I understand the "it's only $8,000" feeling. Although $8,000 would be big enough for me to pursue (usually --- although maybe not if I felt i was really close already to being 86'd), I wouldn't go to the mat for $200 --- and others might. It depends on your personal circumstances. And there are some who will do it for $5 because "it's the principle of the thing."
That said, the fact that it was $8,000 might have been critical in Station's decision. On a hand where the miskey would have cost $250 or so, the casino might well pay that quickly because keeping customers happy is an important principle and $250 is comparatively small change.
But there is some point (and $8,000 may well exceed that point) where the casino (or that particular supervisor) has a policy that they are not going to pay these things. It might all sound the same in principle, and it is, but running a large business sometimes results in "cut and dried" rules. We don't know if this was the supervisor making the decision. Or if it is a casino policy.
Were I to take this to court (including, perhaps unfairly, Gaming Control Board as part of the court system), I would point out that bartop buttons are extra sticky because drinks get spilled frequently. And when the slot tech "checked" the button, he likely hit it squarely over and over again. That's not the way people play. Players often use multiple fingers to hit the buttons, kind of like touch typing, and often don't hit the buttons squarely. A "glancing blow" on a semi-sticky button could very easily be at fault and the slot tech's testing wouldn't uncover that. Which is part of the reason slot techs are trained to test the machines that way.
It is also possible that this lady didn't hit the button with enough force to cause it to hold. That might not clearly show up on surveillance video. You would probably see her finger hitting the button, but there's no way to tell what force was used. If the video showed she was having trouble with the same button for some time, that would be telling evidence. But since she doesn't think it's worth her time to pursue, we'll never know. But if this were important money to me, I might well want a jury to decide.
Posted by: Bob Dancer <BobDancerVP@hotmail.com>
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