dailysouthtown.com
Admitted gambling addict Chuck Chancey said his promise to give up gambling only went as far as the state line.
Chancey visited Harrah's Casino in East Chicago, Ind., and won $4,000 on Nov. 22. This came after he signed a form which required Illinois casinos to keep him off their property.
If he did get on board, his winnings would go to charity.
When Harrah's recognized Chancey's name and ID'd him as a banned gambler in Illinois, the Indiana casino tried to withhold the man's winnings and send it to charity.
Chancey got himself a lawyer and got his money back.
"I thought I was entitled to it; it was my right to have that money," said Chancey, an Orland Park business owner. "Especially since I didn't think any harm would be done by going to an Indiana boat."
Chancey said he has been attending meetings of Gamblers Anonymous for several months. Before seeking treatment, he visited casinos three times a week.
"I lost some money, but not a lot. I was just going way too often, and I was spending way too much time and it was getting kind of out of hand," Chancey said. "So, I was trying to get control of it."
Members of the program suggested joining the Illinois Gaming Board's self-exclusion program, in which gamblers agree to be placed on a list provided to all casinos in Illinois.
If that gambler is found in a casino, he or she is asked to leave, and their winnings are sent to one of three charities for addicted gamblers.
"The groups suggested I exclude myself. And that's what I intended to do," Chancey said. "But I did go to Indiana because I wasn't aware of any poker tables in Illinois near my house.
"I didn't think any harm would be done by going with my friends; it was just a good time for the evening."
Chancey wasn't doing so well at the poker tables, so he wandered down to the slot machines. One spin on the "wheel of fortune" won him $4,000. But when asked to provide identification for tax purposes, his name popped up on the list of excluded gamblers.
Harrah's staff told him the money would go to Downers Grove-based Outreach Foundation for Problem and Compulsive Gamblers.
"I thought they were kind of being jerks about it," he said.
Chancey hired Homewood attorney William Borah, who started writing and calling Harrah's, demanding the money. Borah argued that the form Chancey signed from the Illinois Gaming Board had no legal force in Indiana.
"They responded with a letter and said, 'Here's your money, and you will be considered a trespasser and you will be arrested if you come on the property again,'" Borah said.
Harrah's Midwest attorney Tom Thanas said he couldn't talk about any specifics of Chancey's case, but said it is casino policy that any gambler who asks to be excluded from one Harrah's casino will be excluded from all of them.
"If you've admitted to that (gambling) problem, we want to make sure we don't provide patrons with an opportunity to compound that problem," Thanas said.
Chancey, meanwhile, has no regrets about his latest foray into the casino. "I certainly wasn't expecting to win any big jackpots like that," he said.
Admitted gambling addict Chuck Chancey said his promise to give up gambling only went as far as the state line.
Chancey visited Harrah's Casino in East Chicago, Ind., and won $4,000 on Nov. 22. This came after he signed a form which required Illinois casinos to keep him off their property.
If he did get on board, his winnings would go to charity.
When Harrah's recognized Chancey's name and ID'd him as a banned gambler in Illinois, the Indiana casino tried to withhold the man's winnings and send it to charity.
Chancey got himself a lawyer and got his money back.
"I thought I was entitled to it; it was my right to have that money," said Chancey, an Orland Park business owner. "Especially since I didn't think any harm would be done by going to an Indiana boat."
Chancey said he has been attending meetings of Gamblers Anonymous for several months. Before seeking treatment, he visited casinos three times a week.
"I lost some money, but not a lot. I was just going way too often, and I was spending way too much time and it was getting kind of out of hand," Chancey said. "So, I was trying to get control of it."
Members of the program suggested joining the Illinois Gaming Board's self-exclusion program, in which gamblers agree to be placed on a list provided to all casinos in Illinois.
If that gambler is found in a casino, he or she is asked to leave, and their winnings are sent to one of three charities for addicted gamblers.
"The groups suggested I exclude myself. And that's what I intended to do," Chancey said. "But I did go to Indiana because I wasn't aware of any poker tables in Illinois near my house.
"I didn't think any harm would be done by going with my friends; it was just a good time for the evening."
Chancey wasn't doing so well at the poker tables, so he wandered down to the slot machines. One spin on the "wheel of fortune" won him $4,000. But when asked to provide identification for tax purposes, his name popped up on the list of excluded gamblers.
Harrah's staff told him the money would go to Downers Grove-based Outreach Foundation for Problem and Compulsive Gamblers.
"I thought they were kind of being jerks about it," he said.
Chancey hired Homewood attorney William Borah, who started writing and calling Harrah's, demanding the money. Borah argued that the form Chancey signed from the Illinois Gaming Board had no legal force in Indiana.
"They responded with a letter and said, 'Here's your money, and you will be considered a trespasser and you will be arrested if you come on the property again,'" Borah said.
Harrah's Midwest attorney Tom Thanas said he couldn't talk about any specifics of Chancey's case, but said it is casino policy that any gambler who asks to be excluded from one Harrah's casino will be excluded from all of them.
"If you've admitted to that (gambling) problem, we want to make sure we don't provide patrons with an opportunity to compound that problem," Thanas said.
Chancey, meanwhile, has no regrets about his latest foray into the casino. "I certainly wasn't expecting to win any big jackpots like that," he said.
