 
| ||
|
|
|
THE BEAR GROWLS
By LVBear
Long-time Las Vegas-based advantage player, casino critic, and frequent Blackjack Insider contributor LVBear offers his opinions on things that sometimes go wrong in the world of casinos. Current and past growls can be read, and comments posted, at LVBear's website,
TheBearGrowls.com.Good Advice: Do Not Talk to the Police
My friends and fellow BJ21.com Green Chip members Neko and Bootlegger posted the video linked below. You might be thinking, "What does Talking to the Police have to do with casinos and advantage play?" Casinos often abuse skilled patrons. Casino employees have been known to fabricate phony criminal charges to harass patrons they dislike. Police become involved. Casino employees routinely lie to police about what happened. Naturally, the police will want to talk to the patron/victim, who suddenly becomes a "suspect." (If you doubt this really happens, read Beat the Players.) It is imperative that in such a situation, the "suspect" does not talk to the police. NO GOOD CAN COME OF IT. You will almost never be able to talk your way out of an arrest that is requested by dishonest casino employees. If the officer is corrupt as well, your chance is less than "almost never" – it is ZERO. And you will not know if the officer is corrupt until it is too late. In Las Vegas, where casino abuse of patrons occurs most often, there is a high probability that the responding police officer is corrupt when it comes to doing the bidding of casinos. Let your attorney talk for you at the appropriate time, when you sue everyone involved.
The information on the video should be basic knowledge to most Americans, but it is offered with specific, interesting examples of what can happen with seemingly innocent comments made to the police. It is presented by a former criminal defense attorney who is now a law professor. A police officer also makes a good presentation. I urge you to carefully listen to both speakers. I hope you will never need this little "refresher course," but in today’s hostile, unethical casino environment, it is more likely you will need it than you might want to admit.
Talking to the Police by Prof. James Duane
Worthless Mail offer from Fandango Casino
I received a nice, slick, multi-colored mailer from Fandango in Carson City. On the front it reads, Be our guest at the new Courtyard Hotel. I assumed this meant free rooms -- but it was an offer of a ten percent discount from the best available rate. LOL -- I can probably get that with my auto club card or my AARP card.
Everything offered in the mailer was worthless except for a whopping ten dollar discount at any restaurant. Other items listed include:
Lush tropical jungle environment
Biggest and most jackpots
Newest hottest games
Best player's club
Tropical storm slots
Volcano slots
Spacious new high limit area (I assume it means slots, not table games -- maybe $1 is "high limit" there?)
Race and sports book (But it won't take reasonable-sized bets)
More live poker payouts
Generous monthly mail offers ($10 food discount is "generous"?)
Exciting monthly promotions (Haven't seen one yet that I'd bother with)
600 parking spaces (Guess I'll go count them)
Free valet (Where is valet NOT free?)
I wonder why this Navegante Group-managed casino spends a lot of money doing a mailing, but makes the mailer worthless. How many "good customers" could this nonsense attract? Maybe the ad agency and/or mailing house owner is related to someone in the casino?
Has anyone ever received a decent offer from Fandango? The most I have ever received is $10 free play, for which I would have had to stand in line at the player's club. I guess I've been downgraded to no longer receiving even that tiny scrap. Why clutter my mailbox with this?
Congressmen Trying To Stop UIGEA From Taking Effect! Please Help!
My friend The Engineer is still trying to help get repealed the despicable anti-online gambling legislation that some unscrupulous Congress-swine sneaked through the system. This horrible legislation has harmed many skilled players and sports bettors, putting some out of business entirely. Copied below with permission is The Engineer’s post from BJ21.com Green Chip.
Please help us.
Several congressional leaders are working to place a moratorium on UIGEA! You can support this effort by writing to Congress. PPA has an auto-letter at www.pokerplayersalliance.org/letter that takes less than 60 seconds to send! Please take a moment and support these efforts. Thanks!
The PPA letter is tailored to poker, but you can edit it or replace it with a new one (and just use the site as a convenient mailer):
Here’s The Engineer’s edited House letter:
I am a constituent and voter asking for your support.
Specifically, I ask that you support H.R. 5767, recently introduced legislation that places a moratorium on the enactment of the badly flawed Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). With UIGEA regulations now pending, the debate on these issues has reached a tipping point, and new voices are emerging against UIGEA every day. As regulations to implement UIGEA come close to their effective date, our nation’s financial institutions are warning the Congress that these regulations are unworkable. At the April 2, 2008 Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology hearing on the impact of UIGEA on our nation’s financial services industry, even the authors of the UIGEA regulations testified that they have struggled with the ambiguity of the UIGEA statute.
Louise Roseman of the Federal Reserve testified that it will be very difficult to enforce the law "without a more bright line on what is included as unlawful Internet gambling". Even if this "bright line" were defined, however, she stated that payment systems are not designed to perform this type of function. Representatives from the American Bankers Association, the Credit Union National Association, the Financial Services Roundtable and Wells Fargo fully concurred with this assessment. Dozens of other banks have submitted similar comments to the Federal Reserve and to the Treasury Department. The principal comment of the American Bankers Association is a concise summary: "We maintain that the UIGEA is a fundamentally flawed response to those challenges."
I encourage you to cosponsor H.R. 5767. Banks should be responsible for managing their deposits and their loan portfolios, not for policing the behaviors of Americans in their own homes.
