A tad harsh I think.
*I am not a rep for MGS and don't speak for them, this is just my personal opinion, based on my experience in the industry.
While I understand the frustrations of waiting for resolution, and going through what seems like endless channels to get queries resolved, I think it's a bit unrealistic to expect a company like MGS to open up communication channels straight to the end user.
Can you imagine how many queries they would get about "irregular game-play", "X game is rigged", "Check-this-check-that" from every player that deposits $50 into an MGS casino? On top of that, I would expect the bulk of the queries they would get would be things they have no control over, that are handled by the operator - "Where's my bonus?", "Cash-out hasn't arrived" etc.
Sure, the group (forumites) over here at CM are well educated in things gaming, and would know the difference, but remember, not all players that happen onto an online casino are lucky enough to come from an informative board such as this and some others around the net, and in fact, the percentage that do, is probably a lot smaller than you think.
I think having operators as a "screen" so to speak for legit queries in unfortunately the only way to go, but as mentioned above, they don't have all the answers either. Some queries just HAVE to go to the Software provider. Insisting that the operator help you with those, is like trying to pour water out the proverbial rock. There are just some things that your average CS center do not have access to, and believe me, not being able to help an impatient customer is no picnic for them either.
The system is far from perfect, but it's the only realistic one at the moment.
Regards,
Schalk
We are not (generally) talking about minor issues, such as "where's my bonus", but what are definitely software related issues.
For example, there has been a problem with the Clearplay bonus SOFTWARE that can sometimes FAIL to "zero out" WR when a player busts, logs off, logs back in, and deposits. This is most certainly NOT one of those trivial problems coming from players who do not understand the games. In fact, a MAJOR complaint was made by a player about being on the receiving end of this MGS bug, and this, I believe, got referred to eCogra because the operator did not come back with a satisfactory solution. Despite this, MGS STILL THINK "nothing is wrong".
This bug STILL exists, and manifests itself when a player zeroes out, but later cashes in comp points, or receives a free chip. Under these circumstances, WR is WRONGLY carried over from a previous bonus even though they have zeroed out. The CORRECT thing that should happen would be a FRESH WR being set, based ONLY on the amount of the free chip, or redeemed comp points.
Many players (me among them) believe all the problems with MGS tournaments are down to MGS themselves. I believe this because problems suddenly appeared after a lobby update that deleted the tournament games, then reinstalled them all over again (WTF
). The weekend that followed this update was the biggest fiasco for MGS tournaments, with them being forced to extend the $20,000 weekender by 2 more days because so many players were unable to get it to work - yet the previous weekend ran smoothly, as did the weekends before that.
My 2006 example shows how the arrogance of MGS lead MiniVegas to be dropped into the rogue pit. They were faced with a bug that made some SLOT games pay over 100%, guaranteed - but only on NEW accounts. Clearly, locking accounts and confiscating winnings from players who broke no rules, took no bonus, and played slots, and were NOT using a fake ID, or stolen funds, is pretty much a guaranteed ticket to the rogue pit.
Had this "slot system" not been so widely known, it would STILL be up & running, and no operator would have a clue.
As players, we see MGS acting within WEEKS, and fixing this bug that affected CASINOS, yet bugs that affect PLAYERS just don't get looked at, let alone fixed, UNLESS we players create a big stink - which is why so many threads are appearing about this, in an effort to get MGS to give a &^%$, and start looking into these bugs, and rolling out fixes, as well as new games.