I was outraged to see recently that the UBT picked the Barona casino Valley Ranch and Casino in Barona, California as the shooting location for the show. I will give you a small synopsis about my situation. Barona Valley Ranch sent me a invitation to a invite only Blackjack Tournament in Feburary '07. They made me put $110,000 into a house account $100,000 for holding and $10,000 for entry fees. I made the final table and a money position. Before the final table started they kicked me out of the game and said I never even qualified to enter the tournament because I didn't play long enough in the casino. After some heated conversation they threatened to make me disappear and there was nothing I could do to stop them because it was Native American territory. They gave me back my $100,000 after a few months of threats of legal action and phone calls. But refused to refund any of my $10,000 entry fee. Now they refuse to respond to an lawyers or fax/phone/emails. On top of that the casino itself is untouchable because he's on Native Territory. I am still fighting a legal battle with the managing staff of the Casino with help from the California Gaming Commission and San Diego and my local District Attorneys office. My suggestion would be to avoid this Casino at all cost!
I do know which I hate the most: on-line casinos or Indian casinos, they both do whatever they want and basically you have no recourse if you get screwed as there is no one governing them but themselves.
That's pretty scary stuff. It would be nice to hear from a rep from the UBT to assure that any of us that get comped into either of the November UBT events at Barona are not at risk of this happening to us.
Let's not jump to conclusions here. I'm not saying that the first post was merely vindictive & without basis, but it was memmin2177's first one here at BJT.com and we all know there's a number of folks out there who hate UBT and want to see it fail. Some confirmation from another source would be a very good thing.
Come on guys! Get real. Any casino anywhere can elect to bar any player it deems not to meet it's play criteria. No exception.:joker: :joker: :joker:
In Mississippi they cannot 86 (prevent you from finishing) you after you have started play in a tournament and if they prevent you from playing before the start of the tourney they have to refund your entry fee. Just ask Ken he knows from personal experience.
First off, it seems to me that memmin2177 must have been notified before he deposited his money that a certain amount of play was required at the live tables in order to qualify for the tournament. Unless we are talking about Bill Gates :laugh: (where $100,000 is pocket change), I can't see anyone depositing $110,000 in a casino account without getting full details. That being said, the casino was wrong for giving him such a hard time as far as returning the $100,000. However, the $10,000 could be a different story. We don't know all the facts, particularly the casino rules for qualifying for the tournament. For example, is there a provision in the rules that say if you don't give XXX action then the $10,000 is forfeited? I don't have an answer for any of this. More information is needed. Now a different subject: I believe Indian Casinos are still subject to certain state laws although I believe the regulations are less stringent than for other casinos. I personally know of an Indian Casino that was forced to remove all table games, except blackjack, because of cheating. I would like to hear from someone who is familiar with Indian Casino regulations so that we can all see the difference between them and other state regulated casinos. Anyone know for sure???
Indian Casinos are governed by the National Indian Gaming Commission, they do not answer to a state gaming commission. The Commission’s primary mission is to regulate gaming activities on Indian lands for the purpose of shielding Indian tribes from organized crime and other corrupting influences; to ensure that Indian tribes are the primary beneficiaries of gaming revenue; and to assure that gaming is conducted fairly and honestly by both operators and players. To achieve these goals, the Commission is authorized to conduct investigations; undertake enforcement actions, including the issuance of violation, assessment of civil fines, and/or issuance of closure orders; conduct background investigations; conduct audits; and review and approve Tribal gaming ordinances.
Thanks for the info, pokernut. So it would seem that memmin2177 going through the California Gaming Commission, as he said he is doing, would be a waste of time if they (California Gaming Commission) have no jurisdiction. Well, like I said before, we need more details of what exactly took place.
He also mentions the District Attorneys office, they have no jurisdiction since this would be a civil matter not criminal and any civil action would have to to done in an Indian Tribal court since the action took place on Tribal grounds (any Indian Tribe property is considered tribal grounds) , guess how fair a trial you could get there. But I still do know which I hate the most: on-line casinos or Indian casinos, they both do whatever they want and basically you have no recourse if you get screwed as there is basically no one governing them but themselves. And I have personally seen both do some very questionable things.
Thank you for all the replies. I can provide further proof this story is 100% legit. That being said I have nothing against the UBT or Blackjack. It's not the tournament that I want to fail it's the casino I have a problem with. I will try and answer all questions as in the order of the posts were made. You can contact the Borona Customer Service and get a fast response, but if you want a answer that requires management they don't return phone calls. Pat Houston the director from the Borona Gaming Commission still does not return my calls. What would you like to see? I am willing to post certain documents proving my claim. Or I can post the number to my attorney's office who can validate my case. There was no requirement of game play when Barona started recruiting me in January. They received my credentials from my game play in Atlantic City. It started with phone calls and mailing information. This was an invitation only event so they must have knew what kind of money I had in my prior house accounts. I had full details of course which is why I agreed to play. They made it an all expense paid trip from New York to California. Back to the rules there was no provision in writing or spoken. I told them that "I never played in any California casinos, that the farthest I have been was Las Vegas". They said it was "no problem as long as I put up the $100,000 in to a house account to cover me for the weekend". I still have the rule book that was given to me at the start of the tournament no were does it state that if anyone is removed from the game they are subject to losing there entry fee. My problem with there "not playing enough hands in the casino" excuse was that I was playing $500 a hand blackjack all night when I first arrived and part of the morning before the tournament started. This is true the reason the California State Gaming Commission and District Attorney is involved is because Barona is managed by a private management firm by the name of VCAT. We exchanged faxes back and forth about what I felt would work for compensation for the treatment I received. I requested a full refund for my entry fee, the cost to get a taxi and drive me to the airport with the airfare, and finally the money that was mine from making the money seat at the final table. After they seen the total they said they found no substance in my claim and that the floor manager told a different story. Lee Skelley was the floor manager who was threatened to make me disappear and of course it was his deposition that led to my request being denied. As I said I will provide any information, account of the story, or contact information needed to prove my story.
Deposit $100,000 in a Casino I would never ever deposit $100,000 into an into an indian or Vegas Casino account. That goes the same for "only" $10,000. They are not banks under banking laws. From the stories I've seen on posts they make it very hard to get your money out. I've seen one post that makes it very hard to cash a $5000 chip that you've won or someone has given you as repayment of a loan.
