If you do not pay your Casino Marker as agreed, you may spend some time in a Las Vegas jail!
What is a Casino Marker?
When a person doesn’t have the funds to continue gambling, the casino will sometimes offer a line of credit for them to use, called a “Casino Marker” or “Gambling Marker”. Casinos offer a line of credit for people to use in gambling when their own funds run out. It can be thought of as a short-term, interest-free line of credit. The marker is issued via a counter check that the gambler uses as cash for gambling in the casino.
Most of the time, when a gambler is given access to the cash from a Casino Marker, they use it right away for gambling. If they win, they are able to repay the Marker right then and all is good with the world. However, if they lose, which is often the case, they are held responsible for paying it out of their own money.
Most people don’t intentionally fail to repay their Marker. They just may find themselves strapped and without the available funds in their account to cover the loan. When the casino tries to collect the marker, it is sent to the customer’s bank account for payment. If it bounces, it becomes the equivalent of a bounced check. The casino marker is regulated under Nevada law (NRS 205.130 and NRS 205.132). As long as the casino follows the prescribed steps in collecting the marker, it becomes an intent to defraud charge when the bank does not issue the finds due to insufficient funds in the bank account. If a person is convicted on the intent to defraud charge, the required minimum sentence is a year in jail. It is considered the same as passing a bad check and has the same consequences.
Contacting An Attorney
If you ran up a casino marker tab on your trip to Las Vegas, don’t think that the casino will just let it go. They are definitely going to pursue it and make you pay. Just because it feels like play money since you didn’t have to earn and bring it with you, don’t think that the casino feels that way. They count it as a hard cash loan. People who neglect to repay the loan will find themselves facing possible criminal charges and the potential for thousands of dollars of fines if the marker isn’t repaid in a timely manner. To prevent further action from the casino that could result in criminal charges being filed against you, contact our office right away. We understand the problems this can cause and we are skilled at negotiating with the casino to negotiate a payment plan that will satisfy the casino and prevent you from going to jail.