Caesars Wrongfully Keeps Casino Players’ Change, Class Action Alleges
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Caesars Entertainment is among the latest casino operators to face a proposed class action that alleges slot machine players have been wrongfully deprived of their change upon cashing out.
The eight-page lawsuit says the casino giant has essentially been “robbing” customers a few cents at a time, on millions of transactions, by rounding down to the nearest dollar the money cashed out to voucher-toting players at automatic kiosks.
These kiosks, at which a player can insert a gaming voucher that represents the dollar amount they’re owed by the casino upon cashing out, simply keep the change, the filing says, and players are not put on reasonable notice that they’ll effectively be taxed by Caesars, the suit claims.
“The players are supposed to be ensured their winnings because the Casinos are highly regulated and follow strict rules in order to preserve the public trust and their right to operate,” the complaint reads. “The Casinos have broken those widely understood and apparent rules, have violated the public trust, and are liable to the Plaintiffs.”
Players who decide to stop playing a slot machine while they still have credits can convert their credits back into U.S. dollars, the case explains. When a player wishes to cash out, a slot machine will automatically generate a gaming voucher that represents their remaining credits, i.e., the amount they are owed back by the casino, the lawsuit says.
Although at one time the kiosks at which players can cash in their gaming vouchers paid out exact change, Caesars in recent years has essentially kept that change, rounding the amounts owed to players down to the nearest dollar and paying that amount in cash, according to the suit. From there, the kiosk will produce a redemption ticket that, among other details, notes the amount requested, the amount dispensed and an indication that the casino views the transaction as “successful,” the case relays.
“The receipt then glibly recited ‘Transaction Completed Successfully.’ The receipt bore no further direction and left gamers without further option. The Kiosk simply kept the change.”
The lawsuit looks to cover anyone who visited a casino owned or operated by Caesars Entertainment nationwide between September 23, 2012 and the present who were deprived of their change by Caesars.
