Connect To Casino....Do Not Play

[butlebre]

Do not be fooled by Connect To Casino's gesture to save the online casino gaming industry by purchasing Hampton Casino so they can pay "Pirate" the 1.3 million.

Please read this....especially if you've ever played at Connect To Casino. It's a bit long, but I need your help.

I started playing at this casino in November 2003 off and on. They gave huge bonuses with no max cashout restrictions, although their playthrough requirements were higher. Their bonus policy page was inviting all of the "bonus hunters" to play with them. They didn't care. They would even let you reload the huge bonus as many times as you wanted. By February 2004, I had done pretty well at this casino, managing to make a profit of about $3500. On February 20, 2004, I redeemed a coupon for 700%. Before doing so, I made sure to read their bonus policy to make sure it was still the same as it had been for months, which it was. Over the weekend, I managed to get my balance up to $5820, of which $5400 I was entitled to withdraw. I requested the withdrawal, thinking how great it will be to use the money to pay off my car. I was a happy camper.

On Monday, Feb. 23, I tried to log into my account, but it had been closed by the casino. Nobody in the support department could tell me why my account had been closed...they told me to contact the Accounting department in the morning. So, I went back to their bonus policy page just to see if I unintentionally broke any of the rules. Unfortunately, I didn't print the policy page out on Feb. 20. This is when I discovered that their policy had changed. They were limiting cash-outs to 5X the bonus amount received. So I contacted support, but they told me that was for the $41 free chip offer for new users. Then I saw how they were now going after "bonus hunters". Luckily, they said that the bonus policy in effect at the time the deposit is made are the rules in effect. "Whew!", I thought, I should still receive the $5400. It looked like they were still in the process of updating the policies because the examples didn't match the wording.

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, I contacted the Accounting Department and they told me that my account was closed due to "Wise Action", which is a fancy term for being too lucky at their casino. Then I was told that my withdrawal for $840 would be processed by the end of the week. I corrected him and said that I had $5400 in my account. He told me the bonus policy was 2X the bonus amount! Naturally, I was floored because I spent the night before reading their bonus policy word for word and that stipulation was never stated. I also read it before I made my deposit and it wasn't there. I asked him when that policy went into effect and he said, "I don't know the exact date, but I can find out for you if you like." What? The guy processing withdrawals doesn't know when bonus policies are changed??? He never got back to me with a date. I sent an email to management to dispute the withdrawal amount. I never heard back. I decided to let them process the $840 and then I would escalate this issue further. I thought if I made too much of a stink, they wouldn't give me anything.

I made several contacts with their support department to try and find out the exact date that their bonus policies changed. I was told on Monday, Feb 23 that "as far as the casino is concerned, there has been no change in our bonus policy." On Feb. 24, I was told the policies were changed yesterday. Since I made my deposit on Feb. 20, these policies were not in effect. But once I gave them my username, all of a sudden the bonus policy was changed to "sometime last week".

I wasn't sure who I could contact to get help with this issue. I kept going back to Connect To Casino's website to see if their bonus policies went back to what they were. The last time I did this, there was a link to a statement from the CEO about their purchase of Hampton Casino to settle the 1.3 million dollar dispute with "Pirate". They provided a link to the MSN news story. That is where I found out about casinomeister.com and decided to "Pitch A Bitch" with Bryan. I believe he is still working on this matter. I decided to give the casino one more chance and sent them another email about my issue. I explained that if I did not hear back from anyone, I would be going to CasinoMeister to help me out. I thanked them for the CEO's statement and the link to the MSN news story for helping me find a place to go for help. I never heard back from anyone and the next day, the CEO's statement and link to MSN were gone!

Sorry this is so long....but I am posting this hoping that someone else may have made a deposit on the same day that I did, redeemed the 700% bonus and was not held to a withdrawal of 2X the amount. Or if anyone may have a printout of their bonus policy page between Feb. 20 and Feb. 22, 2004. Please let me know if you did. Maybe it can help Bryan with my issue.

 

[jpm]

Have you checked any of the web archive sites to see if there's a copy there? Here's one I found on archive.org

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[Jblack]

Wol

Read some of the posts on this thread

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I believe it is said to of been changed on the 24th. Someone sent him a screen shot of the bonus terms prior to the 24th.

They have planned steps to delay your withdrawal. I had my own personal issues with them. Resolved thanks to Bryan and help from Cipher.

 

[jetset]

They had a PR guy over there called John Spears. Abrasive at times but he seemed to be able to resolve some problems to prove his point that these guys were above aboard.

My personal view is that these people have not thus far behaved with sufficient integrity to be trusted - this is just one more example of their questionable approach to issues.

 

[butlebre]

Thanks everyone....especially Jblack. John Spears pretty much admitted that their website was not updated on February 20 in the WOL forum. I've sent him an email requesting that the $4560 additional funds be returned to me.

