Another found money story

John,

I was at the Hard Rock Tampa when a situation came up where I flashed back on all of those question about found money a few months ago.

I was down maybe $200 playing .25 video poker. I play Double Double Bonus and even though I was only one card from a royal twice, I just couldn't get a big hit. So, I was on my way out when I decided to play one more round on one of the $2 machines because they have a much better pay table. I only play 1 coin per spin.

The high-stakes area was pretty quiet and I was the only person playing VP. I sat down, put in my players card and I was about to put in $100 when I noticed that the machine had 250 credits. I didn't notice the credits before I sat down. I don't think they show on these new video machines until you enter your card or money. They sort of sleep.

Later, I figured that someone was down to their last 5 credits when they hit quads and walked away without noticing that they had hit. Four 7s through Ks pay exactly 250 credits.

I should have called security, but I hit max credits and played 5 credits per spin for a while. I cashed out at 300 credits for $600 and never looked back.

Thank you, Father, now I'll say five hail Marys and pray for forgiveness.

Bill

Dear Bill,

I think the statement in your next-to-last paragraph is correct: You should have called security. There's a chance this person may realize he or she left money in the machine and try to get it back.

I don't have a rule for when I when switch from "finders keepers, losers weepers" to alerting security, but as I imagine myself in your situation, I think once the amount gets to $100 or more we should let casino personnel know that someone left a significant amount of money in a machine.

Here's an idea: You earned the extra $100, so you can keep it. But how about donating the $500 you found to charity?

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@comcast.net. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question.