Resolved Caution: Do NOT use the word "addicting"

[lfrancis]

Well, I have had an account with All Jackpots for many years. I play their tourneys EVERY DAY. I play most of them as a matter of fact. I have NEVER come in up on the first page, but did get 87th place in the big $100K tourney and got $150 back for a $120.00 investment. To me that was a big win, biggest ever in All Jackpots tourney.

Anyway, I phoned support today and just jokingly said that I was addicted to their tourneys and wanted to know what it took to actually win. The support guy, William, whom I have NEVER talked to before, asked me to hold on and I said allright after verifying my name, addy, phone, email, date of birth, etc. So, took the casino account number, came back 3 minutes later to inform me that they have a strict policy about addiction and they would therefore be closing my account in 30 minutes.

Stunned, I argued with him and explained that saying the tourneys were "addicting" was just an expression. I am not broke, nor do I intent to go broke gambling online. I am a self-employed person with a home I own, a new 2009 car, etc., so....he couldn't care less and proceeded to close my account. I had $30 left in the account when it was closed and also had played 4 rounds on the 25K weekend tourney and that cost me $80.00. Of course now I would not even be able to complete that tourney and I was and still am very upset at his radical decision. He suggested that he was doing this for my own good!!! Imagine??? I told him that I had a sizable amount of money in my bank account but he would not listen and just insisted that my account be closed forthwith. End of conversation, nothing I could say to get him to reverse that extremely poor decision and I don't think that was fair and certainly don't think losing the 90.00 I had invested in unfinished tourneys was right at all. Any ideas from anyone?

I emailed all this to the staff and no reply 4 hours later so I phoned again and they proceeded to tell me to call back on Monday!! This casino is SO good at just putting you off, but closing my account without warning and letting me at least complete the tourneys I invested in is just WRONG and I am REALLY angry and powerless. Any advise will be appreciated. Thanks. Laura

 

[jas2587]

Laura M/F I am so sorry this happened
they might have a rep here seems to me
the CS people was way to harsh an Quick

LOL I know you an you are in no way addicted
maybe some 1 can steer you in the right direction

Good Luck

Cindy

 

[catrina m]

Actually, he was doing his job by the book.

It shows that the JP have trained personel.

They must stop you from gambling if you exhibit signs of problem gambling. You can say anything you like after and even show up in a jet with a wad of thousand dollar bills ( although that will get you in the door of a lot of places) but the fact remains that you gave him the idea that you were (addicted, problem) and he did what he deemed necessary to help you and help him keep his job and his casino in good standing.

(sorry I thought it was allslots, but I hope all jackpots did it for the same reasons)

 

[Fleur-De-Lis]

They must stop you from gambling if you exhibit signs of problem gambling.

Gambling problem? For God's sake, OP was playing tourneys. Tourneys, even buy-in ones, can hardly ruin anyone. Do they?

Also, OP has valid point regarding money she had in her account and game in progress, at the time she was locked out. I am sure there should have been a more efficient way to handle THIS issue...

 

[j_l]

It was a bit silly using the word addicted directly to casino staff though, yes? Any other casino would probably do the same.

Although firstly, I think they should have discussed it with you adultly, over the phone or something like that before making an instant decision.

I imagine you are feeling extremely frustrated now as well.

Lesson learned, the hard way!

 

[missmichelle]

This is ridiculous. I sure hope they do the right thing. If you don't get your account open to finish the tournament they need to refund what you had already invested. Keep us updated.

Michelle

 

[Westland Bowl]

......Stunned, I argued with him and explained that saying the tourneys were "addicting" was just an expression. I am not broke, nor do I intent to go broke gambling online. I am a self-employed person with a home I own, a new 2009 car, etc., so....he couldn't care less and proceeded to close my account.......I was and still am very upset at his radical decision. He suggested that he was doing this for my own good!!! Imagine??? I told him that I had a sizable amount of money in my bank account but he would not listen and just insisted that my account be closed forthwith. End of conversation, nothing I could say to get him to reverse that extremely poor decision and I don't think that was fair.....closing my account without warning and letting me at least complete the tourneys I invested in is just WRONG and I am REALLY angry and powerless....

