- Joined
- Sep 23, 2011
- Location
- North Texas
About 6 weeks ago I was playing on a "Free Chip" at Grande Vegas. Generally speaking, the service at Grande Vegas is good and although I have only had one decent win there, I was paid in a reasonable time period. That was over a year ago and surely they are up on me now as I'm classified VIP! This is usually not a good thing for those who like to win.
GV frequently has "raffles" for Free Chips worth usually worth $25. Their Terms and Conditions are max withdrawal of 5x the value of the chip and they require 60x WR on all free chips. If you are lucky enough to clear the wager requirement on the bonus, the software immediately subtracts the amount in excess of the maximum withdrawal the instant you place the final wager needed to satisfy the WR. If you find yourself in this situation, USE AUTO-PLAY to complete the WR. In the settings, have it stop when your balance is reduced by a dollar amount sufficient to trigger the STOP.
On to my story. After an especially terrible weekend of lousy luck, I received notification of being a LUCKY RAFFLE WINNER and I was awarded a $25 free chip.
I hit a feature on Sea Captain very early on that took me to about $250. I switched to the "Coat of Arms" slot and hit the 15 free games feature betting probably $150 and that went well and I raised my bet to $2.25. After about the 3rd spin, I hit something I have never hit on Coat of Arms before:
Reel 1: White Knight Reel 2: White Knight Reel 3: White Knight Reel: 4 White Knight (at this point I’m already crying ) And of course Reel 5: White Knight. The final Chime. The bell rings and I’m awarded 8 respins.
So I have to sit there and watch this beautiful perfect and perfectly WORTHLESS spin repeat itself 8 times to the tune of $3400.00. I haven’t had a $3400 spin in at least 2 years if EVER.
Well, I knew full well when I chose to play on the $25 free chip this was a possibility—as there is ALWAYS this possibility when playing in any situation where your maximum win is capped. It’s still painful however—especially when you have been on a losing streak of the duration and magnitude that I have.
So, having already accepted the fact that I would see only $150 at a maximum for this incredible hit went to the cashier after Auto-Playing down the balance to $150 from almost $4000. I thought I would be able to withdraw it to the horrible MyPaylinq but they had vanished from this site like the others.
Upon calling support, I was informed that I could either accept withdraw from Western Union for a $65 fee deducted from my $150 for an $85 net win which in hindsight is what I should have done.
My other option was to try to play the $150 back up to $180 so they could cut me a check and send it by courier. It had to be $180, no more and no less. This is because there is a minimum withdrawal of $150 by check with a $30 fee.
I protested long and hard and in vain. Why couldn’t they just send me the DAMN CHECK for $150? To continually come on to your players as VIPs only to treat them like this over a few lousy dollars is beyond any good business judgment that I can fathom.
No, I was basically given no other alternative but to try to get the $150 back up to $180 so they could cut met the lousy $150 check. By the way, the casino refers to this as a “one time courtesy.”
Of course, I never had a prayer. I couldn’t hit two 10s on any pay line. I hit a couple of features that paid absolutely nothing. In spite of my most concerted and conservative efforts, my $150 became NOTHING!
I called support back and I was speaking to Alex each time. He was very nice and apologetic but of course he wasn’t the decision maker. I asked them to pay me my $150 many times but I was refused. No exceptions. Finally I asked them if they were unwilling to pay me the money would they at least give me a FREE CHIP worth $150 which would give me a shot (however minuscule) to actually win something worthwhile and this request was also refused. After my insistence and persistence I demanded to speak to the manager making the decisions.
Her name was Priscilla I believe. She was completely unempathetic to the situation in her tone and demeanor. She kept telling me they have a 5x cash out rule on all free chips which I probably knew before she ever did. This conversation---I had already accepted would not result in anything but more frustration and disappointment that lovely $25 FREE CHIP had already caused me. All I was asking for was a FREE CHIP for another shot and finally, finally I pried a $100 free chip which she begrudgingly added to my account and I promptly lost a few days later when I felt foolish enough to subject myself to the same potential frustration.
