[ROGUE] VIP Lounge Free Chip problem - deposit $25 in between freechips! (Supposedly)

[Corey1972]

I had done the sign up bonus for VIP Lounge a long time ago. I noticed in my email one day they keep sending me bonus reload offers, and some of the emails have freechips.

So anyways, I had gotten a $50 free chip and cashed it out for $100, only after faxing my identity documentation to VIP Lounge. I made sure to deposit a little money before this $50 free chip to satisfy the terms. I deposited $10 and won on slots, and cashed out at $58. VIP Lounge did pay me the $58 and then the $100 on the first free chip.

But I keep getting emails from them, not all of them, but some, have free chips. Here's the second free chip offer from April 8, 2008, which says the following in the email:

Play for FREE:
$75 Free Chip
Fully Cashable
30X Rollover Requirement
$150 Max Cash-Out
Reload Coupons: PLAY4FREE
(No deposit required)
*We only allow one free chip redemption between each deposit. If your last activity with VIP Lounge was a free chip redemption, please deposit before using this coupon.

Note that there isn't really a link in the email that you can click on which gives more information on this promotion. I take the promotion as it is. I deposited $5 and blew it. (The minimum deposit was $1 via Quicktender, but I didn't do the absolute minimum deposit). Then I redeemed the $75 free chip. Lo and behold, I get lucky on Blackjack, and finish all the wagering requirements, cashing out at $150. Note that the promo does not say how much to deposit.

Then after about 12 business days I call back, (you can only call between 7AM and 4PM on these types of issues, or else they'll give you an excuse that the withdrawal department is closed), and they tell me the withdrawal department refused my withdrawal. The name of this customer service representative was Brad Thompson, by the way. He said I deposited too little money in between the freechips. I said, how much did I need to deposit? He said if I had deposited $25, it would have been OK to win a second time and there would have been no problems. He told me the minimum deposit was $25. (Maybe he is referring to another deposit method than Quicktender). I complained that the minimum deposit for Quicktender was $1, and I deposited $5, which was over the minimum. He said that $5 wasn't "real money". I asked him, what would have happened if I had deposited $1? He said they would have immediately closed my account!

I complained that, I'm good at blackjack, and it isn't my fault that you keep sending me freechips to play with! Then Brad said, "what was your plan, wait for freechips, play the freechips, make a small deposit, and keep trying to win?" I said, "Yes, why not?" It's not like you have to be a genius gambler to figure that strategy out! After much argument, he told me that I am NOT WELCOME at their casino! A couple of days later I try to login and I see that VIP Lounge has locked my account.

I've already sent a message to the VIP Lounge moderator here on CasinoMeister. No reply yet.

Then today I get a new email from VIP Lounge - another reload bonus email. I complain in a chat session about being spammed:

Customer Service Chat Transcript

General Info
Chat start time May 4, 2008 7:14:13 PM EST
Chat end time May 4, 2008 7:24:41 PM EST
Duration (actual chatting time) 00:10:28
Operator Kenny

Chat Transcript
info: A site operator will be with you momentarily. Please be reminded, in order to ensure your future deposits and withdrawals are processed efficiently, it is very important to verify that we have your current personal information updated in our system along with any documentation necessary for withdrawals. Thank you for your cooperation.
info: Thank you for using our LiveChat Service. This is 'Kenny'. How can I help you?
me: Hi, I am (was ) user XXXXXXXXX. You locked my VIP Lounge account for no good reason. Why are you still sending me emails?
Kenny: ok! please ignore the email
me: NO -
me: YOU STOP SENDING ME EMAILS
me: do you want me to sue you under the Can-Spam act passed by the US Congress?
me: I am telling everybody about how you gave me 2 free chips, and I deposited $ between those free chips, but since I won on both of them, you closed my account.
me: hello?
Kenny: Is there anything else that I can help you with today?
me: Are you going to tell the relevant persons to stop sending me emails, or not?
me: you havne't helped me yet..
Kenny: you said it BOTH accounts you are not allowed to open multiple accounts
Kenny: i did
me: Also, since you deemed it necessary to close my account, I deem it necessary for you to delete ALL MY INFO - including my drivers licence and credit card, which I had to fax into you guys to get paid on the first free chip.
me: I only have one account with VIP Lounge.
me: i did not say "both accounts". The transcript shows that clearly. You guys are really bad customer service reps. Always blaming the customer, and never accepting responsibility.
me: the "botH" means that I won on both freechips.
me: you sent me a $50 freechip, I won some $, I cashed out after faxing in my documents.
me: you paid me. I got another free chip which I won ($75 to $150) but you guys REFUSED to pay me for that one. Even though I made a cash no bonus deposit in between the free chips. You guys really are something!
me: Then you closed my account, and you still are sending me emails. I'll believe you took me off your mailing list when a couple of weeks go by and there are no new emails from you.
me: I'll be posting to every internet gambling forum I can find, by the way, about the horrible treatment I received from VIP Lounge.
Kenny: have a nice day

