now the Resorts AC GM).....anyway, the player went on a absolute tear and won around 4 million from the Tropicana, and the COO/GM was fired soon after........keep in mind, this was when the Tropicana-AC itself was on the brink of disaster and just before Carl ("Yes) Icahn took over.....They utilized that Most American of management techniques, Crisis Management wherein they "Fix the Blame, not the problem"....even though the "blame" as it were was totally non-existent;  the player just was lucky (and good) at Blackjack, and the COO/GM  did what any other guy in his place would have done, Ok'd the action.....!     I mean, "WHY would the house ever sweat such action anyway?"   .

[BillyJoe]

Billyjoe,
Speaking of chips. Have you ever asked to be paid off in chips instead of cash? I thought about asking a time or two when I've been hitting some large hand pays.
CK
Never have, CK. I will often get a check, or if it is early in a casino trip, have them deposit it at the cage, and draw on it throughout the trip, taking a check of the remainder on the final day.

[Casino Knight]

I figure the paperwork would be the same, but carrying pumpkins, barney's or flags might be easier