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 Casino Credit:
Part One
This is a Four-part update on
casino credit.
Part One
deals with the new Cash Transaction Reporting requirements, and what it means
for you and your winnings. How to get credit, how to use it, and how to pay it
back, are all covered, along with some useful tips.
Part Two
deals with the use and benefits of casino-credit, and how to raise your stature
as a player without raising the risk to your bankroll. We’ll discuss how to
minimize your appearance on IRS radar, and how to deflect attention away from
your winnings.
Part Three
covers the “corporate family” of related-casinos. We’ll take a look at how
establishing credit with just eight (8) casino companies, can give you
readily-accessible credit in at least 50 casinos, and possibly up to 110 casinos
nationwide.
Part Four deals with
Marker-Debt Discounts.
Some
casino-corporations have long reduced the amount of an outstanding marker for
some of their “larger” or “premium” players. With the changing and more
competitive landscape, some of that “discounting” is filtering down to what most
Message Board posters call “real” or “normal” players.
Here then my friends, is Part
One:
There’s been some concern
lately about the new credit reporting regulations that were brought in after the
terrorism attacks of 9-11, and how they affect your casino play.
It would appear that the
tragic events of September 11, 2001 galvanized a nation against terrorists. It
would also appear that those events were used to bring a number of other issues
to the front of the legislative-agenda.
Money-laundering in the
casino-context was thought to have been severely curtailed when the “$10,000
single cash-transaction” rules were brought about nearly twenty years ago. They
were updated in 1992, ’94 and in then again ’97.
Recently, new laws were
enacted for all U.S. financial institutions that are much stricter and more
widely encompassing. They were instituted to prevent criminals or criminal
organizations from washing, funneling and re-channeling funds in an attempt to
either hide their true origin, or to create a circuitous route so as to make
tracking and tracing of those funds more difficult.
Casinos have been included in
the “financial institution” definition since 1994, however, the onus of
reporting “suspicious activities” has been beefed-up by way of large fines to
the casinos if they “knew or should have known” that certain financial
transactions were suspicious in any wat whatsoever..
Simply, that means that
casino-cage staff will now err on the side of protecting their butts, and the
corporate butts of their employers.
The new laws are long and
complicated, but I’ll give you a thumbnail sketch.
- The newest
reportable-transaction "threshold" is $5000, instead of the old $10,000 limit,
over a 24-hour period.
- This used to
apply to “cash only”, but now it specifically includes without limiting the
generality, such things as money orders, certified checks, bank drafts, wired
funds, casino chips (cheques), Letter of Credit, Lines of Credit, redeemed
Promissory Notes and Casino Markers, etc.
- Some casinos are
volunteering to collect client info for cash transactions exceeding $3000.
This data is not necessarily submitted to the government. Rather, they
compile the client-transaction figures, and if something sparks their
mistrust; they can submit your file and also flag your players account for
further surveillance.
- All of those
above-mentioned amounts are for ALL cumulative CASH (or converted to cash)
transactions in a "forward-rolling" 24-hour period.
- That means that
even if you do four or five or ten small transactions over a 24-hour period,
your activities could be reportable.
-
"Forward-rolling" means a “moving” 24-hour clock where, if you had a rash of
cash-ins yesterday; they may be counted towards the total of cash-dealings
that you are doing today.
- All Nevada
casinos have adopted a "compulsory voluntary " (yes, I know it's an oxymoron)
monitoring program for ALL casino cage transactions. Simply, they can ask
anyone to produce valid ID before completing ANY transaction if they suspect
the person could be possibly involved, either knowingly or unwittingly, and
either directly or indirectly with any POSSIBLE or potentially illegal
activity. It is a pretty broad latitude and definition, but so far they have
been pretty easy-going about their responsibilities.
- Not all
casino-credit transactions fall under the conventional "cash transactions"
definition, but the same rules as above may be applied in the sole and
unfettered discretion of casino management.
- Casino wins of
greater than $1199 DO NOT have to be reported “directly” to the I.R.S. by way
of WG-2 form 1099, if won at a gaming table, as opposed to wins on a slot
machine. However, all U.S. residents are required to report ALL gaming income
in their annual tax-returns.
