We've discussed this many times: if you are a table player, it is important to "check out" with the floorman or dealer who rates your play to be sure your rating is accurate. Unlike with slot machine and video poker machines that record your play through a reader with your card inserted, table play usually requires someone to watch your play and to record it.
With table play, the amount of your bet can vary. For example, if there is a good run of passes and numbers with a shooter at craps, basic bets can be pressed to many times their original value. A good floorman will keep track of your "average bet" but even that can be off. Your average bet can be discussed and even negotiated.
Usually your time is noted when you start, but if the floorman or pit boss changes shifts during the time of your play, be sure the new floorman or pitboss is following your bets.
When you leave the game check out with the person recording your play to be sure it is entered into the official record which might be a computer terminal in the pit.
What you might not do -- and I found out recently that it's a good idea also -- is that you monitor your account to be sure the points and play are recorded on your account and that no one tampers with your account.
I just had an incident where $600 worth of "points" were deducted from my account at a local casino. This happened after I purchased $600 of Shell gas cards at the casino's gift shop. At the time of the purchase $600 worth of comp points were deducted from my account, but a couple of weeks later another $600 worth of points were deducted from my account again.
Based on what I was told, here is the chain of events according to the casino's management:
1. I made a purchase for gas cards worth $600 of comp points. I received the cards at the gift shop and $600 worth of comps were deducted from my account. That is what should happen. I had the gas cards, and the comp dollars were deducted.
2. But days later, someone working at the casino then entered that I returned the $600 purchase, but there was no credit of $600 in comps made to my account when this happened. It is possible that the $600 credit went to someone else's account.
3. The accounting department saw the bookkeeping entry that I made a return, but the accounting department said I did not return the purchase (which was correct) so another $600 worth of comps was deducted with the accounting department believing that a $600 credit had been made to my account.
The bottom line is that I did make one purchase of gas cards worth $600 of comp points, but $1200 of comps was deducted.
Managers at the casino are now trying to sort it all out. Meanwhile, I discovered the problem on a subsequent trip to the casino when the comp points I earned for play were not credited to my account. When I asked the players club why my play received no points, I was told it was because the points earned were used to pay back the deficit in my account.
Of course, I would like to know how such an error came about? At first blush it appeared to me that someone tried to use $600 of comps from my account to cover for some missing inventory (gas cards). I don't know that is what happened. It could be just an innocent accounting error.
The casino said I would get a report back soon.
But this reminded me of an incident of credit card fraud that I was a victim of back in Miami in the 1980s. Here's what happened:
I met a friend for drinks at a local restaurant. I paid for the drinks using my American Express card. I kept the receipt and when the Amex bill came the following month I noticed a large discrepancy. My bill from Amex was for about five times what the cost was for the drinks and the amount on my receipt.
I immediately called Amex and they immediately recognized what probably happened. The Amex rep entered a dispute on the amount and then suggested I call the restaurant manager, tell the manager what happened, and asked if the employee who made the charge to my Amex card was still employed there? Amex suggested the employee would be "long gone."
Indeed, I called the manager of the restaurant and the employee worked there only a few weeks and had left. And that was significant. Here's why:
Amex said the waiter who served the drinks probably "swiped" my Amex card twice -- once for my check for the drinks, (and that was the receipt I got) and swiped my card again to cover other checks that were paid in cash. Amex believed the employee then pocketed the cash and used the second swipe of my Amex card to cover the other checks that were paid in cash.
That made me wonder if perhaps "comp dollars" were deducted from my casino comp account to cover $600 of missing merchandise from the gift shop?
Well, I am not jumping to conclusions. I'm hoping it was just an innocent accounting error, but I wouldn't have discovered the error unless I monitored my players club account.
UPDATE ON DECEMBER 17: The issue with the casino has been resolved.