 

[connectocasino]

Done

Butlebre,

I thought all issues with that 2/20 confusion were resolved with that thread on WOL. **SIGH** You should have contacted me sooner and I would have gotten this handled ASAP. I apologize.

I've forwarded this case to accounting. Your payout should be requested by the end of the day.

 

[butlebre]

Thanks John, I appreciate it. I didn't know about these online forums until recently. Now if you could just get them to reopen my account....

 

[Clayman]

I thought all issues with that 2/20 confusion were resolved with that thread on WOL. **SIGH** You should have contacted me sooner and I would have gotten this handled ASAP.

After all the grief you went thru on the WOL thread, I idly wondered, what prevented you from being pro-active to ensure all your players were not included in this mess? I'm probably like Candide living "in the best of all possible worlds" but why couldn't you have run a few database queries and extracted the records of depositors during this period, who still hasn't cashed-out, what bonuses they got, etc etc? And acted on that list?

I would think the impetus, if you were sincere, should have been on you to contact players that may have been caught in this rather questionable issue of what minute which clauses of the T&C changed. Are you saying you, your staff, whomever, are just too incompetent to identify these players until they publicly complain? Heck, you don't even know when your own terms change so you rely on players to prove it to you.

Butlebre - I'd expect your account to remain closed just as Noob's was in the WOL thread. After all, you won a little money on a bonus and they definitely don't like that. After they ban you, it takes 30 more days to get paid. Oh yeah - can't wait to play here.

 

[jpm]

I would think the impetus, if you were sincere, should have been on you to contact players that may have been caught in this rather questionable issue of what minute which clauses of the T&C changed. Are you saying you, your staff, whomever, are just too incompetent to identify these players until they publicly complain?

Sounds to me like its a case of only the squeaky wheels getting the grease. Otherwise its out of sight, out of mind.

 

[cipher]

Thanks John, I appreciate it. I didn't know about these online forums until recently. Now if you could just get them to reopen my account....

Butlebre, Why in the world would you even think about playing at Connect to Casino again? Havn't you learned anything from your past dealings with these people? What good is it going to do you knowing about these online forums if your not going to use the information gleaned from them? I can just see John Spears licking his lips on this one.

 

[butlebre]

Cipher,
I finally found a casino that I have actually withdrawn more money than I deposited, so you can't blame me for at least trying to get my account reopened. I don't believe for a second that they would actually do it anyway. I don't think being lucky is a valid reason for a casino to close accounts anyway. Do land casinos ban lucky players? No, they give them free rooms, show tickets, free food, etc. to get these players back in and hopefully lose the money. Just about every casino's terms and conditions state that they can close an account for ANY reason. Pretty scary.

In John's defense, he has recognized the casino's error and has made good on his word to take care of it. Doesn't that count for something? I have already received confirmation from CTC that my withdrawal is in process. I've had 4 other withdrawals prior to my account being closed and never had a problem. Clayman makes a great point to go through all of their accounts that redeemed this coupon back in February. I hope John takes this advice to avoid seeing any more posts on these forums about the 2/20 problem.

butlebre

 

[butlebre]

John,

The email confirmations that I received yesterday regarding my withdrawal said they would be processed in 2-7 business days. My account was closed on 02/23, over 60 days now and your terms and conditions state that if an account is closed, all winnings will be sent within 30 days. Can my withdrawal be expedited in this case?

Clayman,
When CTC closed my account, they did process my withdrawal within 5 days, even though it was the incorrect amount.

 

[connectocasino]

Can my withdrawal be expedited in this case?

It's done! You should have $ 4560 in your Neteller. To Cipher & co., this gentleman described our modus operandi very well. All clients get their money within 5 business days. Most withdrawals are processed the same day they're requested. We don't just ban people if they 'win on bonuses' Butlerbre here won 5 figures and deposited less than $ 2000. He is very very sharp and we wish him the best of luck.

 

[jpm]

So please clarify this statement, because it sounds to me like you're saying he was banned because he played well and won too much.

If that's the case then I'd say Butlerbre is better off without you.

We don't just ban people if they 'win on bonuses' Butlerbre here won 5 figures and deposited less than $ 2000. He is very very sharp and we wish him the best of luck.

 

[connectocasino]

So please clarify this statement, because it sounds to me like you're saying he was banned because he played well and won too much

Yes, that is why we banned him. I was responding to this statement.

After all, you won a little money on a bonus and they definitely don't like that.

Bit inaccurate that statement.....

 

[cipher]

It's done! You should have $ 4560 in your Neteller. To Cipher & co., this gentleman described our modus operandi very well. All clients get their money within 5 business days. Most withdrawals are processed the same day they're requested. We don't just ban people if they 'win on bonuses' Butlerbre here won 5 figures and deposited less than $ 2000. He is very very sharp and we wish him the best of luck.