Notice how he tried to twist my words, and accused me of trying to open up multiple accounts, simply because I had used the word "both" in my description of the problem (Which I assure you, I did not do!)!!! This is really bad behavior for a casino. I realize VIP Lounge is already on the rogues list, but since I only risked about $15, it wasn't a big deal to try and win on a freechip. Even the most retarted casino gambler could figure out this freechip strategy.

Also, note the blatant lie in almost every single email VIP Lounge sends out -

72 Hour Payouts!
The VIP Lounge provides one of the fastest payout timeframes in the business. In addition to 72 hour payments, we also offer an easy withdrawal process with plenty of withdrawal options for players across the globe. Click on the link above to Start Playing Now!!

This clearly contradicts their software, which, although I can't login and see it anymore, I clearly remember it saying you had to wait 5 to 10 BUSINESS DAYS to be paid. Not only that, but my first cashouts of $58 and $100 took over 2 weeks to get into my Quicktender account. So the casino lies constantly it seems!

[bb28]

First let me say I'm not taking sides with VIP lounge, aren't they in rogueville?
However I do have to say this Corey.....I don't see why you would think that you would get any better than what you got. Clearly you played and deposited in such a way that you risked almost nothing. No reputable casino is going to let you get away with what you have done and the way in which you did it, why would you think that any casino should?

Also everyone knows they spam you with offers of free chips, so I don't know why you think you are special.....just let them go to you trash folder and be done with it. The trash folder is where they belong.

[maxd]

As guessed, yes they are in the Rogue Pit, part of the group awarded "Worst Casino Group 2007" in fact.

[Corey1972]

Well, I lost $200 on the initial sign up bonus, but I did get paid for the first free chip, which I did win. I feel pretty happy about that. So I figured to keep on trying. Why not push my luck with this casino, as there are so many?

Also, I felt that I could help somebody else exploit their multiple free chip offers. Since they are obviously rogues, it gives me shcaedenfreude (sp?) if someone else can win. Let's see if someone else deposits $25 in between and gets away with it. I'm still pretty sure that even if I had deposited $25, they wouldn't have paid me. That was just a lame excuse. Let's see if someone else can test that.

[vinylweatherman]

Originally Posted by Corey1972

Well, I lost $200 on the initial sign up bonus, but I did get paid for the first free chip, which I did win. I feel pretty happy about that. So I figured to keep on trying. Why not push my luck with this casino, as there are so many?

Also, I felt that I could help somebody else exploit their multiple free chip offers. Since they are obviously rogues, it gives me shcaedenfreude (sp?) if someone else can win. Let's see if someone else deposits $25 in between and gets away with it. I'm still pretty sure that even if I had deposited $25, they wouldn't have paid me. That was just a lame excuse. Let's see if someone else can test that.

It won't work. This is a DELIBERATE trap set by them. They KNOW this offer is full of holes and easy to exploit, so they KNOW at what point to pay up, and at what point to pull the plug. Had you deposited $25 instead of $5, and got ahead overall, they would have simply plucked another rule out of the air, such as "the intervening deposit must be at least as much as the free chip claimed before it, and as you only deposited $25 your withdrawal was refused". NOT having any specifics as to what constitutes a deposit of "real money" allows them to pull a non-payment stunt on a whim.
A REPUTABLE casino would have the same kind of rule, but they would state exactly what they meant by an intervening deposit, and they would expect an amount similar to the size of free chips generally offered, so if $50 was generally the size of free chip, a fair deposit would be $50.

Although there are many ways to advantage play the kinds of colossal bonuses offered by the "Queen of Rogue City", you have to trust that you get paid, and it seems that losers overall have no problem getting paid (so that they deposit again), but as soon as you are ahead overall, you will run into every excuse in the book for not paying.
The fact that their offers are just SO ABUSABLE and FREQUENT, yet they are still in business, shows just how widespread their rogue behaviour is.