Poker Palace Sports Bet Dispute

Last update: Jan. 14, 2009

This dispute is over expired spots bets, not honored by the Poker Palace, a small casino in North Las Vegas. The Poker Palace follows Nevada's minimum allowed expiration period of only 30 days. Most sports books have the honor to extend the deadline from 60 days to a year, and still honor tickets after they expire.

In my opinion, a gentleman honors his gambling debts. When a casino doesn't, even if allowed by law to do so, I do not begrudge a player to file a complaint to the authorities, based on whatever violations the player can throw at them. In this case, the player alleges two violations of Nevada Gaming Control Board Regulations.

According to Gaming Regulation 22.080 (PDF):

Books shall honor winning betting tickets for 30 days after the conclusion of the event wagered upon unless a longer period is established by the book. The book shall state the redemption period on each betting ticket, in house rules and on notices conspicuously placed about the licensed premises. Payment by mail may be made only after presentment of the betting ticket, and must be made not later than 10 days after presentment. (Emphasis added)

The player alleges that while at least two notices are required, as evidenced by the plural of "notice," he could find none. However, the agent found that a notice had been there for years. The player argues that one notice is not sufficient, because the word "notices" necessitates at least two to be compliant.

The second alleged violation requires a casino to immediately notify the Gaming Control Board in the event of a dispute of $500 or over (Nevada Revised Statute 463.362.2a. The player claims this was never done.

After the player presented his case to the Hearing Officer with Gaming, the Poker Palace settled for $2,260, which was the amount of the original wagers of the winning bets, without the winnings. The player felt that Gaming probably would have sided with the Poker Palace, and took what he could get.

As in any dispute, if the accused wishes to state their version, I would be happy to present it.

Supporting Documents

Gaming agent's denial letter (PDF 1155K)
Denied tickets (PDF 3096K)