Shills and proposition players? Any location?

[davidm20202]

I'm working on an online article. It's a Q & A where someone had a question about whether Vegas casinos use shill players and props. In my experience, shills are virtually non-existent these days, while props in Vegas are possible. Usually it's a floor person or dealer sitting in a game.

I have seen full-time props in California.

My questions are these:

1) What other locations employ props and/or shills? Atlantic City? Foxwoods? Washington State? Mississippi? Reno?

2) In California and Nevada, regulations require that prop players are identified if customers ask. Is that true in any of the other locations?

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

David

[davidm20202]

Did I post on the wrong forum? Anyone have information on this please?

[Andrew Karpinski]

Actually this forum is reserved for questions about tipping.

[LasVegasMichael]

LOL!

Sorry, can't really help you other then to say that some casinos have the "prop players must be identified upon request" rule, but others simply state that their room does not employ them (Golden Nugget and Mirage do not employ them, among others).

Sam's Town has one. His name is Jimmy. Nice guy.

[Andrew Karpinski]

davidm :

In all seriousness this is absolutely the right forum for your question but I unfortunately do not know the answer. There are undoubtably people here who do know the answer and hopefully they will come along and answer your question.

Best of luck friend.

[RR]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm working on an online article. It's a Q & A where someone had a question about whether Vegas casinos use shill players and props. In my experience, shills are virtually non-existent these days, while props in Vegas are possible. Usually it's a floor person or dealer sitting in a game.

I have seen full-time props in California.

My questions are these:

1) What other locations employ props and/or shills? Atlantic City? Foxwoods? Washington State? Mississippi? Reno?

2) In California and Nevada, regulations require that prop players are identified if customers ask. Is that true in any of the other locations?

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

David

[/ QUOTE ]

1) They do use them (rarely) in Mississippi. Often there they will refer to a dealer playing on the clock as "propping" but it is not the same. Since they are legal in NV I would guess they are at least sometimes used in Reno.


2) In Nevada and Mississippi they must be identified upon request. I am not sure who you think requires they be identified in California as that woud most likely vary from city to city.


I may have been the last person to employ a shill in a Las Vegas poker game in 2001.

[davidm20202]

Thanks for the responses. Some helpful information there. Thanks.

[PokerSlut]

I know several people who are props in the L.A. cardrooms. So far as I know, all the cardrooms in Los Angeles employ props.

[Bicycles_Biatch]

I'm a prop at an LA casino.

Here is the digs... All casino's in LA employ props.

If the prop is "on the clock" and anyone at the table asks the DEALER or a PROP who the "house players/shills/props" are ... we are required to answer.

I always answer with the disclaimer that I'm playing with my own money; the days of players playing "for the house" are gone. That seems to put other players at ease.

Very few "props" work in Vegas, the games are naturally full and the degenerates don't mind playing short handed, so props in LV are negative EV for the casino.

I know several Indian casinos throughout AZ, WA, and the midwest use "hosts". Usually they were a suit and a badge, run chips as needed, and leave the game as soon as it is full.

The one exception to all this is Hawaiian Gardens in LA.

They have silent props that are techinically never "on-the-clock". They usually play 30-60 and above, come and go as they please, and get paid under some type of rack-back arrangement that makes is legal for them NOT to identify themselves as "props/house players". This is fairly rare... but these types of silent props do exist.

[dalston]

At at least one big California cardroom (the Oaks in Emeryville), all props wear a badge identifying themselves around their neck. So you don't even have to ask.

They are all terrible Omaha8 players, as well ;-)