To point a phrase, "open mouth insert foot" Mr. Spears

The following are a couple of quotes directly from emails sent to me when I tried to assist a player in getting paid $5,276.00 that a he had won back on the 4th of February playing slots at Connect to Casino.

The only thing this player did was request a legitimate pay-out. But instead of paying the player they immediately went in to ROBOT mode. Saying that his play was suspect and they were investigating his play (or words to that effect).

I am finished discussing Ben. He will be paid within the stipulated period as is everybody else at Connect To Casino. If you have another case then present it and I will take care of that too.
--
Regards

John Spears
Public Relations
Telephone : 1-800-270-8504

**********************************************************

This is much better. Now that you present actual cases I can give you actual responses and we can help the players. His account has been banned. As per the rules on our website :

"We reserve the right to ban/close your account at any time at our sole discretion.
In the event that your account is banned and you have not violated any of the rules stated at this website then these are the steps accounting will follow to complete our business with you (in chronological order) :
1> All bonuses will be revoked
2> All deposits will be returned within 72 hours of banning
3> All winnings will be sent to you (via your method of choice) within 30 days of banning
He will be receiving his money within 30 days of banning (by March 28, 2004)

On to the next case please......
--
Regards

John Spears
Public Relations
Telephone : 1-800-270-8504

In short if youre looking to play at any of the casinos in this group. Dont say you were not forewarned.

Cipher

 

[DealerBusts]

ConnectTo don't really care about the player. They play by their own rules and close player accounts on the whim. As for their policy changes, they are clever ways of denying user payouts through so called 'legitimate' reasons. Did i tell you their support is most unhelpful? I thought the manual withdraw process were so that ConnectTo could provide much more personal support regarding cashins........b*ll**ks.

 

[butlebre]

As promised by John Spears, I have succesfully received my withdrawal from Connect To Casino. Thank you for taking care of this, John.

John -
I just have one question that has been bugging me though? Bryan contacted the casino with my case at the beginning of April. Why was the casino's response, "Does the player have a copy of the terms and conditions?". I don't know who he had contacted, but it is pretty clear from the posts at WOL back in March that the casino knew they had errored in posting the bonus policy on the website. I had to actually post my complaints on this forum before anything was resolved.

Cipher -
I think my account was banned from a combination of 2 things:
1. I had a good run of luck and was able to withdraw more money than I had deposited;
2. I never reversed any of my withdrawals before they were processed, and therefore I never lost my
my winnings.

The reason the casino gave me for banning my account was "Wise Action". I think the combination of the 2 things above led to account's demise.

 

[m249a]

To say a player is "very very sharp" is a thinley veiled statement meant to implicate fraud on behalf of the player. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt it. If the player did do something shady then let us know. Otherwise I think it is in very poor taste to make that implaction on a public forum. As far as having the right to ban any player for any reason is your right as a business. However to say that the player won all this money, after depositing less then "$2,000", then saying they are "very very sharp" is just plain absurd. If the company vision/mission statement is to make as much as possible off the backs of people who never win, and ban those who do get lucky and win, then I think the writing on the wall should be clear. IMO this place should be AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS.

 

[schankwart]

ConnecctoCasino as well as Portofino are still owing me a several thousand for almost 2 months now!
They saw that I had won too much and decided to close my accounts, promising me to be paid "within 30 days" though.

By now they have passed their very own deadlines by far and are refusing to answer any of my emails.
I emails and PMed John Spears already a several times but he does apparently not think replying is neccessary either (not to mention any payment...).

WTG!! -Stay tuned......

 

[Clayman]

The reason the casino gave me for banning my account was "Wise Action".

Oh yeah, you have to be really "wise" to win at slots. How stupid they are.

What a joke they admit they are afraid of someone winning a few thousand bucks. And stupid enough to admit that this is not "a little" money to them.

And, apparently Mr. Spears can't actually count to 5 and believes his own lies and has the gall to say, "All clients get their money within 5 business days". John - when you have to turn the page of your monthly calendar 3 times, that's more than 5 days.

This place lives to screw the player any and every way they can and they can't hide it.

Hopefully all players will ban your casino as easily as you ban them.

Go away Connect to Casino - far far away.

 

[jpm]

I'd appreciate it if you did not attribute statements to me that I never made. I believe that statement was made by Clayman earlier in this thread. Your confirmation of why the player was banned does prove the statement correct though. How "sharp" does someone have to be to win on a slot machine? This is one place to go out of your way to stay away from.

Quote:Quote:
Originally Posted by jpm
After all, you won a little money on a bonus and they definitely don't like that.



Bit inaccurate that statement.....
__________________
Regards

John Spears
Public Relations
john@connectocasino.com

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[Clayman]

I'd appreciate it if you did not attribute statements to me that I never made.