It appears I’ve written a short story here and I knew if I were to share this experience on CM it would become a novel. But it is done and now I am glad I took the time and the effort to share my very negative experience here on Casino Meister.
The moral to the story is: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE CHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GV frequently has "raffles" for Free Chips worth usually worth $25. Their Terms and Conditions are max withdrawal of 5x the value of the chip and they require 60x WR on all free chips. If you are lucky enough to clear the wager requirement on the bonus, the software immediately subtracts the amount in excess of the maximum withdrawal the instant you place the final wager needed to satisfy the WR. If you find yourself in this situation, USE AUTO-PLAY to complete the WR. In the settings, have it stop when your balance is reduced by a dollar amount sufficient to trigger the STOP.
On to my story. After an especially terrible weekend of lousy luck, I received notification of being a LUCKY RAFFLE WINNER and I was awarded a $25 free chip.
I hit a feature on Sea Captain very early on that took me to about $250. I switched to the "Coat of Arms" slot and hit the 15 free games feature betting probably $150 and that went well and I raised my bet to $2.25. After about the 3rd spin, I hit something I have never hit on Coat of Arms before:
Reel 1: White Knight Reel 2: White Knight Reel 3: White Knight Reel: 4 White Knight (at this point I’m already crying ) And of course Reel 5: White Knight. The final Chime. The bell rings and I’m awarded 8 respins.
So I have to sit there and watch this beautiful perfect and perfectly WORTHLESS spin repeat itself 8 times to the tune of $3400.00. I haven’t had a $3400 spin in at least 2 years if EVER.
Well, I knew full well when I chose to play on the $25 free chip this was a possibility—as there is ALWAYS this possibility when playing in any situation where your maximum win is capped. It’s still painful however—especially when you have been on a losing streak of the duration and magnitude that I have.
So, having already accepted the fact that I would see only $150 at a maximum for this incredible hit went to the cashier after Auto-Playing down the balance to $150 from almost $4000. I thought I would be able to withdraw it to the horrible MyPaylinq but they had vanished from this site like the others.
Upon calling support, I was informed that I could either accept withdraw from Western Union for a $65 fee deducted from my $150 for an $85 net win which in hindsight is what I should have done.
My other option was to try to play the $150 back up to $180 so they could cut me a check and send it by courier. It had to be $180, no more and no less. This is because there is a minimum withdrawal of $150 by check with a $30 fee.
I protested long and hard and in vain. Why couldn’t they just send me the DAMN CHECK for $150? To continually come on to your players as VIPs only to treat them like this over a few lousy dollars is beyond any good business judgment that I can fathom.
No, I was basically given no other alternative but to try to get the $150 back up to $180 so they could cut met the lousy $150 check. By the way, the casino refers to this as a “one time courtesy.”
Of course, I never had a prayer. I couldn’t hit two 10s on any pay line. I hit a couple of features that paid absolutely nothing. In spite of my most concerted and conservative efforts, my $150 became NOTHING!
I called support back and I was speaking to Alex each time. He was very nice and apologetic but of course he wasn’t the decision maker. I asked them to pay me my $150 many times but I was refused. No exceptions. Finally I asked them if they were unwilling to pay me the money would they at least give me a FREE CHIP worth $150 which would give me a shot (however minuscule) to actually win something worthwhile and this request was also refused. After my insistence and persistence I demanded to speak to the manager making the decisions.
Her name was Priscilla I believe. She was completely unempathetic to the situation in her tone and demeanor. She kept telling me they have a 5x cash out rule on all free chips which I probably knew before she ever did. This conversation---I had already accepted would not result in anything but more frustration and disappointment that lovely $25 FREE CHIP had already caused me. All I was asking for was a FREE CHIP for another shot and finally, finally I pried a $100 free chip which she begrudgingly added to my account and I promptly lost a few days later when I felt foolish enough to subject myself to the same potential frustration.
It appears I’ve written a short story here and I knew if I were to share this experience on CM it would become a novel. But it is done and now I am glad I took the time and the effort to share my very negative experience here on Casino Meister.
The moral to the story is: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE CHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!