Playing slots for free on HAL

[goldengreeke]

God Bless the elderly. Just returned from a 10 day on the Zuiderdam. So many of them were overwhelmed with the new cashless slots. They just couldn't figure out how to set up a pin number to get their credits out. Many got discouraged and left, with credits left on their machines. There was two casino hosts going around trying to help them, but there was no way they could get to the hundred or more that were in there. I noticed some machines with $30-$50 left on them.:eek: I started playing them and cashing out. I figured I might as well get the money instead of the casino. I felt guilty doing it, but there was no way I knew what passengers they belonged to. I hope Hal puts on about a dozen more casino hosts on future cruises.

[mudscraper]

STOP THIEF

 

 

Rich

[goldengreeke]

STOP THIEF

 

 

Rich

Not really, same as finding a twenty on a busy street corner. Also, I did go to the casino cage the next day and asked if anyone complained that their credits were stolen. She informed me "not on this cruise". She said the last cruise a lady complained she tilted her chair against the machine while she left for the restroom and when she returned her credits were gone.

[debmkay]

wow! I was on the Oct 23 sailing of the Maasdam for 2 wks and yes the elderly did have problems with the cashless system in the casinos, I helped more than 1 but to out right steal from them, nope not me! If you are telling the truth which I doubt then shame on you!

[dot73]

I don't get it. Why would HAL put in cashless slots when they must know that most of the passengers who play slots are usually 70+ and may have trouble learning the new system. I'm in my early 50's and I will probably have trouble if they have these on my next cruise on the Noordam.

[goldengreeke]

wow! I was on the Oct 23 sailing of the Maasdam for 2 wks and yes the elderly did have problems with the cashless system in the casinos, I helped more than 1 but to out right steal from them, nope not me! If you are telling the truth which I doubt then shame on you!

I didn't steal from them. I helped out three that were siting next to me. At 10:30 pm THE CASINO WAS ALL BUT DESERTED! They had probably gone to bed. That's when I walked around playing and cashing out. Why should I leave the credits for HAL to keep? Guess I should have explained better...:confused:

[pms4104]

Karma

[texancruzer]

That would be no different than finding a machine with a whole bunch of quarters (or nickels etc) left in it and its player has left.........

 

and to accuse OP of stealing....... I don't think so.

 

and I have played slots quite a bit while cruising..... I did not know if a chair is leaned up on a machine it is taken........news to me. If it were me I would not leave the $$ in the machine to go to the bathroom.....that is like leaving your purse to save your place :eek:

 

ok, I just read the laws of Karma and I don't get it. KARMA ????

[rentlady]

Thanks to the new method with the cashless slots, by NOT playing I saved $100 a day for 7 days! I had budgeted this for the casino on the Eurodam a few weeks ago.I now have $700 which I consider a windfall. I am in my early 60's and I never could figure out how to play the slots on this cruise. In years past, this was one of my favorite things to do on a cruise. My husband couldn't figure it out either, so he has no more interest in a cruise with Holland America as a result. Next time, we are just going to fly to Vegas or stay in the islands where there are real slots.:)

[leoandhugh]

Being over 80 myself, I can't figure what a person's age has to do with whether then can follow instructions concerning use of a 4 digit pin number. Using the same number, you can withdraw from your sea pass account, place that money in the machine you are playing, move it from one machine to another and ultimately cash out if you wish.:)

[Tamaracboy]

In Florida with the change in laws a few years ago, many new casinos have opened.

All of them as well as the Indian Casinos use cashless slots !

And believe me, the "elderly" have no trouble operating them.

Actually, they are so simple and logical, I can't imagine anyone having that steep of a learning curve.

But, Kudos to the OP for cashing in on other's abandonment of $$$$

[Luckybee]

The op is very fortunate that the onboard casino doesnt have the same rules/laws as a land based casino. In Ontario Canada people have been in some cases banned and/or charged(and successfully prosecuted) for doing what the OP described(the slot attendants also have some very interesting "nicknames" for people who do this kind of thing...lol). In Vegas they usually instead simply trespass you. The casinos consider any "abandoned" $ their money. Moreover there is no way for the op to know that the owner of the $ hasnt simply gone to the bar to get a drink. It is theft pure and simple. It is either theft from the patron, or from the casino !

 

What is worst though is what one of the followup posters mention, that is, walking up to a machine with credits, the chair is turned over and starting to play or cashing out the credits...I mean cmon....you didnt know why the chair was turned over?? And you play quite a bit?? Really?? Well you certainly knew they werent your credits didnt you?? Do you really think that the casino gives away free money(that isnt part of a comp)?

[Pokeynose]

In defense of the OP, these elderly people could have hailed one of the people working in the casino and tell them they cannot get their money out and would you please help me. There was always someone walking around even if it was the person getting your drinks, they could have gotten them help. :confused:Age has nothing to do with knowing this system. I'm well over 70 and it took me one time to learn it. I really didn't think it was that hard.:D

 

Putting the chair up against the slot machine is common in all casinos. That's telling others the machine is in use and of course your card and money would say that too. I like that I don't have to handle those dirty coins, paper is better.:) All the casinos here do the paper, no coins.

[Luke Warmwater]

In the UK, it is not theft if you have "reasonable cause to believe it to be abandoned". I would not have kept the money though. Karma has always been very good to me.

[cigarman]

Could not pass up posting to this thread. Let me see if I understand correctly what is happening.

You bet by inserting your computer issued ship card/room key/on board credit card into the slot on the machine.

You play the machine.

You cash out by inputting your very own ID PIN and the money/credit is put back onto your account.

Interesting is it not, that the ship knows who you are and where your account is located within it's own memory? Ah the joys of the computer age.

