Woman lost out on thousands of dollars after big casino mistake
Cynthia Obie from Maryland said she lost out on thousands of dollars after the casino staff took down her Social Security number wrong.
A slot machine is a gambling game with three or more spinning reels. Once a player places a bet, the reels show symbols that will spin and land randomly, forming potential winning combinations. One wins when certain symbols line up in a sequence or pay-lines. All slot machines work using the same principles. You only have to place a bet and spin. By law, Nevada casinos must on average return at least 75 percent of slot machine wagers. The reality is they return more than 90 percent, casino operators say, though they do not publicize the.
A Maryland woman who thought she hit the jackpot Friday night ended up going home with jack squat -- all because of a typo.
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Cynthia Obie told FOX5DC she was at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. when her slot machine's symbols suddenly aligned and she won a tremendous payout.
“I was very excited. Like, I need this money,” Obie told the news station.
But Obie said that when casino staff took down her personal information, they misread her Social Security — by one number.
That mistake cost Obie nearly everything.
The Social Security number the casino plugged in belonged to an individual who happened to owe Maryland a hefty amount of child support, FOX5DC reported.
“I’m like, 'No. All of my daughters are grown. I’ve never paid child support.' I’m like, 'this can’t be right,'” she said.
The Maryland woman said she would have been thousands of dollars richer by now -- she did not reveal the exact amount of the jackpot -- but the typo prevented her from getting a penny. Instead, she was offered a $200 free play credit and drink vouchers for the night.
An MGM spokesperson said in a statement to FOX5DC the casino is aware of the “unfortunate error” and is working on fixing the situation.
“Due to MLGCA [Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency] rules and Maryland State Law, we cannot provide an additional payout for this jackpot, however, if she presents the proper identification credentials to the Maryland Gaming Commission, they will provide her with the appropriate payout,” the statement read. “We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused Ms. Obie.”
Obie said she’s frustrated with the situation and just wants the money she won.
“Now I’m at the point, this is insane. You guys are a billion-dollar corporation,' she said. 'You do the research: I won fair and square. I just want my money.'
We’re prepared to lose money when we head to Las Vegas — but the City of Sin is ripping us off more than we think. Picture: iStockSource:Supplied
CASINOS exist to take your money at the gaming tables. Everyone knows that.
But they’ve long been pretty sporty when it comes to giving back in terms of free rooms, cheap food, gratis booze — even comped airfare if you’re willing to shell out enough while playing craps or roulette.
But on a recent trip to Las Vegas, I couldn’t help but get the impression that Vegas is tightening its belt to a suffocating degree.
The town expects you to risk cash against insurmountable odds, all while it is becoming sadly chintzy in how much it puts out for its suckerish losers.
I realise that the days of 99-cent shrimp cocktails are gone, replaced by a blur of celebrity chefs and imported mixologists.
But are casinos so desperate that they have to charge for parking? I thought that being a good mousetrap involved luring in the mice.
Vegas gambling dens owned by MGM Resorts International (including high-end spots such as the Bellagio and Aria) now tariff as much as $US10 ($AU13) a day to park your car. It doesn’t sound like a lot — but until recently, it was free.
Hopefully other casinos around town — where no-charge valet parking remains in effect — are enjoying a bump from gamblers who realise that steakhouses and slot machines are not all that different from one place to another.
The other giant rip-off for most everyone overnighting in Vegas casinos is the repellent resort fees that Strip properties charge.
The poker machines aren’t the only place we’re losing money.Source:istock
Check in to a place designed to take your money at the tables and you’re an instant loser when socked with mark-ups of $US29 to $US32 ($AU38 to $AU42) per night. The fees cover entry to the gym, Wi-Fi, local phone calls, maybe a bottle of water in your room — whether you care to use the amenities or not.
The Delano’s fee even includes free notary service. Just one problem: Who the hell goes to Las Vegas on vacation and needs a notary?
These fees might be tolerable if I didn’t feel like I was getting hosed on the casino floor as well.
Increasingly, the rules of blackjack games — a gambit where skill can actually trump the house (until they boot you out for being smart enough to win) — have become a drag on player bankrolls.
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Let’s get technical for a second: We’re seeing blackjacks that pay 6-to-5 instead of 3-to-2, there’s no re-splitting aces, and you can’t double down on anything other than a 10 or 11.
They all crush the dreams of players who don’t want to get brutally fleeced.
But at least casinos are generous with cocktails, right? Oceans of free booze long stood as a win-win for players and casinos: You get drunk for free, and the house has a better chance of capitalising on your impaired judgment.
Las Vegas casinos: the crushers of dreams. Picture: iStockSource:istock
But even that seems to be going the way of those bargain-basement crustaceans. According to Vegas’ ABC affiliate, bartenders at MGM properties began short-changing guests on the hooch-to-mixer ratio by “decreasing shot pours.”
Now they’re making it so that the bar-top slot and video poker machines decide when you’ve gambled enough to warrant a free drink by spitting out cocktail vouchers.
The old, pre-Pavlovian system would have tip-hungry bartenders pouring refills whenever you seemed to be running low.
Hopefully Vegas’ next corner-cutting strategies will not be copycats of the country’s less glamorous casino destinations.
One joint in Pennsylvania tried to get out of paying a customer who won $US102,000 ($AU133,000) on a slot-machine jackpot. Management claimed a computer malfunction and coughed up cash only after public opinion proved too damning.
During a recent visit to Atlantic City’s Borgata, far and away the only decent casino in that collapsing town, I discovered that toothbrushes and toothpaste are no longer sent to the room for free. It seemed like a total Comfort Inn move — until I called the Comfort Inn in Paramus, New Jersey, and found out that they actually do provide complimentary toothbrushes.
What’s next for cheapskate casinos? Requiring players to pay taxes on their losses?
Considering the greed of these places and the compulsions of their customers, it will only half-surprise me.
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This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.