For many low-to-mid stakes cash players, paying the rake is a necessary evil. That extra dollar that goes into the Bad Beat Jackpot fund, on the other hand, is considered more of a necessary (and welcomed) gamble.
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Bad beat jackpots have lured patrons to the tables for years, and while winning the WSOP Main Event or another major poker title is the elusive dream of many a player, the majority of those grinding it out at lower stakes set their sights on hitting the lottery, in a sense.
Winning the bad beat jackpot is an exciting prospect, and while the majority of players will go all their years at the tables without being on the giving or receiving end of the big one, most will be in the room when one hits, or even at the table if they’re lucky, in which case they're often entitled to a small percentage of the jackpot in the “table share.”
But getting quads or straight flush beat, in a sizable card room with a healthy bad beat jackpot, remains the ultimate dream for many.
Sometimes, though, the dream can become a nightmare. What if a player seemingly locked up a bad beat jackpot payout but some small piece of red tape prevented he or she from collecting?
What if a player seemingly locked up a bad beat jackpot payout but some small piece of red tape prevented he or she from collecting?
There are many rules in card rooms to protect against things like collusion, in place for the protection of all players. Such rules are necessary to uphold the integrity of the game. Imagine if players were allowed to show cards whenever they wanted, or to act out of turn to influence action with no repercussions, or to signal to a tablemate about the strength of their holdings. These things would severely disrupt the game and players' experiences at the tables.
Everyone grinding at the poker tables in a room that offers a bad beat jackpot pays into the jackpot pool. In most rooms, this comes in the form of $1 coming out of every pot for the purpose of building the fund that some lucky players will hit at some point.
The fact that all players pay in means that all players should reasonably expect the room’s management to protect the integrity of the game, and pay out the coveted jackpot only when the players involved in the bad beat-eligible hand have followed the established rules that protect against collusion.
The Red Rock Case
July 7, 2017 was an exciting day in the Las Vegas poker scene with the World Series of Poker Ladies Event, the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship and a $1,000 WSOP.com online event all getting started at the Rio, and everyone getting excited about the biggest poker tournament in the world, the WSOP Main Event, kicking off the next day.
But the action at the Rio wasn’t the only excitement brewing. The bad beat jackpot at Red Rock Casino, one of the bigger off-strip casinos to offer a jackpot, had inched up to $120,000.
If you’ve never played at Red Rock, it’s not exactly one of the Vegas strip casinos, but it’s also not what you think of when you hear “off-strip casino poker room.”
Red Rock is best described as a classy room with local clientele — people who live in Vegas, mostly in and around the upscale area of Summerlin, which is a popular location for retirees. It’s a friendly, small room with 20 tables, clean and comfortable, and attracts an older crowd on average than you are likely to find at a Vegas strip poker room.
On that fateful day, 83-year-old Avi Shamir made a straight flush, only to have the ultimate dream of that huge hand being bested by an even bigger hand come true — a higher straight flush held by Leonard Schreter, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
As is customary, when the jackpot hand went down, a sign lights up at all Station poker rooms so players eligible for the “room share” of the pot can be recorded and paid out if the jackpot is verified. Next, information of players involved in the hand and at the table is collected, while supervisors verify using surveillance the eligibility of the bad beat hand — all pretty standard procedure. But the story gets a bit complicated.
Red Rock BBJ Rules
According to the Station Casinos Jumbo Hold’em Poker Progressive Jackpot “Official Rules,” the jackpot resets at $75,000 and the qualifying hand is aces full of jacks beaten by quads or better. When the jackpot is under $100,000, the qualifying hand has to be beaten on the flop, while it can be beaten any time in the hand when the jackpot is equal to or more than $100,000.
Shamir stood to win the biggest share, $48,000, while Schreter would be getting $30,000.
As the minimum BBJ requirement at most rooms nationwide is getting quads beat, and often even starting at quad eights just to make it harder, Station's requirements compared to other bad beat jackpots nationwide are on the 'easy' end of the spectrum. They are also unique in that there are five (albeit small) card rooms sharing the jackpot.
According to the Station rules listed, the bad beat jackpot is paid out according to the following shares:
- Loser of the hand gets 40 percent
- Winner of the hand gets 25 percent
- Three percent is reserved for 'table share' to be split among the other players at the table where the jackpot hit
- 32 percent is 'divided evenly amongst all active live Texas Hold’em players in all Station Casinos’ Poker Rooms. The winner and loser of the jackpot activating hand, as well as the players at the winning table, are entitled to this player’s share.'
