Civilians ‘Holding’ Machines

[justin vaculaParticipant]

In the last two weeks, I’ve seen a lot of what I’d call gimmicks that civilians are doing to try to hold machines. People will leave a player’s card sitting on top of the buttons along with a drink, turn the chair around and push it up against the machine, or do similar things that make it look like they’re trying to stop anyone else from playing.

If the game isn’t in an advantage state, obviously I can just walk by and not care. But recently I saw a machine that was a marginal play, and there was an opportunity to simply put the chair back where it belonged and start playing. In this case, it was just a propped-up chair, no player’s card, nothing else.

I decided against it because I figured there was some potential for drama that might not be worthwhile. Maybe the person comes back and complains, gets security involved, or creates some other issue. For a marginal play, that didn’t seem worth it.

But it got me thinking: what if it were a really good play?

How would you handle that situation if nobody is actually sitting at the machine? Would you go to a slot attendant and say something like, “Hey, I’d like to play this machine, but there’s nobody here. I see a player’s card here, but no one is here. I see a chair propped up, but no one is here. Is it okay for me to play?” Or is there a better way to handle these situations?

[Ben RosenthalKeymaster]

It’s a good question and one I may have run into just a few days ago. My example was a little hard to tell (the chair was up, but no card or money in the machine), but I’ll give my thoughts.

If I see a chair up and it seems the machine might be occupied—a person ran out of money and is getting more at the ATM, a person is going to the bathroom, etc.—and there is no play showing on the screen, I am moving on. I am not going to try to quickly flip through the bets to look for a play that may not even be there.

Let’s say it’s the same situation and I see a marginal play. I’m likely doing the same. It’s not worth the headache of investing money and having someone frantically running to the machine as I’m mid-spin and potentially stuck a good amount on the play. That’s kind of a worst-case scenario.

But if it’s a really good play? I am going to stick around right next to the machine. If another slot hustler walks by, I am going to make it clear that’s my machine, but I am not going to start hammering away right off the bat. I’ll wait five or 10 minutes; whatever feels right in the moment. Then I’ll sit in the seat, fiddle around on my phone for another couple of minutes, and probably change the bet on the screen. Maybe I’ll slow-spin a few bets on min bet to give off the appearance of a slot novice as best I can. That seems like an appropriate amount of time for anyone to come back. If they come back after I’ve started—which luckily hasn’t happened to me yet—it would depend on how much I’ve invested. I could say, hey, sorry, I’m stuck $200 already (whatever it may be).

Now, it also depends on the casino. In my latest example, I was in Aruba at some random casino where I didn’t even have a players card. It was a 24 on a $4 Magic Treasures (well above average). I moved a little quicker, as I didn’t really care if the casino booted me if everything went sideways (exceedingly rare). Had this been at my hometown casino, where drawing attention is more of a problem, I’d have waited longer.

I don’t think I’d go to a slot attendant in most situations. It might work out in your favor, but they might also tell you the machine is occupied. “It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.” That would be my take in this situation, though there would certainly be some nuance to it.

One other thing: I would cash out the ticket, assuming there are a few cents left in the machine or whatever, if I intended to play. Cash out the ticket and put it clearly on the machine next to yours. You don’t want to be miscategorized as a ticket stealer.

It’s a bit of a hairy situation with whatever you do, but if we’re talking about a monster play on a nice-sized bet, it’s going to be hard not to at least wait it out and decide from there.

[King of HeartsParticipant]

I’ve been in Vegas 30 years this year, and there is some etiquette that I stand by. If I see a chair propped up against a machine, I pass, as that is the (definitely old-school) way of letting passers-by know the machine is occupied while someone goes to the bathroom or gets more money from the cage or ATM. For me, if I know the machine is occupied, I don’t think it’s worth the drama of upsetting another player, especially if you’re in a casino known to be unfriendly to advantage players, to try and take a play from a ploppy.

That said, if a player really wants to be sure that nobody takes the machine, that player should flag down a slot floor (e.g., turn on the service light) and ask that (s)he watch the machine. I haven’t seen a slot floor yet who won’t do this, and it’s proper etiquette to give a small tip on your return. This is what I do all the time, no matter how long I’m going to be gone, because there are plenty of people nowadays who will disregard the propped-chair technique if something is good enough on the screen. If you’re going to take a really long break, like to grab a bite to eat in the middle of a really long playing session (this typically will be video poker rather than slots, like chasing a RF progressive), then you should again flag down a slot floor and ask him or her to lock the machine; most casinos allow this for a specified timeframe, usually 1 or 2 hours. People who aren’t aware that this can be done, however, also tend to rely on the propped-chair technique.

If a play is good enough, and the chair is propped, I will camp at least until the player returns so I can see how much money (s)he is going to feed the machine. If it’s a lot, I’ll move on at that point. If it’s not, I’ll keep camping until the play vanishes or the ploppy gets up without propping the chair (usually because the player has already gotten all the money (s)he is willing to spend that day when the chair was propped before). This way, nobody gets their feelings in a knot, and I don’t draw any unnecessary unwanted attention.

My 2c, fwiw

[Ben RosenthalKeymaster]

That’s a fair game plan too. I also 100% agree with getting a slot attendant if you’re on the “leaving” end for whatever reason.

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