Good Fortune

[olds442jetaway]

Great stories and comments. I usually have to remind someone to take their ticket every session. One time i had to track down the person. Turns out it was a famous auther. After chatting a while. She invited tthe wife and i to stop by her retreat on cape cod. We havent made it yet but stay in touch by email once in awhile.

[advantage playe]

get up to cape cod and take a rest from v poker!!the change will do u good!and your wife too!!

[Vman96]

Also these stories with mixed results also make me do one other thing. Don't let a TITO build to a very large amount. If it's significant, I'll cash it out, put it in my wallet, and start over.

[advantage playe]

I think I also need a rest!

[OTABILL]

Glad your wife was able to get the ticket. Kudos to the good Samaritan and casino staff. Hoping they were all rewarded. There are more good/honest people in this world than dishonest ones thankfully. Best wishes on your next trip.

[FAA]

Yes, beware TITO creep. Just cash out and repeat.

[mightwin]

This is almost about a lost ticket....more of a forgotten ticket. This was years ago. I had put a TITO in my wallet the last night of my Las Vegas vacation. When cleaning out my wallet 6 months later I found the over $300 ticket. Darn it. I called the casino and they said it expired 30 days after printing. When I went to the same casino 8 months later, I sat at the same machine in high limit and played slowly. An attendant came over and asked me if I needed anything. I explained my stupid mistake to him. (I had gone to a cage first and they refused to pay.) He took my ticket and said let me see. Five minutes later he brought me my money. Smiled and tipped him nicely, cashed out and wondered away.

That felt like a win, because it was.

I had 2 no answers and the 3rd time was the charm. Never hurts to ask. You'll be surprised more times than not - I'm talking about everything, not just casinos.

Royals for everyone.

[DaBurglar]

I just now returned to this thread to read it's development:

1) Regarding OMT statement on his four instances/stories of "TITO left behind" and three were never found, which according to him is "What he deserved"....wrong sir, you (and anyone else) does not "DESERVE" that for the simple, very-human trait of being distracted in a place that goes out of its way to "distract"! In fact I have heard arguments amongst casino floor people (including bosses), patrons and others that the machines in casinos need to do MORE to alert or warn players who are about to depart that the machine still has funds in it....very much like ATMs have incredibly loud sounds (and in more modern ATMs LIGHTS) that alert someone about a card left in cash left behind. In fact most ATMS won't allow you to conclude your transaction unless you have removed ALL money from the cash dispenser! Now someone tell my why Casinos are NOT required to do the same??? Think of all the other minute details casinos and state gaming authorities concern themselves with to protect THEIR interests....it's not a big deal or burden for them to do so.

2) Carcounter.....back in the mid to late 1990s and prior, it was quite common and understood that, if a person has been gambling, drinking (and tipping) a bartender at any Vegas bar with machines, and that person wants to step away for a moment to use the bathroom with the understanding he will be right back, and does not want to lose either his seat, or the progress of his machine's play on his player's card by CASHING OUT and then starting all over....well then the Bartender would indeed look after his funds and spot. It was done all the time, whereby the bartender would place a napkin or cloth over your screen while you did your business. If i had even a remote inkling that something like what happened was going to happen, obviously I would never leave 500 bucks behind to be stolen! But the fact was, I had done it MANY times before at the very bar in Question.

2-1/2) And to Answer VMAN, it was at the Plaza Downtown at the old Bar right by the House Band Stage. I knew the guy who stole my TITO was homeless because of the following: (a) They caught him on camera both sneaking away with my TITO by waiting until the Bartender was distracted (he was seen going from machine to machine looking for credits to start, saw my machine sitting there with my funds and waited...only took less than 60 seconds)....then he was seen cashing the TITO out NOT at a machine, but he actually took it to the CAGE!!!!! Everyone kinda scratched their head on that one, but at the cage, where there are a "million" cameras from all angles, you could clearly see his disheveld, filthy clothes and personage....the cashier even commented on his "Pungent presence"!

3) The very next morning, around 9 am, I had just finished breakfast and wheeled out the Plaza Door heading out on Main Street to the Bus Station where I was going to check the schedule that day for LA buses, when I had just passed the parking garage next to Plaza and all of a sudden four or five PLAZA armed security guards come rushing out from the structure, past me (one of them yelling to me as he rushed by "Hey look, there HE is!!") and apprehending/tackling a guy who was following about twenty five feet behind me; it turns out it was The man who stole my TITO! The Guards corralled him into a parking garage booth, and then in a car, and called Vegas PD. They then told me while we waited for the PD that they had it on camera that morning that the guy had watched ME eat Breakfast for a few minutes both inside the door to the diner and from outside the diner, and was following me, that the guy has a record of theft and assault in Nevada and California, and is known to be homeless. More than likely, because he had filched a 500 dollar TITO from me, he may have assumed I was either affluent or likely had MORE funds on me, and was stalking me to possibly flat out rob me since i Appeared to be a easy target (which, unless he has a Firearm, would be a WRONG assumption!)

The PD showed up, assessed the situation, patted the guy down and searched him as thorough as allowed, and then came over to talk to me: They heard the whole story, and said I was fully within my rights to press charges, but I was almost guaranteed to NEVER recover any of my funds (the guy had NONE on him so clearly he spent it or gave it away already). They also said the case would take up to a year and I would definitely have to come back to Vegas, probably more than once to see it through....the cops were clearly trying to dissuade me from pursuing this, and they succeeded. I looked over at the man, and he was indeed a pathetic spectacle, and of course, at that moment I could see adding to his misfortune would accomplish NADA, and I felt pity and empathy for him. Case Closed. Lesson(s) learned.

[FAA]

I wish that pharmacy chain ATMs had the same warning safeguards as banks. I left my ATM card in one over the summer at noon. The geniuses put it right in the way at the entrance, a very distracting placement. I went two miles before realizing it and returned in a panic. It was somehow still snugly slotted where I left it.

[Carcounter]

Another snatch victory from jaws of defeat story. Not a lot of money involved, but felt almost as good as a jackpot. Was at Borgata in AC on Friday afternoon for my usual 2-3 hour session of .50 SDB and 9/6 JOB multi strikes. Down $ 400 with 5 minutes before I have to leave, so even a top line quad for $250 on MS won't get me back to even. You know the feeling, this is a lost cause. Get to the top line and I am dealt a straight flush 7 thru Jack in diamonds for $ 500. Stared at the screen to make sure it was real, cashed out and got outta there.