More on found money on slot machines

Today I found a ticket left in a slot machine. Nobody was on this machine, so I took it.

Can the casino make me give back the money and can the casino throw me out of the casino because I took that ticket?

There was a sign on the machine that the money is lost if you do not take it.

If I take the ticket, is this wrong? If I don't take it, another person will take it.

So, what is right? Do I have to give this ticket to the casino?

Is it wrong to take the ticket? Yes. It's never right to take someone else's property, whether it's a quarter or a quarter-million-dollar Rolls Royce.

The right thing to do was to give the ticket to the cage or a slot floor person.

But let's be real here, too. I hate to put a price on morality, but I will. If the ticket is worth, say, $10 or less, it's unlikely the loser is going to do much weeping and the finder can keep it. I've even seen players get frustrated with a machine and intentionally leave a few bucks behind.

I've never found any significant sums left on a machine, but I have helped myself to a few bucks now and then when the player who left them behind was nowhere to be found.

The casino can make you give back the money. It doesn't belong to you. "Finders keepers, losers weepers" is not a defense.

Throwing you out of the casino is another matter. Unless you make a habit of scouting the machines looking for money left behind, you shouldn't be barred. One mistake does not warrant being thrown out.

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.