Okay, that covers the new
regulations. Now, let’s take a look at HOW you actually establish
casino-credit.
- To establish
credit, simply call up your favorite casino using their toll-free 800-number
and ask for the Casino Credit department.
- They will have a
few simple questions for you, the most important of which is your bank
checking-account number.
- They will also
ask when you are planning to visit and how much credit you want to establish
with them.
- Generally, your
Credit Line can be as high as the lower of either your current balance or your
six-month average account balance.
- They will
usually have a reply to your request within three days.
- Some casinos
will fax or e-mail their credit application to you. Some will fully complete
it over the telephone.
- Different
casinos have different policies, and they will be happy to answer any
questions that you may have.
- In Atlantic
City, the rules are a bit stricter, and fall under financial institutions'
"know-your-client" rules. In this case, you MAY have to provide recent
tax-returns, proof of income, proof of IRA, Money Market and other account
balances, and/or Net Worth Statements, etc.
- Once you are
approved and get to the Casino Cage, you will have to show picture ID, and
sign a few forms and a signature card.
- Different
casinos have slightly different policies, and they will again answer any
questions. Through the wonders of modern technology, you can immediately draw
down a "marker" at the tables.
- When you get to
the craps table for the first time since establishing credit, have both you
Photo ID and your Players Card ready.
- Get the
attention of the boxman, or better yet, a floor-supervisor if there is one
nearby.
- As you are
handing in your ID and Players Card, simply ask for a “marker for $xxxx”.
- They may ask you
to fill out a small marker-requisition chit, but usually not. The M-R has
blanks for your name, date-of-birth, and the amount of credit that you want.
- The
floor-supervisor will then give the request to a Pit Clerk, who will consult
the ever-necessary computer to access your file.
- The computer
printer will soon spin out a “three-part marker. A marker is simply a casino
counter-check wherein you are the “payer” and the casino is the “payee”. It
is a legal document, and in Nevada, check-fraud carries the highest penalties
of ANY U.S. state, AND there is NO statute of limitations on fraud in Nevada.
What does that mean to you? Don’t sign a marker if you cannot afford it. It
is a legal promise to pay, and Nevada casinos take that legal-promise VERY
seriously!
- The
floor-supervisor will come around to your position at the table. He’ll
probably have a small plexiglass clipboard with the marker attached to it.
You simply sign the marker and the corresponding amount of casino-chips are
counted out and pushed to your table position. That’s just about it. You can
bet as you wish.
- When you are
ready to finish play, you will either be ahead, even or behind in the amount
of your marker buy-in.
- If you are ahead
with profit, you can buy-back or “pay off” your marker right there at the
table. You don’t have to do so, but it shows a lot of good-faith on your part
if you do.
- When you pay
back a marker, the top copy is given to you. That’s the copy with your
original signature on it. The first thing that you should do is to
immediately rip off the portion that contains your signature. You should tear
the signature portion into very small pieces and discard it in the trash. The
balance of the marker can be destroyed in a less exacting manner.
- If you have
broken even, the casino still feels that you are showing good-faith if you pay
off your marker at that time.
- If you lost
money, you are not expected to pay off the marker right away. Usually, the
cage-supervisor will have asked you how you will be settling your account at
the end of your current trip.
- To settle a
marker, you have several choices. You can pay by cash, check, or you can make
“marker deposit arrangements” with the casino.
- “Marker deposit
arrangements” are simply a pre-agreed period of time before which the casino
will deposit your unpaid marker into their bank account for collection from
your bank. Remember, a marker is simply a counter-check that is made out to
the casino, and signed by you.
- In most cases, a
casino will give you a 30-day grace-period before they deposit the marker for
collection. In some cases, if they agree, they will hold the marker for up to
90-days. The last thing that they want is a bounced NSF check from you.
- If you have
credit at more than one casino, and you have an uncollected marker that is
outstanding at one place, you may not be able to access your Line-of-Credit at
other casinos. This does not only apply to casinos that are owned by the same
company. All casinos in Nevada use their own shared-information Credit
Bureau. If they think that you are trying to “pull a fast one”, they can
summarily freeze your Line of Credit. Casino Credit is a privilege, not a
right.
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