Did this guy used to work for the Governor of Kentucky?

 

[LaHutti]

It's almost like a really bad joke .. they pay developers thousands and thousands of dollars to make their games as addicting as possible, and then this ? Makes you wonder...

 

[chuchu59]

I am absolutely stunned. This is just an expression to say that you like to play the tourneys very much. Unless you told them that you were on your last pennies or that you were borrowing to fund the tourneys what's wrong with saying you are addicted to them. Have they taped the conversation? If the actual conversation was recorded you should ask David Brickman to look into this. Send Jackpot Factory a pm.

Well, I have changed the wording under my username just for you. Any casinos want to ban me?

 

[Stovetopp]

I can understand your frustration, but lets face it. Who loses here? The casino does!
There are several hundreds other sites which has the same poker and some reputable ones too...So in a way they are doing you a favor.

And to everyone here who belongs to this forum and read these posts WE are more or less "addicted" LOL No offense meant! if ypou prefer not to call it addiction how about "habit"
So to the author, as soon as you receive your monies left there, look at the positive side and move on . As I said there are several other poker sites which runs tournament 24/7 365 days a year so no problem!

 

[tim5ny]

Of all the words in the English language you picked the worst one!

 

[Antonia1953]

Do NOT use the word "addicting"

If they ban all the addicts they will be out of business. It's not like there's a bodily fluid to check for confirmation. What exactly indicates gambling addiction?

 

[Fleur-De-Lis]

Well, I have changed the wording under my username just for you. Any casinos want to ban me?

LOL, I had the word 'addict ' on my personal profile, under 'About Me' section since registering on this forum. Note though that icon added to the word makes all the difference.

On a serious note, it is nice that casino in question seemed to take addiction issue seriously, but judging by the way it was handled in this particular case, it looks like the rep who took the decision has no clue what gambling addiction is, and acted just like an automat that activates on hearing a certain voice signal...

 

[lots0]

Wow... the casino can't win, no matter what it does....

If the casino had let any player play and he/she did have a problem, they would have been accused of taking advantage of a person with an illness and ignoring the verbal clues the player gave that there was a problem.

But now that the casino IS doing the right thing by not allowing a player to play AFTER the player has indicated there is a problem.... and the casino still comes out a bad guy to some.

Well I for one, like the idea that the casino is looking out for and doing what is best for people with gambling problems.

People around here yell and scream when a casino treats people poorly...

I guess they yell and scream when a casino does the right thing as well.

Gambling addiction is a serious problem and it needs to be treated like the serious problem it is.

my 2 cents

 

[Alexishot69]

bit overboard

Well i have to say i think the casinos gone OTT this time..the way it was implied was akin to me saying im "addicted" to watching tv,does this mean the guys will come and stop me watching tv?? im "addicted" to travelling does this mean ill get my passport whipped off me? na course it wont and this guy sure is the proverbial "jobsworth" .i totaly understand casinos doing this if people are admitting they are "compulsive gambling" but the tense in which this was said and the outcome as far as i can see is just laughable to be honest ...just my opinion...

 

[lots0]

Well i have to say i think the casinos gone OTT this time..the way it was implied was akin to me saying im "addicted" to watching tv,does this mean the guys will come and stop me watching tv?? im "addicted" to travelling does this mean ill get my passport whipped off me? na course it wont and this guy sure is the proverbial "jobsworth" .i totaly understand casinos doing this if people are admitting they are "compulsive gambling" but the tense in which this was said and the outcome as far as i can see is just laughable to be honest ...just my opinion...

Could be.
But it could also be that the player understated here what was actually said to the CS rep...
After all, we are only hearing one side of the story.

I have a hard time believing even a very very diligent casino would turn away a good regular player unless there was a real problem somewhere...

 

[Alexishot69]

yeah

Could be.
But it could also be that the player understated here what was actually said to the CS rep...
After all, we are only hearing one side of the story.

I have a hard time believing even a very very diligent casino would turn away a good regular player unless there was a real problem somewhere...

I guess just take people at their word and if it was said "very" differently then i could see where the over eager cs could be exhonerated..ahh well

 

[c_note]

I play their tourneys EVERY DAY. I play most of them as a matter of fact.

