I played for about 40 minutes at three tables in two pits (by the sports book and in the rear). I had about $8,600 in chips, somewhat shy of the CTR point. (Casinos are classified as financial institutions and all such institutions must file Cash Transaction Reports for cash movements above $10,000 in a 24-hour period.)

Back to my room at the Bellagio next door to Caesars for a boring photo session. I can never get used to how far away next door is in Vegas. It was about 90 minutes later that I returned to CP to cash in the chips at the main cashier’s window in the old casino. The woman behind the counter said, “I need your ID.” I looked her in the eye, said, “You don’t need that,” and looked away. She repeated and I repeated. She fetched a supervisor. The supervisor said, “We need your ID.” I gave the same response. After a brief discussion, she asked where I bought in and played. I told her in the rear casino, but I didn’t remember the table. She said she needed to see the buy-in slip and we trotted off to the pit. On the way, I made an attempt at pleasant conversation about how much Caesars had changed over the years. She asked what name I used at the table. “None.” Which dealer? “I don’t see him.” So, she just searched through all the buy-in slips looking for one without a name for the amount I had given her. When she found one, she was happy. She took me to the rear cashier’s window and instructed them to cash me in.

Now this exercise was quite silly. She had no idea that the slip she found had anything to do with me. And if it did, so what? My point in the interaction was to avoid confrontation. I looked her in the eyes to provide a sense of honesty. Dishonest people (excluding pathologically dishonest people) don’t look you in the eye. I then averted my eyes to avoid looking antagonistic and to give her time for a rational response instead of escalation. I did not say “no” directly. I avoided speaking in the first person. Instead of “I will not,” I said, “You don’t need,” as if I was just trying to help her do her job. I showed no emotion at all, just a calm, confident business-as-usual attitude.

I really do not know if I handled the situation correctly. But in the end, we both got what we wanted. I got my money without providing an ID; she felt that she had performed her duty; and nobody died.

 © 2009 Norman Wattenberger