Following that breakdown and assuming a jackpot of $120,000, Shamir stood to win the biggest share, $48,000, while Schreter would be getting $30,000. Another $3,600 would be distributed among the other players seated in the game who were dealt into the hand and $38,400 would be chopped up between more than 80 people who were playing in eligible games in all five of the Station casinos when the hand took place, a prize that has been estimated at around $565.
Controversy Arises
What is known: the two players involved in the hand both had straight flushes, meaning they both held two cards matching in suit which connected with three of the community cards on the board to give each player a sequence of five consecutive cards of the same suit — a high end and a low end. This satisfies the hand requirements for the jackpot.
The exact street-by-street action of the hand in question is unclear, though Station's attorney L.J. Semenza walked a small audience through the action while showing the surveillance tape in a hearing on the matter Dec. 12 and explained that after the river card came out, Schreter tabled his two hole cards 'before the dealer asked for a show of hands.'
That wording still keeps the situation a bit cloudy, but it sounds like Schreter violated the standard poker rule of not exposing cards with action pending. That would mean, both players still had chips behind and should act in turn by checking or betting. Only once both players do so and action is complete should hands be tabled. In this case, rather than performing a poker action and also waiting for his opponent to check or bet, Schreter showed his hand early.
This rule is generally regarded to protect against forms of collusion that can influence action, whether intended or not, and breaking of this rule is usually subject to some type of penalty or perhaps a warning in the case of a cash game. This is consistent with Tournament Directors Association rule No. 68 which states, 'exposing cards with action pending may result in a penalty but not a dead hand,' which applies to tournament poker. The hand would still be live and the player could still win the pot, but there would be some kind of repercussion involved.
The LVR-J reported that, “Station contends that exposing the cards early constituted a communication among players that invalidated the jackpot.” The illegal communication determination is a common interpretation of the breach, since showing your cards to your opponent would likely influence your opponent's action in the hand.
The Breach
One can see how this could be considered a form of collusion. If someone is playing with a buddy across the table and didn't want to take that person's money, showing cards could let them off the hook.
'Don't bet, I have a peach of a hand!' the person all but says.
Of course, in the game in question, it is highly unlikely that Schreter was thinking at all about the money the two players had behind, as it would be wildly insignificant in this small-stakes cash game compared to the jackpot dough they stood to win if his opponent happened to have the low-end of the straight flush, which he did. In a way it's ironic, because Schreter was not at all concerned with getting the rest of his opponent's chips into the pot that he was undoubtedly going to win, holding the high end of the straight flush for the ultimate 'nuts.'
But his action — whether out of sheer excitement or friendliness — violated standard poker protocol and Station deemed it sufficient to invalidate the jackpot.
Station’s BBJ rule No. 15 states that “discussion of hands during the play by players, at the discretion of Management, may void a Jumbo Hold’em Jackpot.” Though no verbal discussion about the hand has been reported, casino management could argue that showing cards out of turn or with action pending constitutes illegal communication between players regarding the contents of their hands before showdown.
Station contends that exposing the cards early constituted a communication among players that invalidated the jackpot
Station also reserves the right to use discretion in BBJ payouts with rules like No. 21: 'Management will resolve any dispute or situation not covered by these rules and that decision shall be final and binding for all participants in this promotion' and No. 24 which states, 'by participating in this promotion, participants agree to be bound by these official rules and the decisions of management.'
Some players have been reported as saying that because Schreter revealed his cards after the river, and no other cards would be coming, that the move did not change the outcome of the hand. The counterargument to that though would be, the betting actions would have been different. But it is true that the exact cards of the hand would not have changed.
Needless to say, the players who stood to win a jackpot share on that day were none too pleased with management's decision. Players responded by asking the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) — the intermediary between players and casinos that reviews disputes between the two — to review the situation.
Progression of the Case
With background and context of the situation established, here's a look at how the matter has developed since the day the jackpot was withheld.
Round 1 — Board Ruling Favors Players
Bill Olliges conducted a review and concluded that players should be paid on the grounds that while Schreter’s exposing of his cards early violated traditional poker etiquette, his action didn’t change the outcome of the hand.
Not so fast, though.
