In most cases, refusing to pay a standard surcharge at a CET property simply due to your Seven Stars status will get you laughed at, but in my case, the tactic worked.

The scenario:

At the Rio, where the WSOP takes place, there is a decent-but-not-great seafood restaurant called Buzio's. It is very popular with WSOP players on dinner break, as it's the closet restaurant to the tournament area, and they serve you fairly quickly.

This year, they realized that they could use these facts to exploit poker players.

They instituted a 15% takeout surcharge.

This surcharge does not exist during non-WSOP time. It's only there during the summer when the WSOP takes place. Even worse, there is zero takeout surcharge if you are seated, take one bite, and then ask for the rest to go. So they are simply exploiting poker players who are likely to show up and order to-go food, and they are doing it with an obnoxious percentage charge, rather than a flat fee.

One night, I came down to Buzio's to order takeout. It was not during a WSOP dinner break. They were not crowded. I was told of the 15% surcharge.

I pulled out my Seven Stars card.

"I'm not paying that," I said. "I want it waived."

"I'm sorry, but that's a standard charge for takeout," the bartender replied.

"I could sit down right now at one of your many open tables, order my food, take one bite, and take the rest to go for free. To force me to have to sit down and do this just to avoid the 15% is ludicrous. So I'm just not paying it. If you can't waive it, get the manager for me."

She went to talk to the manager, and returned about 2 minutes later.

"Okay, we're waiving it for you."

Believe it or not, I could tell the baretender fully understood my point and knew I was right. After initially rebuffing me, she was very polite about it and didn't seem to resent me for refusing to pay it (I can usually tell when I'm pissing someone off, even if they're trying to hide it.)

I ended up taking 2/3 of the 15% I saved and leaving it for her as a tip.