Looks to me like maybe the casino had a reason to consider your statement more seriously than you wanted them to.

Compulsive Gambling is a HUGE problem for the industry. Most countries banning online gambling use Gambling addiction as the reason. How many articles have you read about people screwing up their lives and the lives of their families because they had a problem? Lots of them.

This is not to say you do have a problem, but when the CSR got to hear "Addicted" and saw your game play logs, a bunch of loud sirens probably went off, in exactly the correct way, with exactly the correct response (Locking you out).

BUT, they have failed completely in returning your balance to you, and also in considering returning all funds for uncompleted games/tourneys, which I personally feel you should get refunded.

 

[Simmo!]

I agree it sounds OTT, but you have to remember we live in an age where everyone sues everyone else if they think they have found an easy way to get rich. Spilled your coffee? Don't worry - just sue McDonalds for making it too hot!

Imagine if you one day ended up a registered addict...the casino would be chastised everywhere for not doing something about it. They don't really have a choice. While it is frustrating for you, it's society that has caused the problem.

If you get a plane, walk through customs and they ask if you have anything to declare and you say "yeah a 5 mega-tonne nuclear bomb under my hat", you're arrested, no questions asked, no travel, plain and simple. Again, a product of the society we live in despite it being fairly obvious a 5 mega-tonne nuclear bomb ain't gonna be under your hat

 

[patrina]

Wowsa, I cannot believe this. I know what you meant when you said 'addiciting' We are addicted to all sorts of things in life. Frankly, I use that word freely, "I am so addicted to coffee" "I am so addicted to a certain t.v. show" "I am addicted to a certain slot machine" So, no I am not actually addicted to this certain slot machine, but it is a figure of speech. And I know that's what you were trying to say, with a light sense of humour added. I think that it was wrong for him to jump the gun this way. Unless you are making deposits that you cant afford or your health is suffering in some way, or other areas of your life are suffering, then the wording you used should of been taken just how it was meant. And, you were also probably trying to make small talk and be friendly. Sometimes when I talk to a casino I will talk or joke about a certain game. The casino rep has even joked back, saying things like "geez I hate when that happens" or (and I think I might even have this email somewhere) "I know how addicting a certain game can be" I would send the manager a email and explain your situation. I dont think this is right "at all"
Patrina p.s. I have about 7500 emails in my inbox, (I know) but if I can find that email (I'll try to search) I will paste it, of course I would block out the name, but c'mon. Unless you have shown other "addictive" behaviour, this should of slid. imo

 

[j_l]

Gambling addiction is a serious problem and it needs to be treated like the serious problem it is.

my 2 cents

Really?

That's the whole point of this thread though isn't it? The OP is claiming NOT to be an addict and quite clearly tried to make that clear to the casino employee.

 

[lfrancis]

I made it VERY clear to him that I was using the word as a "figure of speach" and that ALL GAMBLERS are addicted!! I said if people weren't addicted to gambling, you would not even need to run this casino or answer support calls!! Right, or wrong?? Like someone else noted, we are addicted, and anyone that has only gambled once in their lifetime is MOST likely NOT a member of this forum or that casino!! Am I wrong? Laura

 

[lots0]

Quote:
Originally Posted by lots0 View Post
Gambling addiction is a serious problem and it needs to be treated like the serious problem it is.

my 2 cents
Really?

That's the whole point of this thread though isn't it? The OP is claiming NOT to be an addict and quite clearly tried to make that clear to the casino employee.

Don't know much about addiction do you? Obviously you have never seen the effects of a real gambling addiction.

I made it VERY clear to him that I was using the word as a "figure of speach" and that ALL GAMBLERS are addicted!!

No, not all gamblers are addicted, only a small percent are addicted.
If you believe that all gamblers are addicted, that is just one more signal you have a problem and should seek help.
Sounds to me like the casino did the right thing, you should be thanking them.

 

[Jackpot Factory]

Reply from David Brickman at the Jackpot Factory

Hi everyone,

David Brickman here, VP Player Affairs. This has certainly been an interesting thread!

lfrancis, I can certainly appreciate your point of view but please understand our support agent was simply acting within the guidelines of our responsible gaming policies. We take these things very seriously and operate under the "better safe than sorry" policy. I apologize if we were slightly overzealous.

