After reading through this thread several times now, I feel the need to put in my 2 cents, at the risk of being stoned here by the Casinomeister faithful.
I've been gambling online for about 10 years now, and have easily played at over 100 casinos....I have played at what was/is considered the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I have only been screwed over ONCE in all those years.....and I have to say it was one of the accredited/recommended Microgaming casinos listed here. I wont get into too much detail as it was around 5 years ago, but basically what happened was I made a modest deposit, hit 5 wild symbols on Big Top a few hours later which got my balance close to $10,000.....10 minutes after this big hit everything in the casino froze and I could not get back in. Eventually when I was able to log back in, I was locked out. I contacted support and was basically told my account would not be unlocked until I signed off on my credit card purchases. Of course I happily did this as I was looking forward to cashing out. Well my account was never unlocked and I was never paid.....for absolutely no reason. I had deposited here several times before with no problems....but apparently they had a problem with me winning. I was somewhat new to the forum at the time and just a lurker,so never said anything.
On the other hand, I have always been paid(and paid in a timely fashion) by what are/were considered "rogue" casinos. At one of the super rogues a few years ago I was offered a $100 free chip, played thru and cashed out $100 (the max) and was paid in less than 48 hours (quicker, I might add, than
32Red paid me back when they allowed US). I never deposited a dime at this rogue either.
Back when I played with Virtual, the support there was always A+++, they always engaged in small talk with me, and always congratulated me any time I had a nice win. On the other hand, I have never encountered a more rude support staff than the highly touted InetBet...and this was when they even bothered to reply to my emails.
Now I am in no way endorsing playing at any "rogue" casinos, as I personally no longer play at them myself......and I have the utmost respect for all the hard work Bryan has put into this site......BUT it is important to note that we all have different experiences online, and just becasue someone chooses to "venture to the darkside".....well that is their right. Of course they shouldn't expect help if they run into issues.
Maybe I was one of the unlucky few who got screwed out of 8k by one of the super groups.....who knows? im sure there are many out there with stories to tell who just dont want to step forward.
But hey, this is gambling, right?