Not the first time this has happened at Louisiana Downs

[jpops757]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

It says plain as day in the article that the Lousiana Downs VP found out about it on Wednesday and then the guy got paid on Thursday, that is pretty quick. There has to be some sort of due-diligence in the situation and this seems more like an overzealous reporter looking to stir the pot in a locale with very little news. Whether LaD paid him the next day or the next week, the fact of the matter is they paid him and they cannot concern themselves with any other effected patrons until they come forward.

NT

Very good company line. Sounds like a reporter reporting the news. If this is a common occurance ,as Travis said, Ifeel that LaD should have a policy in force for such occurance. If they followed there policy it just proves they have no concern for doing the right thing. Just trying to deter the bettor from collecting a winner. It just proves my cynical way of looking at it. Legality and whats right have nothing in common.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by jpops757

If they followed there policy it just proves they have no concern for doing the right thing. Just trying to deter the bettor from collecting a winner.

You keep speaking as if they made no effort to return the money and in fact scoffed at the idea. The thing is, they did return the money. That has to carry some weight and I don't see how it's possible that they tried to deter the bettor from collecting a winner.

NT

[jpops757]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

You keep speaking as if they made no effort to return the money and in fact scoffed at the idea. The thing is, they did return the money. That has to carry some weight and I don't see how it's possible that they tried to deter the bettor from collecting a winner.

NT

Why didnt they imediately pay the wager. They tried to deter the bettor by refusing to pay when the ticket initally, hoping that the bettor would exeept the excuse. Kinda like a insurance policy that refuses to pay until they are backed into a corner. When did they offer to pay? After the ,so called over zealous reporter reporting the facts. Do you think anyone other than this guy with the winning ticket ever got refunded there money? If you do. I have the next Derby winner in my backyard and will sell him to you for 50 bucks.

[whodey17]

Here is a thought--take every losing ticket you have to the teller to check to see if your bet had been transmitted to appropriate track. If your bet wasn't transmitted then maybe you can get your money back.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by jpops757

Why didnt they imediately pay the wager. They tried to deter the bettor by refusing to pay when the ticket initally, hoping that the bettor would exeept the excuse. Kinda like a insurance policy that refuses to pay until they are backed into a corner. When did they offer to pay? After the ,so called over zealous reporter reporting the facts. Do you think anyone other than this guy with the winning ticket ever got refunded there money? If you do. I have the next Derby winner in my backyard and will sell him to you for 50 bucks.

What you are asking for is for every teller regardless of the circumstance to pay a ticket that they receive from a customer who is claiming it's a winner. When said teller put this man's ticket into the machine it gave him/her some sort of error message. He was probably then forwarded to the supervisor of that line, the supervisor probably called the mutuels manager, who eventually had to contact the VP of Operations. It is simply not a one-hour process. If you are expecting La Downs, or any track for that matter, to contact every patron who bought a ticket on a particular race where the money didn't make it into the pool and refund them, then I have something to sell you. A lot of times when these wagering hubs go down, and I know because Sam Houston is one for Scientific Games, it takes hours if not days for the system to get back to normal.

I can't speak for anyone who also bought a ticket because there hasn't been a groundbreaking story about that person in the Shreveport Times. I can't imagine Louisiana Downs, as it seems everyone here is so intent on proving, would legitimately attempt to keep people from getting money when they present their tickets. However, they have to present their tickets first. Now, with this information having been made public they can set up a window for refunds on bets made that particular day during the outage. That would be a good-faith effort at keeping everything fair.

NT

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

What you are asking for is for every teller regardless of the circumstance to pay a ticket that they receive from a customer who is claiming it's a winner. When said teller put this man's ticket into the machine it gave him/her some sort of error message. He was probably then forwarded to the supervisor of that line, the supervisor probably called the mutuels manager, who eventually had to contact the VP of Operations. It is simply not a one-hour process. If you are expecting La Downs, or any track for that matter, to contact every patron who bought a ticket on a particular race where the money didn't make it into the pool and refund them, then I have something to sell you. A lot of times when these wagering hubs go down, and I know because Sam Houston is one for Scientific Games, it takes hours if not days for the system to get back to normal.

