Casino Workers Describe The Worst Losses They've Ever Witnessed

Employees who work in casinos witness patrons in high stakes situations, with gamblers who hit the jackpot or hit rock bottom.

All the stimulation from the excitement and mayhem is amplified when alcohol is thrown in the mix.

Curious to hear examples of patrons at their worst under these circumstances, Redditor Party_Asparagus8257 asked:

"Casino Workers Of Reddit, what’s the worst loss or worst case of gambling addiction you’ve seen?"

Because Priorities

"I dealt in 2 casinos in Australia for a total of around 5 years. So many stories but the worst one would have to be the guy at 5am on Christmas morning who mentioned to the guy next to him that he had to be home by 7am so he could be there when his kids woke up and opened their presents, but was still at the table at 9am."

– TimedDelivery

"Not a worker, but in Las Vegas, we were watching a cover band in a casino. In the audience was a bride in a full bridal gown alone at a table. The band leader asked her if they could play a song for them; she said yes, but he's playing slots right now. An hour later, the guy still hadn't returned."

– Emotional-Hair-1607

"We had a hurricane (cat 3) hit here in 2005 and we had to get police to escort people out of the gaming floor because they wouldn’t leave even though we had a mandatory evacuation."

– Caspur42

The "Moral Dilemma" Job

"Ex-Aussie dealer here as well. Had a semi regular play on my table and it was pretty much 1 on 1 the entire night. They had been losing but not an astronomical amount, maybe around 5k loss. I hadn't seen them for about a year but didn't think much of it because of rotating shifts, games and areas etc."

"Got to the point in the night where the pit was closing (so around 3AM) and they were pleading my Supervisor to keep the table open so they could win back some of their money. The Supervisor was having none of it with a too bad so sad kind of attitude, wasn't the best customer service but it was the end of the night and we had other $50 tables open they could go to."

"They then asked if they could get a complimentary room to stay as they were one of the higher-tier members and they had dropped a bit of money. I think they assumed they had played enough to have gotten enough membership points to cover a room. Turns out they didn't and couldn't get a room for the night."

"They then broke down when they realized they didn't have enough money to get a cab home. They then proceeded to tell me how they had excluded themselves from the casino, which explained why I hadn't seen them for a while, as well as how they had spent so much time and money going to counseling, and now they were back at the casino and was so disappointed in themselves."

"They then told me their legitimate fears about their just-turned-18-year-old daughter potentially picking up a gambling problem as well because, unfortunately, the casino was a night-out destination at the time, so the exposure was there. They were saying all of this while crying with their head down."

"The whole thing was devastating to watch, and I asked if they wanted to request gambling help. I also told my Pit Manager that they needed help. He just looked at them, locked up my float, and walked away. They didn't request any gambling help, and unfortunately, you couldn't exclude someone from the casino at the time unless they voluntarily requested it."

"Despite the clear admission of having gambling problems, the conditions where a casino would step in to support someone was limited to them voluntarily requesting help. I was hoping so much that they would say the words to request help, but they didn't. They got up and walked away with their head down, and I think it was the last time I ever saw them."

"They seemed like a legitimately nice person, especially compared to other regulars. This was probably a decade ago, and I still think about how they're doing every so often."

"Fortunately I moved on from the casino and am no longer in that industry. Even before this incident, I was already one foot out the door. It's a horrible place to work in though the pay was comparatively good and gave me financial freedoms that I likely wouldn't have gotten elsewhere. It was always a bit of a moral dilemma for me."

– rmayo2288

Gambling In The Face Of Danger

"My MIL was at a casino in Vegas when there was some kind of altercation that involved a gun. The police told everyone to 'get down'. While crouching on the floor people were still reaching up to play the slots."

– catmoret

"I was in a casino and a strip of lights in the ceiling burst into flames. Melted plastic, metal, and ash was raining down on the slot machines and the people playing where simply brushing the burning bits off the screens and themselves. Security had to physically go over and cash them out and forcibly remove them from the area."

"The casino didn't even try to evacuate anybody though, they just cut the power to that bank of lights. Eventually the fire department showed up, got up on ladders and knocked a few holes in the ceiling to check to make sure the fire hadn't spread above the light fixtures. Then they left. As soon as they gave the all clear, people were back on those machines immediately."

"It was surreal."

– Maxamillion-X72

Medical Emergencies Aren't Obstacles

"Late wife's great aunt loved to play the boats at Natchez, MS. She was having a heart attack and kept trying to play her slot machine."

"It comes time for discharge from the hospital and everyone is gathered at her house welcoming her home. But she was Natchez bound."

– No-Term-1979

"Reminds me of a story one of the security guys at the NE Patriots' stadium told me. A guy's wife was having a heart attack and the EMTs had her on a gurney and were with her husband heading down towards the exit near where the ambulance was parked."

"As they got close to the gate the husband said to her, 'They're bringing you to Norwood hospital so I should be able to meet you there about 30 minutes after the game ends' and turned and went back to his seat to watch the rest of the game."

"The security guy said that them and the EMTs dropped their jaws, but the wife didn't seem surprised in the slightest."

– tacknosaddle

The Addiction Is Real

"Had a lady in a nurse's uniform walk out the front of the casino. Stop by where I was standing and just blurt out. 'I just lost my rent and grocery money.' The only thing I could say was, 'Oh no!' She then looked at me and asked if I had any money she could borrow. I told her sorry, but no."

– nofuqqstogive

"I worked for a slot machine company, and a woman called saying our machine bugged or and took all her money, about $3K. She said she pressed the button once, and it kept playing for her, and in 5 minutes, all her money was gone. of course, the machine has logs, and we had cameras."

"We had to show her a video of her playing for almost two hours, pressing the buttons each time. she still told us that she did it once, and it took 5 minutes, and she demanded her money back. otherwise she wasn't going to be able to pay her rent and feed her kids."

"she called the police, where i live the state police manage gambling. they came and they told us she had no children and then tried to use a stun gun in her purse on our technician. it didn't go well for her after that."

– Jaggs0

Gotta Spend Big

"Worked surveillance at a casino for a bit. Every time someone hit a jackpot at a slot machine we'd pull up their account. They were always, 100% of the time, down on their lifetime earnings. This included people that hit for $50K+"

"Worst one I saw was -$375k for the year. In July."

– ftgyhujikolp

"A girl at work every so often sends screenshots of what she won in online slots. Everyone in chat praises her but I can’t help but think 'but what have you lost to get that but payday every once in a while.' I KNOW she plays during downtime at work, almost obsessively"

– Intelligent-Newt3399

Now That's Dedication

"My nephew is a dealer at a casino. Going to the bathroom in their pants is fairly common in inveterate gamblers, as is not showering."

– missblissful70

While the highs are high at casinos, the lows are depressingly very low.

And while the latter seems to be the frequent case, would that still deter you from playing it safe and steering clear of the slots?