A customer has been putting money on green on the roulette wheel every time.

Customer: “Hey! What gives!?”

Me: “What do you mean, sir?”

Customer: “That was supposed to be green!”

Me: “It wasn’t supposed to be anything, sir. It’s a game of chance. No one knows where it’s going to land.”

Customer: “Not true! It’s guaranteed to be green once every ten spins!”

Me: “That’s not true.”

Customer: “Yes, it is! Or why else would I put all my rent on this?”

Me: “I can’t answer that, sir.”

I could, but I didn’t want to be fired.

I’m at one of those 24/7 restaurants in a big strip casino in Vegas. It is in the early hours of the morning. 

The staff and crew here are all very professional and provide world-class level service, but even they have their limits, as evidenced by my seeing the chef come out from the back, walking up to the table with a steaming bowl.

Chef: “Are you the customer who ordered the paella without rice?”

Customer: *Oblivious.* “That’s right!”

The chef places the bowl down on their table, hard.

Chef: “Well then, here’s your bowl of random bull-s***.”

I was holding back the laughter, partially at the interaction, but mostly because the customer seemed completely happy with their weird order, and as they started eating it, said to their late-night dining partner:

Customer: “Did you see that? The chef brought it out himself! We must be getting special treatment!”

I work at a restaurant that’s inside a casino/hotel. This past week has been rough and very frustrating for everyone. Lots of needy guests who run you ragged for low tips. Rushes near the end of my shift before the second shift arrives. Being stuck for over an hour after my scheduled out time to do side work.

The day before this incident took place, I worked a twelve-hour shift to help cover a call-off. Then I was back at work at 8 AM the next day, when this took place.

My first table they were initially going to be a six-seater, which is great because we put 20% auto gratuity on them, but only five showed, so no auto gratuity.

Service went very well, and the table were friendly people. I had a feeling this table would be a good start to my day and hopefully turn around this frustrating week. They had run up a $160 check, which is high for breakfast; I was excited.

The (presumably) grandfather asks for the check, I run his card, drop the check, wish them well, and send them on their way.

A few minutes later, I see them walk out of the restaurant, but I’m mid-delivering drinks and just got seated. Within about three minutes, I’m able to go to the table to pick up the signed receipt. BUT IT IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

The check presenter is sitting there with the customer copy, and there’s no cash on the table. Being 99% sure the grandfather accidentally took the signed copy, I immediately full-on sprinted out of the restaurant and booked it to the elevator downstairs. But I couldn’t find them in the lobby or down the hall right away, so I had to go back.

At this point, tears are welling, and I’m doing my best to hold it together until I can get back of house.

When I got back all of the BS from this week hit me, and that receipt was my final straw. I was very visibly upset, and my amazing coworkers came to help me right away. The other server gave me a hug and checked on my tables.

I went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face and gather myself. I was better after five minutes, but still very upset that I lost out on $30 because of something so stupid, and that my day had such a sour start again.

I continued about my day, although frustrated and somewhat frazzled.

A few hours later, near the end of the chaos, one of the food and beverage managers is making rounds on the venues and stops in mine. I tell him what happened, and he asks to see the check.

I still had the check presenter saved sitting near the POS, exactly how it was on the table. He moved the check side to side in the light and saw the pen impressions of the tip and signature. He told me it’s good enough for me to get the tip and that they left me $40. I was so happy that I literally started crying tears of joy. I was very thankful for my manager and coworkers!

A man was playing a slot machine and losing. He was so mad that he was slamming his fist on the bet button really hard. So hard that it eventually caused an error on the machine. Basically, the door of the machine came loose, so the slot froze up because it thought the door was open.

One of our attendants came by, opened/closed the door. The man continued to play and lost the rest of his money.

Guest: “I want my money back! The machine error caused me to lose!”

Me: “So if you’d won a jackpot, you’d be offering it back for the same reason?”

Guest: “…yes.”

Me: “Hmm, well, even if I believed you, first of all, you caused the error. Any error does not void jackpots. If a machine error CAUSES a jackpot, then it is void. But an open door error does not and cannot cause a jackpot, so that error would not have voided his jackpot.”

Guest: “Then you need to investigate to make sure it wasn’t an error that lost me my money.”

Me: “If we do that and determine that you’re the cause of a more serious error, you would be liable for the cost of repairs.”

He didn’t like that last part and ended up storming out.

I work in a big city hotel/casino. It’s after midnight, and an older woman with a baby walked up to the desk, said, “This isn’t my baby. A young woman just handed him to me and walked away.”

I collected as many details as we knew and verified that the manager would remain at the front desk with the woman who received the child and the child as well.

I notified the security manager and police dispatch of an abandoned baby and started my review of the cameras.

It was just as he said. A young woman was carrying an infant, approached an older couple, and handed off the child. The two clearly looked confused, and the look of bewilderment doubled down as they saw her just walk away. They walked all of twenty feet to the front desk, baby in tow, and reported what happened. The young lady walked to the parking garage and took a breather, had a cigarette, and presumably cleared her head and calmed down.

At this stage of coverage review, the police have arrived at the front desk. I called the manager and advised him that the woman is in the parking garage, I have a live feed on her, and she’s moving back into the building. She was sufficiently calm and returned to try to find her baby.

She walked up to the police and thought she could just take the baby from the officer holding him and be on her way. She was mistaken.

Aftermath: She was seventeen. The baby was not yet a year. As a minor, she was not old enough to rent a hotel room. Her boyfriend and baby’s father was twenty-one. While he was old enough to be on the casino floor, where we found him, she and the baby were not. They were relegated to a hotel room as there was practically nothing for anyone that young to do in a casino at that hour.

The young lady said she needed a break, and she usually puts the baby in an empty room so it cannot hurt itself, and walks away when it cries too much, but couldn’t do that here because it was a hotel room, and someone would complain about the noise. She was at her wits’ end because the boyfriend had been gone for hours. The family left with the police to discuss the matter further with child protective services

This was years ago, so some of the details are getting a little fuzzy, but I think there was also an issue with the boyfriend taking a minor across state lines and getting a hotel room.