how much to cash out at the cage?

Ace007

Well-Known Member
#1
Recently I made a trip to Vegas and was able to make some nice winnings! During one of my days I made over 200 units over the course of several sessions in the same casino. I did not cash out all my chips as I did not want to raise any red flags by the amount of money to cash in case there was a threshold amount that would warrant further investigation of my play.

However, the cashier at the window did say something very odd... She asked me if I had a players card and said I would not be able to cash out unless I showed it. I repeatedly told her that I was from out of town and did not have one. She said I would have to make one that evening and directed me to the desk where they make the players cards. Is it possible there was some sort of communication with the pit? I went ahead and made a card, but have never heard of this happening before.
 

Jack_Black

Well-Known Member
#2
for sure it was for verification and acknowledgement. It helps the pit out if you were ratholing and they didn't catch it while you were playing. different places have different thresholds for when to ask for ID. the bigger the store the bigger the threshold. I just straight up ask at what point do they do it at.
 

WRX

Well-Known Member
#3
Clearly you wanted to play anonymously, which was a good decision. Yes, cashing out can be challenging in that situation. At most places in Las Vegas, and at most major casinos elsewhere, the cashier won't ask you any questions, beyond, "Do you have any markers out?" if you cash out less than $3,000. Note that I said LESS THAN $3,000, not $3,000 exactly, which is a threshold at many places. Munchkin recommends less than $2,500. There are exceptions. $1,000 chips are a problem in many casinos. Some places will challenge you if you present even one $500 chip. The Orleans called the pit one time when I presented $1,600 black.

It's a good policy NEVER to cash out right away after a big win. What amounts to a big win varies from casino to casino, and maybe on what game you were playing and what kid of heat you were getting. If you have a big win, just hit the road, and come back later, perhaps on a different shift. If you had bad heat, or another reason to anticipate trouble, perhaps have a friend cash out for you.

Often, you may be asked for a player's card, and if you refuse, the cashier will just go ahead and pay you anyway. If you're asked for ID, and the cashier is insistent, and don't want to give it, you probably need to take your chips back, walk out, and follow the suggestions given above. Present a smaller amount next time, and definitely do not deal with the same cashier.

The casinos are under pressure from the federal government to "know their customer" when transactions reach $3,000 within a day. There are no hard and fast rules, and different casinos may approach the subject differently. The real hard-ass places are demanding ID for reasons that have nothing to do with complying with federal law.

If a Nevada casino refuses to cash a small amount of chips without ID, the GCB may view it as a violation of gaming regulations. However, that fact doesn't do you a lot of good, because to get any help you'll have to give ID to a GCB agent, who will undoubtedly turn the information over directly to the casino.
 
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blackjackomaha

Well-Known Member
#4
I would agree with the $2500 figure as the most I would attempt to cash out at a large store. At a local "EE" store, you can go up to $2500, but after that they want to see your ID. I haven't had an issue with the chip denominations (5 purple vs. 25 black vs. mixture). Some cashiers might ask 'where were you playing?' or 'must have had a good night huh?'. Just use some ploppy line to respond :)
 

Sucker

Well-Known Member
#5
WRX said:
There are no hard and fast rules, and different casinos may approach the subject differently.
The only "hard and fast" rule is the 10k rule, at which point the casinos are required by federal law to notify the IRS and other governmental authorities via the CTR.
 

WRX

Well-Known Member
#6
Sucker said:
The only "hard and fast" rule is the 10k rule, at which point the casinos are required by federal law to notify the IRS and other governmental authorities via the CTR.
Right, I wasn't speaking of CTRs in my previous message.
 

Ace007

Well-Known Member
#7
Thanks for all the responses! I found them extremely helpful. I definitely was not cashing in $3000 in chips, which is why I was caught by surprise by the cashier asking for my card. Maybe it is because I kept coming back to the same area to cash out and they recognized me. They may have thought I was winning at an abnormally high rate or thought I was suspicious? I'm not sure... Good thing I don't go to Vegas much!
 
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#8
Jack_Black said:
for sure it was for verification and acknowledgement. It helps the pit out if you were ratholing and they didn't catch it while you were playing. different places have different thresholds for when to ask for ID. the bigger the store the bigger the threshold. I just straight up ask at what point do they do it at.
I seriously doubt the pit has any involvement in the transaction... Besides, if they want to know if your rat-holing all they have to do is check the rack when you leave, which they do. Just thought I would clarify that information.
 