Then I guess the OP shows up and sees some credits left on the machine because someone, young or old I would guess, did not cash out using the proper steps. So instead of letting the casino boss know about this she just up and uses the credits or cashes out onto her very own ship ID card.

Do you not think that the ship could tell who last played that slot? Do you not care that someone left some of their hard earned money on that slot?

If we have learned nothing about the modern cruise world, we must have learned that they can and do keep track of every penny we ever spend on board.

I hope that when you (OP) get "old" and leave something of value somewhere that someone has the decency of at least trying to return it to you. However you deserve far less.

CM:(

[Cruzin Terri]

It appears that OP is a male.

[texancruzer]

What is worst though is what one of the followup posters mention, that is, walking up to a machine with credits, the chair is turned over and starting to play or cashing out the credits...I mean cmon....you didnt know why the chair was turned over?? And you play quite a bit?? Really?? Well you certainly knew they werent your credits didnt you?? Do you really think that the casino gives away free money(that isnt part of a comp)?

 

First of all -please re-read the last couple of posts. You are mixing them up together....... that said -

 

Well, that would be me. And yes I always play the slots in the casinos on all 5 cruises I have taken and at Vegas. And no, I did not know why a chair would be turned over ........ however, I must follow up by saying I have NEVER played a machine where the chair was turned over OR played a machine with credits/$$ left in it. Actually when I think about it - I have never seen a chair that is leaned up against the machine or turned over. Maybe that is why it did not occur to me what this meant.

 

Just stating that some people may not know all the "rules" - but I know that one now !

[jtl513]

I didn't steal from them. I helped out three that were siting next to me. At 10:30 pm THE CASINO WAS ALL BUT DESERTED! They had probably gone to bed. That's when I walked around playing and cashing out. Why should I leave the credits for HAL to keep? Guess I should have explained better...:confused:

Yes, you're stealing ... from HAL. Unclaimed money is theirs, not yours.

 

That would be no different than finding a machine with a whole bunch of quarters (or nickels etc) left in it and its player has left ......... and to accuse OP of stealing....... I don't think so.

That is definitely stealing. People who have found a bag of money on the street and have made no attempt to find the rightful owner have been prosecuted and convicted of theft. People who take money left in slot machines, whether in coins or credits, are stealing from the new rightful owner, HAL.

[texancruzer]

I hope that when you (OP) get "old" and leave something of value somewhere that someone has the decency of at least trying to return it to you. However you deserve far less.

CM:(

 

Seems that it has been posted that IF credits/$$ is left in the machine (abandoned) for whatever reason...... the cruiseline/casino will keep it. It does not get returned to whomever left it........ so chances are EVEN if you do report $$ left in the machine - it WILL NOT get returned to whomever was playing the machine last anyway. I personally would probably just leave it -

 

As a side note: I used to work in a bank. Had an elderly customer that would always (repeat ALWAYS) miscount his money - usually by $20.00

Every time I patiently returned the $$ explaining his error.......at Christmas he always brought me something nice :D And I would never keep the wrong change or a found wallet etc.....

[jtl513]

And I would never keep the wrong change or a found wallet etc.....

And you - and the OP - should not keep "found" credits.

[Spendogirl]

Ohhhh...just my area of expertise... :D

 

Being a SLOT ATTENDANT, I can tell you it is THEFT, the exact term is called "THEFT BY CONVERSION"..

 

We do have a colourful name for people that walk around the casino looking for credits left in a machine...

 

What the original poster may or may not be aware of is that is it very easy to trace the money, and the players, thanks to computers and cameras.. ;)

 

For the chair thing.. yes, it is common place for players to lean their chairs up against the machine.. but it's also known that a slot attendant will put the chairs back down for the safety of other patrons to not trip over the legs.. your best bet if you need to use the washrooms, is have an attendant hold your machine for the few minutes it takes.

 

JMO.. but if the OP felt completely comfortable in what they did....it's their concience.. who are we to judge? :cool:

[jtl513]

JMO.. but if the OP felt completely comfortable in what they did....it's their concience.. who are we to judge? :cool:

So if my conscience tells me that it's OK to steal a car, who are you (or anyone) to judge? Because, as you said at the top of your post, it is theft! :)

[Mooguy]

Could not pass up posting to this thread. Let me see if I understand correctly what is happening.

You bet by inserting your computer issued ship card/room key/on board credit card into the slot on the machine.

You play the machine.

You cash out by inputting your very own ID PIN and the money/credit is put back onto your account.

Interesting is it not, that the ship knows who you are and where your account is located within it's own memory? Ah the joys of the computer age.

Then I guess the OP shows up and sees some credits left on the machine because someone, young or old I would guess, did not cash out using the proper steps. So instead of letting the casino boss know about this she just up and uses the credits or cashes out onto her very own ship ID card.

Do you not think that the ship could tell who last played that slot? Do you not care that someone left some of their hard earned money on that slot?

If we have learned nothing about the modern cruise world, we must have learned that they can and do keep track of every penny we ever spend on board.

I hope that when you (OP) get "old" and leave something of value somewhere that someone has the decency of at least trying to return it to you. However you deserve far less.

CM:(

 

You can play without inserting your key card. The machines will still take your paper money so after you play if you have anything left or winnings you have to transfer that to your key card.

So if I came along and stuck a 20 in the machine and never stuck my card in and it and walked off with 5 still in the machine there would be no way to figure out who it belonged to.

 

I can remember in the days when your payout was paid in coins it was not uncommon to sit down at a machine and find a quarter or two still in the bottom pan.

[Spendogirl]

So if my conscience tells me that it's OK to steal a car, who are you (or anyone) to judge? Because, as you said in your first sentence, because it is theft! :)

 

Exactly...... :D

[onapea]

WOW!!!! I am sure the casino could check and see who was last on the machine and credit them back their money. Good deed = Good luck!!!