Please PM us your details and well be sure to make all necessary adjustments to your account.

All the best,

David Brickman

 

[chuchu59]

David,

Thanks for posting here. If what Lfrancis said is true, then its not really the policy but rather inflexible support staff. The player did not ask for exclusion but just used an inappropriate word. Did you have to lock the account right away especially since he objected to it? Why not seek management's approval or cut off his depositing functions. The choice of words should not be the only factor in locking accounts. His style of play and the amounts involved (in this case the tourneys) should be more important factors in making the decision.

 

[pokeraddict]

This reminds me of when I signed an email to Party Poker "Poker_addict" which was my username there and they banned me for the same absurd reason. They had no way of unlocking it either. I had to make a new account there per their instructions. Sometimes support is a little overboard.

 

[lfrancis]

Attn: David Brickman in response

I will PM you David, thank you. Laura

 

[jas2587]

laura a JF Rep posted here for you to pm him

(((( Reply from David Brickman at the Jackpot Factory

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi everyone,

David Brickman here, VP Player Affairs. This has certainly been an interesting thread!

lfrancis, I can certainly appreciate your point of view but please understand our support agent was simply acting within the guidelines of our responsible gaming policies. We take these things very seriously and operate under the "better safe than sorry" policy. I apologize if we were slightly overzealous.

Please PM us your details and well be sure to make all necessary adjustments to your account.

All the best,

David Brickman ))))

Good Luck
Cindy

 

[patrina]

Hi everyone,

, I can certainly appreciate your point of view but please understand our support agent was simply acting within the guidelines of our responsible gaming policies. We take these things very seriously and operate under the "better safe than sorry" policy. I apologize if we were slightly overzealous.

Please PM us your details and we’ll be sure to make all necessary adjustments to your account
David, it's great to see that you have stepped up and straightened this out. I love your casinos and am glad to see that you replied quickly so it didn't get "crazy" Way to go. And Laura, best of luck to you!!
-Patrina
p.s. I do understand the representative acted "accordingly" to your policies and also understand you must adhere to those policies. Is it possible to strategize in a way so that this doesn't happen again? Might it be possible to make a list available to the player that points out that if a player exhibits any signs of compulsion then the casino has the right to step in and take the necessary steps of precaution for the safety of the casino and the player? And if you already have this listed, maybe add this to the registration form for new players so they understand before signing up? Instead of having it in the agreement or t&c's? Something in bold type? I, for one have never noticed this in the agreement, but then again, I may have read it and didn't think much of it, because I dont consider myself to be addicted. Thx again
-Patrina

 

[prindi]

Just Absurd!

How frustrating would it be to be 79th in a large tournament and you still had two add ons to buy and play? Why didn't the casino communicate to Laura how they were going to refund her money when they closed her account? Laura asked them for it and they dismissed it.

Laura made a comment that is slang meaning her enjoyment of the tourneys. Its a common term that is expressed here in the United States. It is easy to understand how someone from another country did not understand the context in which it was used. Our vocabulary has quite a few terms that are slang and wouldn't be understood by someone who is in a different culture or english being the second language. What I don't understand is the disrespect shown to Laura regarding this situation. Look at this email that was emailed to Laura earlier today.

From: [email protected]
To: lfrancis
Subject: All Jackpots Casino Customer Service - Account Status
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 13:58:38 +0200

Dear Laura,

Thank you for your patience while our casino management reviewed your account.

Following your comments to us, our Casino Management feels that it is in your best interests that we close your accounts with The Jackpot Factory Group.

Please take a look at our Responsible Gaming Policy for further information and for links to additional responsible gambling resources:
Link Removed ( Old/Invalid)

We wish you well and please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Best Regards,
Joey

All Jackpots Casino Customer Service
A Jackpot Factory Casino

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

Who really reviewed her account? Is this how management communicates or does business? This email from a support rep shows me that she isn't important enough to be communicated to directly by management. Its as if she was dismissed. Did not matter how she felt or what she conveyed to the casino. Laura is not a small depositor. I really do not get it. (Obviously David and management did not communicate with each other) You would THINK! management would call and and communicate with her regarding this situation. This lack of communication and poor customer service that was shown to Laura seems to appear in this forum quite often about Jackpot Factory. I understand that David is going to take care of the situation. But why did it even have to come to this?