That's right jpm - I want full credit - LOL

"After all, you won a little money on a bonus and they definitely don't like that.



Bit inaccurate that statement....."

He's right of course. To him a few thousand is "alot" of money so I amend it to

"After all, you won alot of money on a bonus and they definitely don't like that."

Is that more accurate John?

 

[jpm]

I'll amend it even further for you...

you win ANY money with or without a bonus and they definitiely don't like that!

He's right of course. To him a few thousand is "alot" of money so I amend it to

"After all, you won alot of money on a bonus and they definitely don't like that."

Is that more accurate John?

 

[spybarbie]

The CTC "life support" is too "cute"

Let's share some copies with the folks from the "reps" of a very "unique" casino:

Chat #1:
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'CB'
Lisa: May I have your user name please ?
you: Hello Lisa, this is annoying player "xxxxxx" again ... may I get to know why the casino is unavailable right now? Is the casino moving to another place again or what?
you: Or is it because I "won" too much?
you: Well, my winnings were not too much but maybe too much for the casino?!
Lisa: Let me check
Lisa: but as far as I know the casino is working fine
you: Although I'm far away from meeting the wagering requirements yet.
Lisa: One moment please
Lisa: One moment please...
you: When I want to log in it says "the casino is temporarily not available ... try again later" ... I was just playing and I got cut off ... since that I the casino is "temporarily not available" ... this happened 1 hour ago.
Lisa: well, I already checked the casino and everything is fine
Lisa: I will suggest you to reboot your computer and try again
you: okay, I'll give it a trie

Then I rebooted my computer and nothing changed which took me to chat #2:
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'Jane'
Jane: May I have your user name please ?
you: my user name is "xxxxxx" ... I rebooted my computer just as "Lisa" said and the casino is still "temporarily unvailable" ... what is going on?
Jane: One moment please...
you: I guess the casino is "temporarily unavailable" for me because I "won" too much although I didn't "win" too much and I'm not even close to meet the wagering requirements. But the casino could think that I may "win" too much for the casino?!
you: Well, if $500 (2 times the bonus) is too much for the casino ... pooooh!
Jane: One moment please...
you: waiting ..........
you: ... and waiting ...
you: what do you mean when you say "one moment?"
you: hello???!!! please, be aware that this chat will be copied to my hard disk just to prove how bad your "life support" is!
you: several casino "watch dog" websites will just love to see what is happening right now ... are you aware of this?!
Chat session has ended.

Ooops?!

This took me chat session #3:
Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'CB'
you: hello. this is "xxxxxx" again ... may I talk to somebody who's able to answer my question WHY the casino is "temporarily not available" since about 2 hours? "Lisa" didn't have any response and so did "Jane" ... don't cut me off again ... may I have any reply to that?
CB: please understand tech support is working on getting the casino back up
you: please, be aware that I do copy those "chats" to my hard disk because this casino is listed to be NOT reputable on any serious casino watch dog website!
CB: thank you for your pacients
you: oh, WHY do I get this reply now? I asked before if there is any technical prob and I would have been happy if anybody would have admitted that there is any technical problem!
you: and it is "patience" and NOT pacients" by the way ... this just shows how helpless the "life support" is!
CB: they were un aware
CB: of the situation
you: GOSH, CB ... what is the casino doing to you? I'm German and my English is bad but your English is even worse!
CB: im trying to help everyone who on chat all 39 chats
you: it's not aware and NOT "un aware"
CB: i apologize for the spelling
you: you poor thing!
you: 39 chats ... where did "Jane" go? She just cut me off ... why didn't she just tell there is a technical problem?
you: the spelling is fine ... I understand what you are saying
CB: like i said they were unaware
CB: of the test we are proceesing
you: I told to "Lisa" that the casino is "remporarily unavaible" about 2 hours ago and said that I just have to reboot my computer and the casino will work!
you: So I rebooted my computer and the casino still did not work! Why did Lisa not believe what I said?
CB: i just told you they were unware of the situation
CB: unware
you: Do you think that you can not relate on your customers?
CB: dont understand
you: Well, why don't you HEAR what your customers say? Do you think that your customers are not saying the truth?
CB: im sorry im trying to help you but i cant do anything because im not part of the tech support
CB: as soon as they call i will ask them how long it will be
CB: before the casino is up
CB: Is there anything else I can do for you?
you: I know that you are trying to help but I am also aware that your English is so bad because you do not understand the half of what I am trying to say!
you: No, you can not do anything else for me. Thank you very much ... you are very nice and you try to do your best but your English needs to get much better if you want to keep this job at the casino!

Doesn't that make you all to smile/laugh? Have a great day everyone ... and just in case if I did some wrong spellings ... kiss my a** ... especially the "funny" guys in here