Ask the Slot Expert: 86ed at supermarket?

I recently did something at the supermarket that has gotten players into trouble at casinos when they did something similar. I wondered whether I was going to suffer any consequences.

My cousin drove me to my colonoscopy. The Albertsons I shop at was on the way home. She asked if it was okay to stop. Even though she doesn't shop at Albertsons, this store is on the way and I know where everything is. Stopping now would save her from having to make a separate trip to a store where she usually shops.

I thought that that made sense and I agreed to the stop, even though I was still a little dopey from the anesthesia.

I remember that my cousin picked up a couple of bags of potato chips that were on sale from an end cap across from the store entrance. And I remember showing her where the dairy section was so she could get a can of Reddi-Wip. And I remember that she picked up a few other things as long as she was there, but I don't remember what they were.

I use the self-checkout unless I have many items. My cousin doesn't trust the self-checkout so we went to a cashier. As the cashier was ringing her up, I decided to enter my phone number into the keypad. I didn't think that my cousin had bought anything that would end up being discounted because of my frequent shopper account, but it was worth a try.

As I understand it, there are three different discount programs at Albertsons. One is the weekly flyer. These discounts are available to anyone who shops there. These items usually have big yellow signs on the shelves. I think these discounts are labeled "Sales Savings" on the receipt.

Next are two programs that require a Just 4 U (Albertsons 4 U) frequent shopper account. One program is for everyone with an account. These items have white shelf tags showing the discount and a QR code to display the online coupon, which you have to clip in order to get the discounted price. I think these savings are labeled "forU Store Coupon" on the receipt.

Finally, there are the Just 4 U discount offers that are, well, just for you. I read that Albertsons looks at your purchases and gives you discounts on things that you buy frequently to keep you coming back. These deals aren't displayed anywhere but in the app. I think these savings are labeled "forU Personalized" on the receipt.

The display on the cash registers used to show your discounts as each item was scanned, but now some -- forU discounts, I think -- aren't shown until you're finished scanning. I didn't think my cousin had any items that had forU discounts, so I was quite surprised when two lines of forU discounts popped up on the screen. I didn't think that my cousin had bought any items for which I had clipped a forU coupon.

After the cashier handed the receipt to my cousin, I asked her to let me look at it. I wanted to see what items had the forU discounts.

The cashier started to explain something, but I interpreted that as her thinking that I was questioning something she did. (Remember, I'm still a little dopey.) I interrupted and said, "I entered my number and I just wanted to see what got forU discounts. I don't think I had any coupons for what she bought."

Then the cashier said that the chips didn't ring up properly so she had to apply a discount manually. That accounted for the two forU discount lines that appeared.

What did I do that was similar to what some players have gotten into trouble with a casino for doing?

I let someone shop (play) on my account.

The cashier never would have known it was my rewards account number and not my cousin's if I hadn't told her.

Was I going to be met by Albertsons security the next time I went to the store and be told that they would prefer that I shop somewhere else?

Probably not. Not over $30 worth of groceries. Plus, I doubt my Albertsons has facial recognition software monitoring its entrance.

I couldn't help thinking about the people who have told me that they were hassled by a casino because they let someone use their players card and how a similar action had no consequences whatsoever, and how the same action can sometimes also have no consequences and sometimes have serious consequences depending on the casino.

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