Ok. I'm done. I know my post is probably after the fact but I wanted to vent. di

 

[babs7262]

You make a very good point Prindi. At first I thought they did the right thing by doing this just because not enough casinos are responsible enough and just want a players' money addicted or not.

Now, If Francis said "I am addicted to your casino" OR "im addicted to mega moolah" that would be a different story. But you are right, this was about a tournament, infact, being addicted to a tourment is a lot less on the player anyway. They dont spend nearly the same amount of money as they would in real.

The right thing to do would be what Prindi said, The manager should of called or pm Francis to discuss exactly what she meant by that remark before going ahead and closing the account.

One other thing I would like to mention....what if the CSR told Mr Brinkman "gambling" instead of the word "tournament" There could of been a lack of communication between the CSR and management. Just my opinion

 

[lfrancis]

Thanks for understanding me!!

Thanks for your post Prindi - I wasn't even expecting a "decency" phone call but now that you bring it up, you are right.... why not a phone call from a live human or even one allowing me to explain what I meant. That phone call was the most abrupt, rude call I have ever had to any casino support and now it makes me realize just how GREAT the FORTUNE LOUNGE group is. If I had that SAME conversation with their support team, I would have probably been kindly given a bonus to make me feel better, but instead JF TAKES away my membership giving me no compensation nor time to finish what I began and they would not have suffered waiting 2 days to cancel my membership or close my account!! Wow, you are right... I got NO consideration for all the years I've been a member or anything, just an "account closed" 20 minutes later.

I have not heard back from Mr. Brinkman and don't honestly expect to, but we'll see. It would be nice!! Thanks for your support. Laura

 

[patrina]

Hey Laura,, Any news? I'm wondering which email came first? The one from Mr. Brickman or the other stating your account was closed? There seems to be some confusion. Of course, it would be what the manager David Brickman said, instead of the latter rep's response. Anyway, like I said earlier, and whether some agree or not, it's not right. Yes, casinos have to be strict with their policies, but this is just too obvious, you didn't mean it the way the rep took it, or he/she jumped the gun. I hope that this turns in your favour, I would be very displaced to here otherwise
Patrina
p.s. Sorry Laura, I mistook your second contact for an email, when it was actually a telephone call?

 

[patrina]

Thanks for your post Prindi - I wasn't even expecting a "decency" phone call but now that you bring it up, you are right.... why not a phone call from a live human or even one allowing me to explain what I meant. That phone call was the most abrupt, rude call I have ever had to any casino support and now it makes me realize just how GREAT the FORTUNE LOUNGE group is. If I had that SAME conversation with their support team, I would have probably been kindly given a bonus to make me feel better, but instead JF TAKES away my membership giving me no compensation nor time to finish what I began and they would not have suffered waiting 2 days to cancel my membership or close my account!! Wow, you are right... I got NO consideration for all the years I've been a member or anything, just an "account closed" 20 minutes later.

I have not heard back from Mr. Brinkman and don't honestly expect to, but we'll see. It would be nice!! Thanks for your support. Laura

Just to let you know, the last couple times I contacted JF, the response was delayed, they explained that they are very far behind right now. I know that's no consolation, but just to let you know...?
Patrina

 

[suzecat]

I agree it sounds OTT, but you have to remember we live in an age where everyone sues everyone else if they think they have found an easy way to get rich. Spilled your coffee? Don't worry - just sue McDonalds for making it too hot!

Imagine if you one day ended up a registered addict...the casino would be chastised everywhere for not doing something about it. They don't really have a choice. While it is frustrating for you, it's society that has caused the problem.

If you get a plane, walk through customs and they ask if you have anything to declare and you say "yeah a 5 mega-tonne nuclear bomb under my hat", you're arrested, no questions asked, no travel, plain and simple. Again, a product of the society we live in despite it being fairly obvious a 5 mega-tonne nuclear bomb ain't gonna be under your hat

Well, duh Simmo! but you'd be surprised at the number of guys who try to convince you it's in their pants!................................ my bad...........apologies.