Round 2 — Station Appeals, Dec. 12 Hearing
Station Casinos exercised their right to appeal following the initial Board investigation and after several delays, that hearing took place on Dec. 12. The hearing, conducted by Chan Lengsavath, drew about 15 people and more than two hours of testimony from representatives on both sides of the dispute, as reported by the LVR-J.
For the players were Schreter and Shamir, joined by another player in the room Rochelle Lindner and Michael Bluestein, who had been playing at Santa Fe Station when the hand took place.
'Red Rock kicked me in the stomach, but Red Rock kicked him in a place a lot lower than that.'
Representing Station was Forrest Caldwell, attorney Semenza and Richard DeGuise, a retired Control Board enforcement officer, who testified as an expert witness.
During the hearing, Semenza walked the audience through the surveillance footage of the hand and when the final river card came out, explained “Schreter clearly tossed his cards face up on the table after the river card was dealt, but before the dealer asked for a show of hands.”
The point Semenza was making was that Schreter intentionally exposed his cards before action was complete on the river, meaning both players still had to act because they still had chips left behind.
After the hearing, Schreter was reported as saying that within a couple hours of the hand taking place, he had lost his share of the jackpot and also “went from local hero to local bum and, in one case, a local villain.”
Schreter expressed feelings of empathy for his opponent in the hand, Shamir.
“I was hurt emotionally by Red Rock, but this guy was hurt financially,' he said. 'Red Rock kicked me in the stomach, but Red Rock kicked him in a place a lot lower than that.”
Station’s witnesses asserted that a thorough investigation of the event was undertaken and the company was enforcing the posted rules of the game by nullifying the jackpot in the case.
Lengsavath then compiled testimony from the hearing to submit a report and recommendation to the three-member Control Board for a ruling. If the decision were to go against Station, the company could contest once again by appealing to Clark County District Court.
Round 3 — Ruling Delayed
At the NGCB’s first January meeting last week, the committee reviewed Lengsavath’s report and member Terry Johnson announced that he didn’t feel he had sufficient information to make a decision on the case.
The reasons cited by Johnson, according to the LVR-J, were that he had questions about why Schreter withdrew his complaint in the case. It is unclear to what this point refers, though it was evident that Schreter expressed feeling badly that his breach in poker etiquette may have cost Shamir the hefty payday that he otherwise would have had coming to him.
Johnson also requested that the hearing officer review and clarify evidentiary materials which were submitted along with a request to clarify whether Station’s bad beat jackpot rules or standard poker room procedural rules were used in the initial assessment that the jackpot should be paid.
Johnson explained the importance of clarifying the points in question before coming to a decision in case Station appeals to the Clark County District Court should they be dissatisfied with the board’s ruling.
A Tough Spot
It should be evident by now the complicated nature of the Red Rock case. It's a lot of money and for anyone who has played in poker rooms where a bad beat jackpot is a possibility, the idea of hitting the jackpot hand and having the payday withheld based on a seemingly small mistake is indeed heart-wrenching.
On the flip-side, poker rooms like the one at Red Rock have a responsibility to all their patrons and in this case, the patrons across all five properties, to enforce rules and ensure fairness in paying out promotions such as the Jumbo Bad Beat.
A tough spot for both parties, to be sure. PokerNews will continue to bring updates on the case as it develops.
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Sometime in the distant future, maybe the year 3225 or so, when historians are studying ancient Western society (or what will be ancient Western society by the time), they will marvel at one particular human enterprise perhaps more than any other: the epic, money-sucking efficiency of casinos.
The way casinos have turned the act of separating us from our money into such a marvel of precision and ingenuity is every bit as awe-inspiring as the Egyptian pyramids.
“I could give you a guaranteed method to go into a casino and come out with a small fortune: go in there with a large one,” laughs Sal Piacente, a former casino dealer and security staffer who now runs UniverSal Game Protection Development, a company that trains casino staff members. He and other casino insiders know that casinos exist to not only take our money, but to keep as much of theirs as possible — both by offering games that are tilted in the house’s favor and by having air-tight security measures designed to catch thieves and cheaters.
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So Yahoo Travel talked to Sal and other casino experts with decades of experience in the industry to get some dirty little secrets of casinos. Not only are these secrets juicy — knowing them might help you keep a little bit more of your money during your next casino trip. But probably just a little bit.
1. Some games are way more of a ripoff than others — even by casino standards.
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It’s common knowledge that just about every game you’ll find in a casino is tilted in the house’s favor. But Sal says some games are worse than others. “A lot of these games are designed so that the player can’t win,” says Sal. “That’s why the players have to realize they need to stay away from certain games.”
