AC - Borgata color-up advisory

All,

Not that many serious players sit at the Borgata's 6- and 8-deck games, but just an FYI for those recreational players that are -- the last two times IN A ROW I've colored up (different tables and different dealers) with a profit, both dealers attempted to short me between $10 and $20. Compared to my winnings it was not a big deal, but I mentioned it just the same and it was corrected, no problem.

What was odd to me was that, in both cases, the dealer did the usual "Coloring up" to the pit boss and BOTH the dealer AND pit boss verified the (incorrect) total of the chips before attempting to short me.

This is the very first negative experience I've had at the Borgata (aside from a friend of mine being 86'd for the night for "alcohol" reasons but that was nearly a year ago and they made it into much more of a "scary" production than it honestly needed to be); I've been playing here when times have been good with my partner for just over a year now. Not serious advantage play (my partner mostly plays slots and just enjoys the food and relaxation here), just R&R.

Just wanted to throw this out there -- if you are playing at the Borgata and you win, make sure you triple-check your chip count when/if you color up; better yet, walk away from the table with all of your chips, sort them into piles of $x increments, and simply cash out at the cage by verbally passing each pile and saying the increment as you pass it, e.g. "One hundred, two hundred, three hundred, four hundred... etc." You could do the same at the table, but I've found some dealers have a language barrier or just want to keep things moving and tend to just ignore you if you take the time to do this.

Just FYI -- keep playing and (for those that do) having fun!
-bb

And before any of you object to an advantage partner playing slots for anything resembling a profit, allow me to clarify and say that this is my unmarried life partner and not an advantage team member. =) Didn't want to muddy the waters there!

-bb

I think you have just had the misfortune of having two sloppy dealers in a row. I play at borgata several days every week at the green black level and have cashed out thousands of times with no problem. Of the very few times that I have seen witnessed a cashout error, it is just as likely to be an overpayment as shortage. I find it very unlikely that a multi million or billion dollar corp, would risk it's license by scamming $10 and $20 dollar shortages. More likely what you have encounter is the newer dealers at the low end tables who have made mistakes. The fact that the pit verified these cashout just shows how much most of them are acually paying attention. For the most part, they glance at the table and say "ok", not really double checking as they are supposed to be.

But it is good advise to be alert. I personally only cash out after a pretty good win and always know the exact amount I am pushing forward, which is always an even amount. Example if I have $875 in chips and am cashing out, I push $800 towards the dealer and hold the remaining $75 in my hand, not trying to hide it. (I have probably done that earlier in the session) No real reason to push them in as I'm only going to get 3 green back anyway. By doing so this way you are letting the dealer know, that you are aware of the exact amount.

Great advice kewljason -- and yes, I try to do so as well, but I've always had a kinesthetic learning disability since my youth and tend to be quite clumsy (despite a higher-than-150 IQ) -- as a result I tend to knock stacks of chips over and such when I push them forward, confusing the amount of which I am aware, much less the dealer.

However, your advice is excellent and it just goes to show that I need to take the time I need to push the stacks carefully and articulate the amounts I'm pushing, also keeping them even; god knows that in a usual session I have to endure dozens of people both paying in and cashing out so it's not like I'm asking a lot of people's time.

In terms of the Borgata, I too have cashed out many times with no issues and I doubt there's a "conspiracy" here -- just an advisory to keep your eye out because dealers can get careless at the end of a shift at any casino. They tend to be younger at Borgata because of the demographic they tend to employ overall there, so they may not be as experienced (though I've sat with a few dealers that move exceptionally quickly, which is usually a delight!).

Thanks again for your post.

-bb