I can't speak for anyone who also bought a ticket because there hasn't been a groundbreaking story about that person in the Shreveport Times. I can't imagine Louisiana Downs, as it seems everyone here is so intent on proving, would legitimately attempt to keep people from getting money when they present their tickets. However, they have to present their tickets first. Now, with this information having been made public they can set up a window for refunds on bets made that particular day during the outage. That would be a good-faith effort at keeping everything fair.

NT

If this was the case...

you got a business problem. That is not how to take care of this problem that has surely been discussed before. The track has had to have had irate customers that are wrong about their tickets. And a few that have a legitimate claim. You are a business with customers. Thats all I ever read into the article. Do good business and it does have the time to get to a paper.

So does anybody know where the money goes for winning tickets that are never claimed? Does Louisiana have a rule for where that money goes? Travis? Anyone?

[blackthroatedwind]

I don't understand, the guy went to cash and the clerk said the ticket was a refund, and the guy said " no, I hit " and some of you seem to think the clerk should have said " Oh, OK, here's your money "?

It seems to me that pretty much as soon as the track found out the whole story they paid the guy. Sounds to me as though justice was served and only an overzealous reporter, as was pointed out here, made more of the story than was necessary.

Now, I realize the law as it seems to be written is unfair, and if tracks are accepting any wagers they should be responsible for them, whether or not the money gets transfered into a mutual pool. It's called the risk of doing business. If we bet, and we win, we must get paid. In this case that happened. But, this law needs to both be changed and made more clear.

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

I don't understand, the guy went to cash and the clerk said the ticket was a refund, and the guy said " no, I hit " and some of you seem to think the clerk should have said " Oh, OK, here's your money "?

It seems to me that pretty much as soon as the track found out the whole story they paid the guy. Sounds to me as though justice was served and only an overzealous reporter, as was pointed out here, made more of the story than was necessary.

Now, I realize the law as it seems to be written is unfair, and if tracks are accepting any wagers they should be responsible for them, whether or not the money gets transfered into a mutual pool. It's called the risk of doing business. If we bet, and we win, we must get paid. In this case that happened. But, this law needs to both be changed and made more clear.

Sounds to me like the guy went home with his bet repaid. This guy probably does not have a ton of money and they get it to him a day later. He goes home thinkn he is not going to get his money... Thats the problem. That is a business problem that they have had to have encountered before. It got into the paper. You dont let a legit claim like that go home. Thats bad business imo. In fact you tout the fact you had a winner at the very track w/out giving names... ask the customer if they mind announcing they have had a big winner. Surely Harrah's is accustomed to this strategy. I have a diff. mindset about tracks and other betting services on horse races, too much of a Vegas mentality possibly. But that seems to work awfully well. Sounds like they let a customer go home thinkin he was screwed.

So, winning ticket money not claimed? Where does that go? In Louisiana. What is the rule?

[Travis Stone]

To also insinuate that LAD mischievously or knowingly did not honor this gentlemen ticket is a complete fabrication of the facts and is false.

He was refunded his ticket that day and was paid yesterday by the track as a result of the situation.

This is an ultra-rare situation, please don't misinterpret me for saying this happens everyday or even close to that often.

In the event a communication breakdown does occur, the bettors are notified of the situation via announcements.

[theiman]

Besides the winner being screwed, so was everyone who wagered on any race affected by the breakdown and lost.

Since none of the wagers went through, and it appears from the article there was no announcement made by La. Downs to "Hold All Tickets, WIN OR LOSE"
How does the track not have a responsibility to all of those who bet to refund their money? Uncashed tickets that were tossed or ripped up arent being paid out. Who benefits from that? I would gather there is some communication system to confirm a wager went through from a track to a hub, as their is a wager went through from a bettor to a clerk(in this case the betting ticket). As soon as there was a "breakdown" there should have been an announcement made and perhaps a message on tv screens of the problems.
Those who were at the track and are members of wager programs at the track might be in luck as they might be able to recap a wager made on the races in question.
This is why I always bring my losing tickets home, you never know!!

That day might have been a stoopers delight.