Today I was one of several people starting a new table at the Venetian. As things were getting underway, the cocktail waitress arrived. She asked for identification from one young man before taking his drink order. I thought he looked mid-20s, but you can never be sure. I couldn't quite hear the ensuing conversation, but there was some sort of problem. It concluded with him saying something like, "If you can't bring me a drink, fine, it's no big deal."
Since the drinking age and the gambling age are the same, I thought it was peculiar that they would deny him liquor but allow him to continue playing poker. But it was none of my business, so I didn't say anything. Soon, however, the poker room shift manager came over and asked to see his ID. Again there was some sort of problem, the nature of which I couldn't quite ascertain. But I heard him being instructed to have the situation checked out at the main casino cage. The floor guy said something like, "If they say it's OK, they'll give you a wrist band so you won't have any more problems. But if they say no, we'll have to ask you to cash out your chips and leave."
After several minutes he came back, apologized to the table for leaving so abruptly. The problem was that his driver's license (I thought I saw "Illinois" on it, but I could be mistaken) had expired. The casino personnel apparently had no difficulty believing that the license had been valid, the photo was really him, etc. Furthermore, the birth date shown would confirm him to be of legal age. But I am left to infer--and this is news to me--that when there is sufficient doubt of legal age that they have to check one's ID, an expired license does not constitute valid proof. I do not know if this is just a Venetian house policy or a Nevada gaming regulation, though I'm sure I have plenty of readers who are required to know this stuff and can speak up in the comments.
So, if you're planning a big trip here, and you want it to include drinking and gambling, and you are of an age that you still tend to get carded, then you should add to your pre-trip list of things to check that your license or other state photo ID card is up to date, not expired.
You're welcome.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Today's helpful hint
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7 comments:
Having worked in the restaurant industry I would say that this is normal protocol for someone whose age is actually ambiguous. Sometimes it's policy to card everyone regardless, and I remember a 50+ English gentleman that did not carry his passport/ID when I carded him. I thought it was very strange for a foreigner to have no identification at all, and I KNEW he was over 21, but I still had to get manager approval to serve him alcohol.
Once you've asked for the ID and they don't have any that's valid, it can be brought to a manager's attention. If they decide the customer is obviously over 21, it's fine. If it's even close, no cigar.
What I want to know is how he got on a plane and came to Vegas and this is the first time he noticed it was expired. It's his responsibility.
I was almost turned away from an airplane flight because of an expired driver's license. I was flying to Albuquerque because my father had just died, and it would have been very awkward indeed not to be able to get on that plane.
As it was, the TSA took an extra special interest in me. I was inspected to a fare-thee-well, and my carry-on luggage was gone through with the homeland security equivalent of a fine toothed comb. I also got the puff-test for chemicals and a pat down. For what it's worth, every foreign national going through the Dulles security screening got the same treatment as I did.
It was typical of the DC DMV to not have sent me a renewal notice (how often do YOU look at the expiration date on your driver's license?). All I can say is the car rental folks on the other end didn't notice either, fortunately.
It's a federal law, IIRC, that you must carry valid identification with you at all times in a casino. There's been tons of scams with invalid ID's and hence the reasoning behind this law.
SPeaking of "expried", what ever happened to your letter (to the Strat?) about your expried poker comps that weren't calculated correctly as well?
Did you ever hear back from them?
An expired US passport is acceptable identification when applying for a job, filing taxes, or at the RMV. Not sure where it would stand in the hierarchy of acceptable identifications, but it's widely accepted.
Would an expired passport get someone served at TGI Fridays, though?
No reply from the Stratosphere.
The reason i have always been given that casinos won't accept expired licenses as proof of age, is that its not uncommon for older brother/sister to hand down expired ID (and as siblings they may have similar enough appearances to pull it off). At one casino I was actually told that if the license was recently expired we could accept it.
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