I also encourage you to support HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. HR 2046 regulates online gaming via stringent licensing regulations. It has rigorous safeguards against underage and compulsive gambling.
These safeguards will work – the June 8, 2007 House Financial Services Committee hearing on Internet gaming proved conclusively that Internet gaming can be effectively regulated. Note that HR 2046 does not force any state to permit online gaming, as states can opt out if they wish.
One thing the 2008 Subcommittee hearing made completely clear is that Congress needs to define "unlawful Internet gambling" before it can expect financial institutions to have any chance at effectively enforcing any ban on such activity. The idea that the federal government cannot define this concept, yet expects banks to perform this law enforcement function, is ludicrous.
What’s most important to me is your support for my rights. Please respond to this letter and let me know if you will support my freedoms. I will be watching your actions on this issue closely.
Thank you for your consideration.
Here’s The Engineer’s Senate version:
I am a constituent and voter asking for your support.
Specifically, I ask that you sponsor and support legislation in the Senate to repeal the badly flawed Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). With UIGEA regulations now pending, the debate on these issues has reached a tipping point, and new voices are emerging against UIGEA every day. As regulations to implement UIGEA come close to their effective date, our nation’s financial institutions are warning the Congress that these regulations are unworkable. At the April 2, 2008 Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology hearing on the impact of UIGEA on our nation’s financial services industry, even the authors of the UIGEA regulations testified that they have struggled with the ambiguity of the UIGEA statute.
Louise Roseman of the Federal Reserve testified that it will be very difficult to enforce the law "without a more bright line on what is included as unlawful Internet gambling". Even if this "bright line" were defined, however, she stated that payment systems are not designed to perform this type of function. Representatives from the American Bankers Association, the Credit Union National Association, the Financial Services Roundtable and Wells Fargo fully concurred with this assessment. Dozens of other banks have submitted similar comments to the Federal Reserve and to the Treasury Department. The principal comment of the American Bankers Association is a concise summary: "We maintain that the UIGEA is a fundamentally flawed response to those challenges."
I encourage you to introduce companion legislation to the recently introduced House bill, H.R. 5767, which places a moratorium on the badly flawed UIGEA regulations. Banks should be responsible for managing their deposits and their loan portfolios, not for policing the behaviors of Americans in their own homes.
I also encourage you to sponsor and support Senate companion legislation to HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. HR 2046 regulates online gaming via stringent licensing regulations. It has rigorous safeguards against underage and compulsive gambling.
These safeguards will work – the June 8, 2007 House Financial Services Committee hearing on Internet gaming proved conclusively that Internet gaming can be effectively regulated. Note that HR 2046 does not force any state to permit online gaming, as states can opt out if they wish.
One thing the 2008 Subcommittee hearing made completely clear is that Congress needs to define "unlawful Internet gambling" before it can expect financial institutions to have any chance at effectively enforcing any ban on such activity. The idea that the federal government cannot define this concept, yet expects banks to perform this law enforcement function, is ludicrous.
What’s most important to me is your support for my rights. Please respond to this letter and let me know if you will support my freedoms. I will be watching your actions on this issue closely.
Thank you for your consideration.
OR go to
Western Casuarina Charges Patron’s Credit Cards After Seminar promoter Stiffs the Hotel
Attendees get conference bills
Where does Columbia Sussex find the clowns who run this place? Some will recall the wonderfully ill-conceived giveaway promo they had a couple of years ago when the cage ran out of hundred dollar bills, and had to pay us in twenties by the end of the night. Others will recall going into this dump (the former Maxim), looking at the garbage games offered, and immediately leaving in disgust. I have previously stated that in my opinion, Columbia Sussex is the worst-managed casino company of them all.
From my point of view, Columbia Sussex is perhaps the worst casino operator in existence, even including Harrah’s. At least Harrah’s has a fairly generous comp system that can be profitably exploited; Columbia Sussex has mostly garbage games as well as a garbage comp system.
http://www.thebeargrowls.com/?p=105
Now this latest idiocy:
The ownership of the Westin Casuarina is standing behind a decision to charge attendees of an October dental conference for the organizer’s unpaid bill. Convention industry veterans and conference attendees, however, are questioning the ethics and legality of that decision. To me, this is analogous to the landlord of a movie theater trying to collect the rent from moviegoers if the theater fails to pay its rent.
This ridiculous action solidifies the stranglehold Columbia Sussex has on first place in the unenviable category of worst-managed casino company. Though it may or may not be on solid legal ground in doing this, the bad publicity, loss of well-to-do customers, loss of future convention/seminar business, and hours spent hassling with credit card company chargebacks, etc. will far exceed the $57,000 that might be recovered.
Mindless stupidity.
The Tragedy of Arelia Taveras
I remember a long time ago, an advantage player friend said something to the effect that once casinos are in everyone’s face, there will be a backlash against the industry. We might have reached that point. Arelia Taveras will be the perfect spokesperson for her cause young, female, attractive, intelligent, well-spoken, and with a good career before her addiction ruined her life. I think her lawsuit has little chance of success, but it will be interesting to watch.
Her website is interesting, with links to some of the pleadings in her case. I wish her well.
|
|
©2015, DeepNet Technologies. No material to be copied without express permission of DeepNet Technologies.
This site developed by
DeepNet Technologies, Ontario, Canada. Contact webmaster @ bjinsider . com
if you have problems.
This site is best viewed in a 800x600 graphics mode, or higher.