 

[vinylweatherman]

MG Tournaments exposed?

This indicates how "hardcore" these "fun tournaments" have become since they were introduced. Playing these alone is enough to jokingly use the word" addictive" and get it taken deadly serious by the casino to the extent of taking "problem gambler" action.

The cause is pretty obvious, but it has crept up on us quietly.

REBUYS - last year we would have said "Rebuys what are they". Now we ROUTINELY see "99 Rebuys" and "999 Rebuys" on a tournament. Yet how much of this extra renenue feeds into the prize pool shared by the participants?

0%

That's right, this is no typo. Even tournaments with NO REBUYS seemed to offer well below 95% of staked monies back as prizes, and with rebuys the situation is worse.

Do the casinos have something to hide?

Maybe, monthly payout reports are issued and audited for the overall RTP of slot games, and the expectation is around 95%, and is generally met.

What about the tournaments, why no published RTP, would the figures be embarrassing?

Then we have the fact that they have been "rigged", with so called "internet lag". BOLLOX to that, "internet lag" is random, and is not directly caused by the action of the player at their end. What happens with 99% of the "internet lag" on the tournaments is CAUSED as a result of the action at the client PC, no matter how fast their broadband is, and can be 99% FIXED by a small CHANGE in the way the player acts for a short while. No "internet lag" behaves like this, but SOFTWARE most certainly does - a set input leads to a set reaction. The most appropriate term for what happens in these tournaments is "RATIONING". Clearly, it has only made things worse, as the weekend this "rationing" was included into the software lead to the total failure of the tournament software over the weekend, leading to the extension of the then weekender into the first part of the working week while MG fixed the unexpected knock-on problems associated with the introduction of this "rationing". MG have never admitted they made this change, and pretend the problems were not of their making, except that I caught the tournament slots all being deleted and re-downloaded that weekend, followed by the complete failure of many of the tournaments.

There is a mind-blowingly simple solution though, but MG techies simply cannot grasp it.

Give everybody a set number of coins, and forget about the shorter time periods altogether. Slow PCs and Fast PCs, internet connections fast, slow, and even intermittent, would not be a disadvantage. Play would be possible at ANY TIME up until the overall closing time of the tournament, and there would be far more opportunities for strategy, rather than simply banging out spins at max coin as quickly as possible. For example, one could bet less during what seems a "dry spell", take a break even, and come back betting big later. It would be a heck of a lot more fun, and even those players who still wanted to bang out max bets as quickly as possible could do so.

Another gripe is the misnamed "FREE" tournament, these have continues, and even rebuys, so are not FREE in any real sense, as it is paying players that will take the prizes barring a VERY lucky hit by a player in the first round.


In a nutshell - it IS possible to have a "gambling problem" of sufficient severity to warrant exclusion simply by playing the TOURNAMENTS ALONE - it just happened!!! NOW is the time for MG to come clean about the RTP of these events in their current form, and PROVE that they offer a fair return on a par with the casino slots.

 

[chuchu59]

That's very gentlemanly of you VWM. You have one of the fastest PC connections which works to your advantage during tourneys yet you still advocate the 'set coins with no time limit' solution. If only MG would heed your advice, they could see a swelling in the number of takers for the tourneys.

 

[lfrancis]

Thank you all and especiallly DAVID BRICKMAN

Well, David Brickman is definately "THE MAN." He managed to get my 4 accounts with JF reinstated and got me a bonus over the money I lost in the tourneys!! He is an upstanding guy and went as far as to apologize for overzealous staff members trying to do thier job! I am truly grateful for this forum, for all the support shown and especially for David Brickman who, despite my reservations, WAS able to help and do the right thing! I will always remember what you have done for me David.

With sincere gratitude,

Laura

P.S. And a big "THANK YOU" to Vinylweatherman whom I have also seen in the tourneys. You have very good advice and I very much appreciate your bringing all this about MG to light for me and hopefully thousands of other players. It's high time someone spoke the TRUTH!!