Jack_Black

Well-Known Member
#9
Blackjackdealer said:
I seriously doubt the pit has any involvement in the transaction... Besides, if they want to know if your rat-holing all they have to do is check the rack when you leave, which they do. Just thought I would clarify that information.
Nope. there are places that do exactly as I described. Namely Wendover. I asked the cage lady why do you need to see my player's card if I'm only cashing out $2k? she said to track my win/losses and to help the pit.

Do places check the rack constantly on a busy friday/saturday night?
 
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shadroch

Well-Known Member
#10
At the Pioneer in Laughlin, they just about refused to cash three $100 chips I had won the day before. It was made very clear that next time, I was to cash in any $100 chips as soon as I leave the table. When I did this after the next session, the cage called the pit(even though it was about five feet away) and verified my two black chips had been won that session.
 

Jack_Black

Well-Known Member
#13
shadroch said:
At the Pioneer in Laughlin, they just about refused to cash three $100 chips I had won the day before. It was made very clear that next time, I was to cash in any $100 chips as soon as I leave the table. When I did this after the next session, the cage called the pit(even though it was about five feet away) and verified my two black chips had been won that session.

LOL! l've been in there! yea, the cage could easily go "Hey Bubba Joe, dis city slicker win $200 from blackjack?"

I won $300 in there and could already feel the heat burning me.
 

shadroch

Well-Known Member
#14
I'm not so sure about that. The casino, as I understand it, can refuse to cash chips in for someone who has not won them there. If you take $1,000 worth of chips home with you, and give them to a friend to cash in, the casino can refuse to do so.
Its a murky area of the law. Chips are not legal tender.

Nevada gaming reg 12.060.4 allows casinos to refuse to cash chips from a person they know or suspect was not a patron of the casino. Burden of proof is on the person to show they won the chips there.
 
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#15
shadroch said:
I'm not so sure about that. The casino, as I understand it, can refuse to cash chips in for someone who has not won them there. If you take $1,000 worth of chips home with you, and give them to a friend to cash in, the casino can refuse to do so.
Its a murky area of the law. Chips are not legal tender.

Nevada gaming reg 12.060.4 allows casinos to refuse to cash chips from a person they know or suspect was not a patron of the casino. Burden of proof is on the person to show they won the chips there.

Holy crap, no joke? That's absolutely horrible sitting on $1000 or more of worthless plastic. In those cases, could you just go to as table, color down, play a hand and split?
 

shadroch

Well-Known Member
#16
Nvrlose37 said:
Holy crap, no joke? That's absolutely horrible sitting on $1000 or more of worthless plastic. In those cases, could you just go to as table, color down, play a hand and split?
I would think that any casino that refused to cash chips at the cage would also refuse to allow you to use them on the floor. I recall Bojack having to cash out some chips for one of his former students after he played too long in a certain high roller room and were banned.
 

Nynefingers

Well-Known Member
#17
shadroch said:
I would think that any casino that refused to cash chips at the cage would also refuse to allow you to use them on the floor. I recall Bojack having to cash out some chips for one of his former students after he played too long in a certain high roller room and were banned.
That's even more fun when they pull a chip change on you at the same time they ban you. Hard for unknown players with no card and no history to cash stacks of old purple and yellow, especially in a small casino...
 

bigplayer

Well-Known Member
#18
Wookets said:
That can't be legal, right?
Maybe, maybe not. Maybe $100 chips at Pioneer are like $5000 chips at MGM Grand...they only go to rated players and they track them closely. Sounds almost funny but it would mean that you'd need a players card to cash them out.

I'll add that the law says the casino has to be able to prove that you were not a customer of the casino. Merely suspecting that you are not a customer does not meet the burden of the test. If the casino does not track $100 chips and colors up all players, even unrated ones, to black then by law they have to cash them out whether you give ID or not as long as you aren't over one of the various thresholds mentioned in the law.
 
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#19
hammer it home

Minimal buy ins is extremely important

I wonder if idiot management understands this cage harassment causes them to lose big betting civilian players.
 
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