The top of his list: so-called 'carnival games,” which are table games other than the traditional casino fare such as blackjack, craps, and baccarat. “Three-card poker, Let it Ride, Caribbean Stud — all these games have high house advantages where the casino has a strong edge,” Sal says. “People like these games because of the bigger payouts: They get paid 9-to-1, 8-to-1, 250-to-1. But you’re going to lose a lot more than you’re going to win in those games.”
Sal has particular disdain for Double Exposure Blackjack, which he considers a particular ripoff, thanks to strict rules on when you can double down and the fact that if you tie with the dealer without a blackjack, the dealer wins. “That’s over a 9 percent house advantage,” Sal says. “The dealer should be wearing a [robber’s] mask when he deals that game!”
2. Some games are “good” games — or at least better.
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“There are games tourists can play that they have better chances at,” says Derk Boss, a licensed Nevada private investigator and casino security surveillance expert. For one, he points to traditional blackjack. “You can reduce the house advantages by being a skilled player or studying the game,” he says. He also likes video poker. “That’s a game where there are strategies you can study,” he says. “It doesn’t guarantee you’re going to win, but it gives you a much better chance. It’s going to reduce the house advantage and put things a little bit more in your favor.”
3. Everything you see is designed to keep you in the casino.
A couple of gamblers drinking a glass of champagne (iStock)
Anyone who’s spent time in a casino knows they are designed to make sure you’ll lose track of the time (and of the money you’re probably losing). That means no windows and no clocks. “Two in the morning is the exact same thing as two in the afternoon,” says Sal. Some casinos have gone to desperate, and sexy, measures to keep you there and gambling. “They have stripper poles, they have party pits,” Sal says. “You go to Vegas right now, it looks like a gentlemen’s club. You see girls dancing on the poles. It keeps the guys at the table.”
And don’t be fooled by the “free” food and drink offers you might get. Those have the same purpose. “I love when people say, ‘Sal, they gave me a $20 buffet for free!’” Sal says, laughing. “You sat at a blackjack table, you lost $200 and they gave you a $20 buffet.” That’s what you all a good return on investment.
4. Security is probably watching you… for your entire stay.
Security camera (iStock)
If you’re in a casino, you can assume you’re being watched. “Casinos are very well-covered with surveillance cameras,” says Derk. “Once someone arrives at our property, if we needed to put together their movements over their entire stay, we could easily do so. We would be able to track their movements on the property just about wherever they went — except for like the bathroom and into their hotel room.”
Casinos generally use surveillance to look out for criminals who prey on tourists and the cheaters. And, yes, Derk says they can actually zoom in on your cards if they wanted to. So somewhere in the casino, in a locked, high-tech room, a security guard you’ll never see might be telling you to “hit.”
5. And if you win big, they’re definitely watching you.
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You can bet on it: if you hit a big jackpot, or get on a major hot streak, security has its eyes on you. “When someone is winning a lot of money, they’re always going to get checked by us,” Derk says. “They’re not going to know it, of course. Say a guy wins $100,000 on a blackjack game. I just want to make sure that it’s legal, that he didn’t cheat, that he didn’t count cards or something like that.”
Derk says in that instance, security will do a player evaluation: They will review his/her play on video for signs of cheating or card counting. Then they’ll check out the player. “We have a database of bad guys that are out there and what kind of scams they pull, so we’re gonna check for that,” Derk says.
Slot winners get the same scrutiny. “Say someone wins $500,000 on a slot machine jackpot,” says Derk. “We’re going to review it but we’re just going to make sure everything’s okay — that they didn’t open the machine or do something to it.”
But don’t worry: Security isn’t out to harass winners. “As long as it’s legitimate, we’re okay and we move on,” Derk says. “We want people to win money or else they won’t play.”
6. If you’re cheating, security can tell — they know all the signs.
Gambling and cheating. Ace of hearts from the sleeve (iStock)
Poker players know all about “tells,” behaviors that give away a certain action or intention. Card counters and cheaters have tells, too, and security is on the lookout for all of them. “We look for cheating tells,” says Derk. “Those are just behaviors that, when you’re trained to spot them, they stand out a little bit.” While Derk didn’t want to give away too many of these tells, he did spill a few of them:
--Two guys sitting close together — Derk says two guys playing blackjack at the same table rarely sit close together, especially when there are empty seats. “Most guys just don’t sit like that,” he says. “Women will, most guys will not.” Derk says when you do see that, it’s a potential sign that the pair may be secretly switching cards. “They’re trying to make one strong hand — which, believe me, happens,” he says. “They sit close together and have their arms folded after they’re handed their cards. We suspect that [indicates] they’re switching cards, so that’ll get our attention.”