 

[patrina]

Awesome Laura! I knew that this would turn out ok. They are a reputable group and from my experieinces have been pretty solid. I am happy that this all turned out and good luck!!
Patrina

 

[zebedy]

it could have been worse,

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i think as soon as you said the word addicted the casino acted in the right way,

 

[catrina m]

Very glad it turned out good.

I prefer JP when I gamble. They get 75% of my buisness and have always been an honest place to play in my opinion.

 

[vinylweatherman]

That's very gentlemanly of you VWM. You have one of the fastest PC connections which works to your advantage during tourneys yet you still advocate the 'set coins with no time limit' solution. If only MG would heed your advice, they could see a swelling in the number of takers for the tourneys.

It is more down to a fast PC rather than a fast connection. My connection is not always reliable, I got disconnected from the Fortune Lounge "bout 3" tournament, and then could not log back in for 2 minutes, when this happens, a fast PC is no help.

I chose the fastest processor listed when I bought it from Dell, but left many other things as default for later upgrade. This proved unnecessary though, because I could clearly see the "fix" MG had placed into the software during naked spins in bonus rounds, and realised that making it faster would be a hinderance, not a help. For tournament play, I have slightly slowed it down by switching back on all the sounds, which others advised to switch off to gain a little extra.

It is the fact that MG persist in LYING about what they are up to that makes me mad The fairest thing would be to get rid of the times altogether, and simply allow coins to be purchased as continues, with play being allowed at any time, and for however long, and with breaks as required, up until the overall closing time of the tournament.

MG even had the cheek to attempt to pretend nothing happened to Mega Moolah last month when we all could plainly see that a very significant change had been made to the probabilities that govern the triggering of the bonus wheel, a change that was made clear by the radical way it affected the behaviour of the Minor and Mini Jackpots.

 

[jerrylee]

I'm going against the grain here but agree with the casino's initial and later response to close the account for responsible gaming.
What I think is less than honorable is the way posters like lfrancis blast casinos publicly with threads like this. First you come in guns blazing. Suddenly you change your tune and you're happy as a clam when the casino's manager needs to step in to reserve his staff's initial decision (which again, IMO was a good one). These are signs you were in fact experiencing withdrawal and the emotional lows involved with addiction.
If I were you, I'd take a hard look at your priorities. When your mood is that affected by the closure of gaming accounts, then really, it's no longer a game.

 

[patrina]

I'm going against the grain here but agree with the casino's initial and later response to close the account for responsible gaming.
What I think is less than honorable is the way posters like lfrancis blast casinos publicly with threads like this. First you come in guns blazing. Suddenly you change your tune and you're happy as a clam when the casino's manager needs to step in to reserve his staff's initial decision (which again, IMO was a good one). These are signs you were in fact experiencing withdrawal and the emotional lows involved with addiction.
If I were you, I'd take a hard look at your priorities. When your mood is that affected by the closure of gaming accounts, then really, it's no longer a game.

Well, of course you are entitled to your opinion but wtf? You are directly insulting another member here and making implications that the poster is "in fact experiencing withdrawal and the emotional lows involved with addiction." I am not sure how you came to this conclusion? Would you like to clarify? I think it's wrong to say these things about another member and obviously the manager felt it was also a mistake on the casino reps behalf, did you read the whole thread? Geez. Having a bad day? Or is this just the way you are all the time? Btw, Of course, the poster would be upset at the first decision, and "of course" after the manager straightened it out, "the poster would be happy! Come on.
Patrina

 

[jerrylee]

obviously the manager felt it was also a mistake on the casino reps behalf, did you read the whole thread? Geez. Having a bad day? Or is this just the way you are all the time?
Patrina

I did read the whole thread. The manager probably said what he said for PR reasons.
Again, I agree with the casino's initial stance. I do not agree with the bashing attitude of the OP. That's all.

 

[patrina]

I did read the whole thread. The manager probably said what he said for PR reasons.
Again, I agree with the casino's initial stance. I do not agree with the bashing attitude of the OP. That's all.

