CRYSTAL PALACE - ISSUE WITH WINNINGS WITHHELD

[dc9999]

I am also in the midst of a major dispute with Crystal Palace involving the withholding of over $22,000.

Being a compulsive gambler who wagers thousands upon thousands of dollars per year, my wife has repeatedly asked me to stop or at least curtail, my activities. Back in early August, I re-opened an account with Crystal Palace (and played for over 12 hours) when my wife asked me -again- to please stop, and cancel my account. Our anniversary wsa August 9, and feeling VERY remorseful, I sent them an email, dealt with live help, and unfortunately they never closed it...In fact, they WILLINGLY kept accepting my deposits for three more days....issuing "pop up" bonus $$ on top of it, so I keep playing. She sends them an email saying to please cancel/disable it or she would "deal with our bank directly and contest all future charges.." still they do nothing.

Finally, I tell her to calm down,,,she can monitor my online use, and it won't be a problem...she agrees, and I now send Crystal Palace their faxback form, ID etc . etc. so that I can't chargeback,,,,,(Note: I had played without incident for many years at many Cloud owned casinos, so I knew the drill..) Customer services emails me back AND ACKNOWLEDGES RECEIPT OF ALL DOCUMENTS PLUS THEIR AUTHORIZATION FORM

So,,, I continue to play, (limiting my deposits this session to $120 - and NOT using coupons because I don't like the playthrough requirements at most RTG sites,,,) Lo and behold and I hit TWO royal flushes (one for $4,000, the other for $20,000 in the same session!)

Now when I try to log back in the next day (with $22,718 still in my balance) I am locked out! Reason: Crystal Palace states my wifes "threatening emails" are reason enough to exclude me - and void my winnings AND all of my deposits!! Again, they acknowledged and received their fax back auth. forms!!! PLUS, I had previously wagered with them and their affiliates for five years - depositing over 40K all w/o incident!!

So. I went through all the requisite channels (Montana Disputes, RTG corporate etc.) and here I stand.....no winnings released, and the thousands of dollars in deposits, held by Crystal Palace..the proverbial "double whammy".

Yes my wife did make some rather bold and pointed statements, and yes I did request my account to be closed. No argument there. BUT...the reality is that Crystal Palace WILLINGLY continued to take my deposits (and even issue random bonus $$) and ONLY WHEN I WON OVER $20 K did they finally move to close my account......I'm not aware of any legitimate casino (online or land based) that would do something so blatantly wrong.

Bottom line: You take an individuals money to play a game of chance - keep that money as a deposit - you must PAY that individual his or her winnings. Period. (unless of course they were discoverd to be cheating, card counting etc. which is not the issue here...) Very disconcerting,,,and as always I welcome Mr. Cloud's and/or RTG's rebuttal. Thanks.

[dc9999]

Upon further review, it's probably best for my comment within this thread, to begin a new life of it's own.

I believe in keeping comments "above board", and I don't want to get into a mud slinging affair here...so I would suggest a new title under NON BONUS ISSUES: CRYSTAL PALACE - ISSUE WITH WINNINGS WITHHELD

Thanks.

[Casinomeister]

I just want to update this issue real quick.

The player contacted me some time ago about this issue, and I recommended that he contact Montana disputes - which he did - last summer. I guess Montana was handling this during the time they were dissolved - I was unaware of this dissolvement until after meeting very briefly with RTG in Barcelona in October. I did however mention this case to them and they were very concerned - they were going to check into this.

As of now, I've been in contact with both RTG and Crystal Palace. RTG maintains that the new master licensor is being set up and will be handling player issues - hopefully soon. The casino has stated that this case is still under investigation by Montana (or whatever you want to call their dispute center) - that the case is still open.

As I collect info on this - I'll let you know what's up.

[winbig]

I just want to update this issue real quick.

The player contacted me some time ago about this issue, and I recommended that he contact Montana disputes - which he did - last summer. I guess Montana was handling this during the time they were dissolved - I was unaware of this dissolvement until after meeting very briefly with RTG in Barcelona in October. I did however mention this case to them and they were very concerned - they were going to check into this.

As of now, I've been in contact with both RTG and Crystal Palace. RTG maintains that the new master licensor is being set up and will be handling player issues - hopefully soon. The casino has stated that this case is still under investigation by Montana (or whatever you want to call their dispute center) - that the case is still open.

As I collect info on this - I'll let you know what's up.

Sorry if this has been asked before, but why wasn't the new dispute channel setup before the switch???

Someone sure as h___ dropped the ball here. Or does RTG even care? Apparently not

[Casinomeister]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but why wasn't the new dispute channel setup before the switch???

There was one set up (where the current links here at Casinomeister point to), but I'm figuring that these complaints are in a holding pattern until the new disputes section is set up. I have no idea why this is so difficult to muster.

[kyleb]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but why wasn't the new dispute channel setup before the switch???

Someone sure as h___ dropped the ball here. Or does RTG even care? Apparently not

Yeah right. RTG couldn't care less about their players.

To the OP: Sorry to hear about the crap Oliver Curran is putting you through. Best of luck.

[dc9999]

It's hard to believe it's already DECEMBER 1 - and still no hint of a resolution from any of the parties involved (Crystal Palace, RTG, Mr. Cloud etc. etc.)

When this whole fiasco started it was still SUMMER - early AUGUST for heavens sake!!!

All I can say is I am beyond flabbergasted at this juncture.

The facts are really very straightforward - well over 7,500 online gambling enthusiasts have reviewed this thread here and at a few other reputable forums....and an overwhelming majority feel that the winnings should be released - pronto.

With each passing day, one can only conclude that apparently I will be forced to move ahead with a much more aggressive "plan b" (the details of which I can't reveal at this juncture) in order to have justice served.

[dc9999]

Calling Crystal Palace...
Calling RTG...
Calling Hastings...

Where are you hiding?

See ya'll at the ICE Show in London!!!!!!

[dc9999]

I know it was previously reported here that Warren Cloud is no longer involved with Crystal Palace and their sister sites, however some folks believe he is in the new partnership - The Crystalisle Group - that "took over" from the old regime.

I believe it's important to note if Mr. Cloud is still connected to this group or not, given his checkered (chequered for you Brits!) past.

Also, it's rather odd that such an outspoken and dominant online casino operator like Cloud, would vanish into the sunset without nary a whimper. Especially considering he was only a year removed from attempting to go public........

Of course, RTG could always choose to address this issue head on, and put all of this speculation to rest.

WAIT,,,,scratch that last thought!...., I must have indulged in too much Christmas cheer to think RTG would address ANY issue "head on"!

I'm sure you're very busy working day and night on that wonderful Hastings BV site........

[kyleb]

This hasn't been addressed by anyone either, eh?

Sounds about right!