NL: tossing in less than a full raise...binding or not? (Chicago Rant)

[phuc]

Well, I know that everyone is going to say...it depends on your casino, but what I'm trying to find out is what other casinos do in these siuations. We've been having a big issue in the Chicago NL game at Resorts where different floor will ADAMANTLY rule one way or the other even on the same day. We even had one dealer who thought that she would arbitrarily decide based on her feel for the number of chips (not any strict guidelines, but her feeling on if that was enough money to constitute a raise depending on the bet size and not necessarily the intention of the player). Help me out with this so I can understand the reasoning of why or why not each is a raise (including intention, spirit of the game, etc).

1) First player bets out $100. Second player throws in $145 with multiple chips without saying anything. Is the second player forced to complete a minimum raise? Why or why not?

2) First player bets out $100. Second player throws in $150 with multiple chips without saying anything. Is the second player forced to complete a minimum raise? Why or why not?

3) First player bets out $100. Second player throws in $195 with multiple chips without saying anything. Is the second player forced to complete a minimum raise? Why or why not?

In all situations, assume that both players have a significant amount of money behind. Also, this is a NO-LIMIT game, not a LIMIT game.

Thanks everyone.