I don't want to start something here, but wouldn't you be pissed if yu were having a light hearted conversation with someone and used a word loosely? The op was doing just that. For the rep to say "hold up, a minute" and then come back and "lock the accounts?" that's just not right. I believe if the rep thought that the op was "addicted" then an account summary etc should of been done "first" That is jmo of course, but I have said to a rep, "oh, that game is so addicitng!" and the rep says to me, "oh, I know what you mean!" that doesn't mean I am actually "addicited" Just like if I were to say, "Oh, I am dying to have a piece of that cake" that doesn't mean I am actually dying? Right? I would have been pissed had that happened to me. Yes, I am a bit dramatic, and yes I have used words loosely, but if I were taken seriously about everything I have said? I would be condemned by now, for certain.
Patrina

 

[jerrylee]

Hi everyone,

David Brickman here, VP Player Affairs. This has certainly been an interesting thread!

lfrancis, I can certainly appreciate your point of view but please understand our support agent was simply acting within the guidelines of our responsible gaming policies. We take these things very seriously and operate under the "better safe than sorry" policy.

patrina, this here is what I am getting at.
FYI customer service reps have very little latitude (if any at all) for issues like this. If you've ever worked in CS you would understand that reps are programmed much like robots. Certain player verbalizations like:

"I spent 5 hours playing hold em today, I can't keep up to my studies, wow I am so addicted it's not even funny"

"I want to close my account for responsible gaming reason" (that usually insinuates compulsive gambling)

"wow this blackjack swap is so exciting I play every day your designers sure knew how to keep people addicted"

are signs that they must take specific action. The robot (i.e. CS) is programmed to act a certain way. There's no negotiation here, especially considering the liability for letting a potentially addicted player continue to lose money and later come on a forum like CM to bash said casino for not acting responsibly.

 

[jerrylee]

also, just because a player says they are not addicted ,it doesn't mean it's true.

Behind the scenes, casino staff are able to see a player's logs, spending frequency, games played, time of log ins, etc. the player may have several accounts, constantly ask for bonuses, verbalize their frustration that they deposit 5 times a day and play for 10 hours yet never get bonuses. All this, claim they're not addicted, but the signs are clear that they are.
So in fact the casino is protecting not only its best interests, but the player's too, even if that means denial of future services.

 

[patrina]

also, just because a player says they are not addicted ,it doesn't mean it's true.

Behind the scenes, casino staff are able to see a player's logs, spending frequency, games played, time of log ins, etc. the player may have several accounts, constantly ask for bonuses, verbalize their frustration that they deposit 5 times a day and play for 10 hours yet never get bonuses. All this, claim they're not addicted, but the signs are clear that they are.
So in fact the casino is protecting not only its best interests, but the player's too, even if that means denial of future services.

Ok firstly, I was in CS for 19 yrs. I was, in fact a "bartender" for the majority of those years with 9 of them in restaurant management, and I owned my own night club as well. With this in mind, I certainly do know the responsibility of a service representative. No, I am not in the casino business. I do understand that the casino has to protect themselves and must be concerned about a player if the player shows destructive, irresponsible, or any type of behaviour that may show signs of abuse, neglect or addictive behaviour. From what we know the op did none of the such, except for the fact that she used a word loosely. From what I know, "being addicited" or "addiction" has contributing signs as mentioned above. I think, that, instead of the rep "jumping the gun" so to speak, there should of been a more cautious approach, such as a series of non-accusing questions to test the op to see if this member does actually have a problem. The posters comment in the first post;

him and explained that saying the tourneys were "addicting" was just an expression. I am not broke, nor do I intent to go broke gambling online. I am a self-employed person with a home I own, a new 2009 car, etc., "

clearly shows that lfrancis is not a person that is gambling beyond her means, I said before that I believe there should be more appropriate measures taken before you are accused of being an addicted player. For me, being called an addict by someone I have never even spoke with before, would of insulted me and disvalued my integrity. Yes, the rep has a responsibility, but no, the rep should not have jumped the gun on this one. She was condemned before being proven the fact and that, in my eyes? Is dead wrong! And jmo of course!

Behind the scenes, casino staff are able to see a player's logs, spending frequency, games played, time of log ins, etc.And yes, I believe this is true, but who says that this rep analyzed the situation before terminating her account? Could this be done in all of 3 mins? I dont think so.

Patrina