--Strange or extreme money management — Say someone is betting $100 for three or four hands, then from out of nowhere, bets $10,000. “That to us is an indicator that maybe they’re receiving information,” says Derk. “Maybe they can see the hole card, maybe they’re card counting, maybe they’re tracking a clump of cards. They’re waiting for a certain condition to arrive in the game, so they’re going to play minimally until that change happens and once that happens they’ll hit.” Derk says that’s a major red flag.
--“Rubber-necking” — A dead giveaway of a slot machine saboteur. “If somebody is cheating a slot machine, invariably, they’ll sit at it and they don’t really have to look at the machine because they know what they’re going to cause it to do,” says Derk. “So they’re usually looking around, from one side to the other, looking for security. That’s what we call 'rubber-necking.’ That’s a big tell for us because [normal] slot players don’t do that — they play their machine and they don’t want to be bothered. So if you look around like that, that’s going to get out attention and we’ll stop to figure out why.
7. One place the casino probably isn’t watching you too closely: the poker rooms.
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“Believe it or not, we don’t spend a whole lot of time on poker at all,” says Derk. For one, since poker players play against each other, and not the house, the casino doesn’t have much money at stake. The poker players themselves, do, however, and that’s the second reason why casino security staffers don’t need to monitor poker rooms that closely.
“The players really police themselves,” Derk says. “When you get people who play poker all the time, they know when someone is screwing off or trying to take advantage of something and they’ll say something. They pay attention to it better than anybody.”
8. Dealers would rather you bet your tips for them.
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It’s a basic bit of casino etiquette, but tip your dealers. “Dealers make minimum wage or in some places might make a little bit more than minimum wage,” says Sal. “A dealer’s salary is all tips.”
Sal’s wife and business partner, Dee — a former casino dealer herself — agrees. But she says that despite common casino policy, most dealers would prefer that, instead of handing them a chip or two as a tip, players just put the tip up as a bet. “If a player asks you if you want to bet it or if you just want to take the tip, you’re supposed to just take the tip,” Dee says. “But most of us want to bet it because you have chance of doubling your money.”
9. The dealers feel bad for you.
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When someone loses their shirt, you can expect some silent pity, but not much else. “I can feel sorry for the guy, but I can’t say, 'Sir, you’ve lost enough, you’d better walk away,’” Sal says. “It’s not my job. There’s nothing I can do.”
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Still, Sal admits dealers do find themselves following the players’ success, or lack thereof. “If a guy’s tipping, you don’t want him to lose,” he says. “If a guy’s not tipping, you’re rooting for him to lose!”
10. Yes, dealers sometimes steal.
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What’s the most common case of casino malfeasance Sal has dealt with? Hint: It’s not 11 tech-savvy scammers led by George Clooney. “This is not as Hollywood as you would think, but honestly, it’s dealers just reaching in, grabbing a chip and shoving it in their pocket,” Sal says. “Nothing sophisticated.” That’s the reason behind all those strange rituals you may see dealers do. “Everything the dealers do was put in place for a reason,” Sal says. For example, when a dealer leaves a table, they have to “clear their hands.” “They clap their hands and turn their hands palm up and palm down for the camera to show, 'I’m not stealing nothing,’” says Sal.
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If a dealer is stealing, Sal says there are many different ways security will handle it, depending on where the casino is. “In Vegas, they’ll arrest you right at a table,” he says. “They’ll actually handcuff and walk you right out so everybody gets to see you. They call it 'The Walk of Shame.’ Some places, they don’t want the negative publicity. They’d rather do it off the game. So maybe they’ll call you to the manager’s office and arrest you there.”
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Sure, it’s no secret that in a casino, the game is rigged, numerically, at least. “The longer you’re there, the more the numbers are going to take over and the casino’s going to make money,” says Dee. “Let’s be realistic; they’re in it to make money.” But even though we know the score, that doesn’t take away from how much fun casinos are. “People come there to have a good time,” says Dee. “So if you’re having a good time along the way and you win a few bucks or you lose a few bucks, great.”
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