Can You Leave A Casino With Chips
Casinos in the United States which generate more than $1,000,000 in annual gaming revenues are required to report certain currency transactions to assist the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in uncovering money laundering activities and other financial crimes (including terrorist financing).
Although Title 31, also known as the Bank Secrecy Act, was originally focused on financial institutions, criminal use of banking services located within casinos created a need for additional regulations that were specific to casinos. Because large sums of currency are transacted through slot machines, gaming tables, automatic change machines, retail operations and the cage (banks), and with high frequency, the regulations were targeted at transactions in excess of $10,000. Casino regulation has been a topic of debate, prompting the United States Senate to have a hearing before the United States Congress in which Title 31 topics were discussed through testimony by industry experts such as Grant Eve, CPA and partner at Joseph Eve, Certified Public Accountants and Ernest Stevens Jr., Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association.[1]
Transaction reporting[edit]
I allways leave my chips on the rail for a bathroom break. Must admit that I liked it better when they would cover them with a towel but the casinos I go to now don't usually do that. Be careful when you follow the masses, the M is sometimes silent. Most people get up, cash in their chips and leave. Partly this is because card counting isn't illegal, so a casino doesn't want this sort of contact to escalate and partly it is because the gambler doesn't want the casino to call other casinos and warn them. Leaving quietly is better for all parties in this scenario. Technically, the chips are the property of the casino, so you're not supposed to. But I've never heard of anyone getting crap for leaving with a big pile of chips. Noahsdad93 1 decade ago.
- Essentially, you're not actually hacking the game, so as long as you don't go over the top with your casino chip harvesting then you shouldn't run into any problems.
- 10 Secrets Casinos Don't Want You to Know. Subscribe for more amazing videos! Casinos are multi-million dollar busines.
Currency transactions that occur within a single Gaming Day (the normal 24-hour period that any casino uses for accounting and business reporting), whether the currency is paid into the casino, paid out, or exchanged (in the case of foreign currency exchanges), in excess of $10,000 requires the completion of a Currency Transaction Report (CTR, FinCEN Form 112) and must contain enough information to accurately identify the individual(s) transacting the currency.
For example, if a man walks into a casino and stops at the blackjack tables and buys into the game for $12,000 (using cash), a CTR must be completed by the casino and filed with the IRS. In this example, currency is paid into the casino in the form of cash and happened within the unique 24-hour Gaming Day of the casino.
Here is an example of a cash out transaction: the established Gaming Day of a certain casino begins at 1:00am and ends at 12:59am. At 6:30am, a woman takes $6,400 in slot machine tickets to the main cage of the casino and requests payment in all $20 bills. Later that day, at around 7:10pm, the same woman approaches another cash cage on the opposite side of the casino and exchanges $4,000 in blackjack chips for cash. Because $10,400 was paid out in cash to a single individual in a single Gaming Day, a CTR must be filed by the casino to report the Cash Out transaction, because it is above the $10,000 threshold.
Because multiple transactions are aggregated for the purpose of Title 31 reporting, casinos create tracking programs to identify large transactions and automatically aggregate them in real time to ensure that they are compliant with the regulations.
Suspicious activity[edit]
Many criminals, such as those interested in tax evasion and money laundering, have researched the Title 31 requirements and have created a number of strategies to avoid detection of their activities by circumventing the reporting requirements. When these activities are discovered, casino staff are required to file a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR, FinCEN Form 114) to report the suspicious activities. Because there are many types of suspicious activities, it is required that casino personnel receive Title 31 training to avoid penalty and remain compliant.
Two of the most popular strategies for circumventing CTR reporting are structuring and minimal gaming.
Structuring[edit]
Because the $10,000 per gaming day CTR threshold is part of the Bank Secrecy Act, a criminal may seek to evade being recorded on a CTR by breaking a transaction over $10,000 into multiple smaller transactions, which is known as structuring. Single and multiple currency transactions in excess of $10,000 (in a single Gaming Day) are reported to the IRS. To track multiple transactions, many casinos record transactions as low as $3,000 (and lower) to ensure that they remain compliant with the CTR requirements. Again, criminals (including those interested in tax evasion) may break up their transactions into several, smaller transactions to avoid detection.
