Recent posts by "insiders" has given some grounds for suspecting
RTG software. The most damning were posts by phinqster and skunx, admitting that they watched players who were winning, and deliberately knocked them off the connection to disrupt their "run". Also, it was claimed that they could alter the number of decks on Blackjack so that if they were knocked offline while playing the game, they would come back on to a version where the number of decks had been increased.
The fact that
RTG software allows this, makes it easy for this kind of allegation to be made, and sound like it has more than a grain of truth.
This player certainly didn't give the whole story, chasing any progressive has huge variance, and losing $5000 is not unlikely. It would have been better to have cashed in after any good streak, and redeposit a while later and try again with a much lower bankroll.
It is tempting to chase ever more luck after a winning spree, and leaving the entire win in the account can lead to it being lost again.
A better strategy would be to withdraw some, and certainly not less than your original stake for the session, and play with winnings - this gives a worst case scenario of having neither lost, nor won.
This player should not be alowed back as it seems they have the "chase mentality", and will no doubt do this again, and the son may miss another school trip.
There are not many casinos who would hand back some of the money, AND then let the player in again after they claim to be "cured". This was probably unwise, it would be better to link any good will gesture like this with a permanent ban (due to the risk to the player being unable to control further gambling). It seems limiting deposits to eWallets rather than credit facilities has not worked in this case.
I NEVER chase progressives, no matter how big. I will play a bit, and then move on - the chances of being the lucky winner are tiny, even with the
RTG random jackpots. If they come, they are an extra bonus (not that I have ver had this yet).
I have occasionally hit "the big one" relatively speaking, such as a Pat Royal, or Pat 4 Aces while betting high. These have given wins of around £10,000 - outweighing any tournament or promotion I was playing at the time, however, these are RARE, and should not be chased.