For example, conducting three transactions of $4,000 is more than $10,000, which is the threshold of reporting a CTR. If the casinos did not track multiple transactions, the individual might be able to circumvent the reporting of their transactions. However, because most casinos track transactions of $4,000 (and lower), structuring this $12,000 transaction into three, smaller transactions would not prevent a CTR from being filed. And, while it may be possible to break up $12,000 into 20 individual transactions of $600 each, casino personnel also maintains awareness of this tactic and would likely detect the numerous trips to the cage to perform similar transactions.
Minimal gaming[edit]
Another type of suspicious activity is related to money laundering, where a casino patron may put large amounts of money in play, but gambles very little before cashing out.
For example, a bank robber steals $50,000 from a large bank. Most banks mark cash with exploding dye or sequential numbering of the large bills. To avoid being apprehended, the bank robber needs to exchange the stolen money for money that cannot be traced back to the robbery. In this situation, a bank robber may put $1,000 in $20 bills into a slot machine and spin twice before cashing out. Whether the slot machine pays the bank robber in coins or a slot ticket is irrelevant because the traceable money is in the machine and the bank robber will effectively receive 'clean' or 'laundered' money.
Both of these situations are suspicious, as defined by Title 31 regulations, and require a completed SAR by the casino, within a specified period of time.
Involvement of Agents[edit]
Two or more individuals handling the same currency bankroll are commonly referred to as 'agents' by the casino. An example of this would be individuals purchasing chips and dividing them amongst themselves. Agents cashing out chips or making currency transactions on behalf of one another are also popular examples of agent activity. Since agents handle the same bankroll, they essentially become entities and their transactions must be recorded together. All parties involved in agent activity must submit proper identification and complete the required IRS forms when their COMBINED transactions reach over $10,000 in a gaming day. While agent activity can sometimes occur with legitimate transactions (e.g. a husband cashing out his wife's slot vouchers so she can continue to play), agent activity is highly suspicious because it allows individuals to structure their transactions below the $10,000 to avoid being documented to the IRS.
Involvement of casino staff[edit]
It is illegal for an employee of the casino to assist a casino patron in circumventing the reporting requirements of Title 31. Such circumvention can include notifying patrons that they are nearing reporting thresholds, disclosing the time that the Gaming Day ends, and neglecting to report suspicious activity. A casino employee that has been found to have circumvented Title 31 can be assessed civil and criminal fines, in addition to incarceration.
References[edit]
- ^United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (November 17, 2011). 'The Future of Internet Gaming: What's at stake for tribes?'. One Hundred Twelfth Congress First Session.
Can You Leave A Casino With Chips Instead
Five tips to avoid the long walk of shame
by Basil Nestor
It can happen to anyone, even film legend Ben Affleck. On April 28, he was playing blackjack at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. According to Variety, Ben was approached by a casino rep who told him, “You’re too good at this game.” That’s a nice way of saying, “You’re counting cards.” Then the casino declined his action, effectively banning Ben from the blackjack tables. They called him a car, and he left the property.
Some news sources reported that Ben was banned from the Hard Rock, but a few days later, the Las Vegas Review-Journal got a clarification from Abigail Miller, a hotel rep. She said, “Mr. Affleck, a valued guest of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, is not banned from our property and is welcome back any time.” Nice, but is Ben still banned from playing blackjack? She didn’t say.
How did this happen? Can it happen to you? The short answer is yes. Counting cards at blackjack is just one example. Roulette, craps, poker,—all table games are potential breeding grounds for situations that can land you on the pavement, especially if you’re an advantage player. Here’s what you can do to make that less likely.
1. Don’t be so obvious.
One week prior to his adventure at the Hard Rock, Ben was playing blackjack at Wynn. A rep there told him to curb his action. Rob Olivetti, games protection manager at Wynn and Encore, was quoted by Radar Online in an internal e-mail saying, “He was being way too obvious moving his money with the count. He was spreading $100-10K on the double decks and $0-20K (2 at 10K) on the shoe games.”
That’s just crazy! Depending on your blackjack counting strategy, and your preference for cover, you might want a bet spread (low bets vs. high bets) of 1-4 up to 1-12. You might push it to 1-16 if you’re brave. But Ben was betting $100 at the low end, and $10,000 at the high end. That’s a spread of 1-100! He might as well have announced when he sat down, “I’m counting cards!” It was unwise.
Wynn let him play, apparently with a warning. But Hard Rock shut the door.
2. Don’t be tricky with black chips.
According to various sources, Ben was using black $100 chips to keep track of the count. This was wrong for a couple of reasons. Casinos track your black chips. They don’t want you ratholing (sneaking black chips off the table and then claiming you lost money when you really won money). So they’re very aware of how you handle chips. Also, playing at a high-limit table brings extra scrutiny. It’s usually easier to get away with a big spread of 1-12 and ratholing when your bets are $75 to $900 or $150 to $1,800, betting green and black chips at a table in the main casino. Is that boring small stakes for Ben? Probably. But right now his stakes at the Hard Rock are $0. A modest spread of 1-6, $500-$3,000, might have been overlooked if he hadn’t been counting with black chips.
3. Don’t think the scrutiny is only on blackjack
All table games track black chips and higher denominations. They also count greens and reds, but not so carefully. All table games have behaviors that are forbidden or in the gray area of unwanted but not illegal. Some casinos don’t want you setting dice in craps. Some of them don’t want you using visual ballistics or wheel clocking in roulette. Every game has weak points that can be legally exploited, and you shouldn’t imagine that the casino is entirely unaware. So be stealthy. Be cautious. Above all, don’t be greedy. Win a reasonable amount and then quickly go. Don’t pile it up and dare the casino to identify you as an advantage player.
4. Don’t be a jerk. By all accounts Ben was polite when he got the tap.
But many people are shown the door just because they’re jerks. I once had a guy sitting to my left who was ejected because he made an obscene gesture to me. Why was he angry? I correctly hit my hand and took his good card. The floorman went to the trouble of checking the video to confirm the gesture. Then security came and the dude was tossed. A few months ago I was in a game and one player just couldn’t stop cursing, even after a warning. He wasn’t in a bad mood, just had a foul loose mouth. The female dealer and the women at the table had the guy booted.
5. Don’t imagine you’re Jack McCoy or Perry Mason, but do know the law.
Casinos in Nevada can eject you for almost anything, or nothing. Don’t imagine that legal arguments will sway them. They can ban you from a game or ban you from the property. If you return, it’s trespassing. Elsewhere in the country, the rules are generally similar. In Atlantic City, you can’t be ejected for counting, but a casino can take countermeasures to make the game so unprofitable that it becomes pointless. Your strategic goal is to never reach this situation. And, of course, know the law and the rules of your game. Don’t cheat. Cheaters aren’t ejected; they’re arrested. If you’re detained for legal advantage play but not arrested, stay cool and be polite. Remember that casino security are not police. Don’t answer questions, and firmly repeat that you want to leave, gesturing toward the exits so cameras above can see. Walk out unless you’re physically prevented from doing so. And remember to take your chips! Of course, if it gets to this, then your strategy of stealth has gone horribly wrong. Play well. Be careful. Be gracious, and you’ll avoid getting a tap on the shoulder.
Enjoy the game!
Can You Leave A Casino With Chips Without
Basil Nestor is author of The Smarter Bet Guide to Blackjack, The Smarter Bet Guide to Craps, and other comprehensive gambling guides. Got a question? Visit SmarterBet.com and drop him a line.