Slots player Cynthia Obie was ecstatic when she hit the jackpot at the MGM National Harbour Casino in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The win was worth several thousand dollars, but the casino refused to pay out.
- Woman hit jackpot at MGM National Harbor Casino
- Casino staff recorded her Social Security number incorrectly
- The casino was legally required to confiscate her winnings
- Winner mistakenly identified as owing child support money
A few months back, my husband and I went to MGM Grand National Harbor in Washington DC for the weekend to take in the city! It was a cool experi.
In an interview with the local Fox News station, Obie spoke about her excitement with the win, as she needed the cash, but did not want to disclose exactly how much the jackpot was worth. She said she was an occasional casino goer and had been there that night with one of her friends on a night out.
An unfortunate sequence of events
As per the rules and regulations for casinos cashing out winnings, the staff at the casino took down info from the woman’s ID and some other key pieces of information. However, they mistakenly recorded an incorrect Social Security number, accidentally getting one of the digits wrong.
The person who subsequently came up on the casino’s system was an individual who had a large debt in the state. The debt was partly unpaid child support and partly monies owed to the government of Maryland.
The casino therefore refused to pay out any winnings to Obie. Obie began pleading with the staff, pointing out that she had never had to pay child support and knew it must be a misunderstanding.
By the time the casino discovered the error with the Social Security number, it was too late for Obie.
MGM has said its employees were following Maryland law and that the issue was no longer in their hands. The only thing the casino did to offer compensation was to give Obie free play chips worth $200. It also gave her some vouchers for drinks on the night of the incident.
Obie now plans to contact the Gaming Control Agency to discuss the incident.
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What happens next?
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When Obie left the casino without her money, she was told to get in touch with the Human Services Agency in Maryland to clear up the misunderstanding. The HSA is the body that looks after child support issues.
However, after paying a visit to their offices, Obie had made no progress on the issue. Her main gripe still lies with the casino itself.
She told the casino: “Frustrated, but now I’m at the point this is insane. You guys are a billion dollar corporation, you do the research. I won fair and square. I just want my money.”
MGM told Fox 5: “We are aware of this unfortunate error and have taken the necessary steps to assist Ms. Obie in rectifying this issue. Due to MLGCA rules and Maryland state law, we cannot provide an additional payout for this jackpot.
“However, if she presents the proper identification credentials to the Maryland Gaming Commission, they will provide her with the appropriate payout. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused Ms. Obie.”
The incident has triggered some community backlash for the casino. Some locals say the fault lies with the MGM National Harbor Casino, and nobody else, as it was casino staff who wrote down the incorrect Social Security number that led to Obie not receiving her winnings.
30-second summary
- MGM is thinking about replacing workers with robot technology in its Las Vegas Strip properties
- Its 2020 plan calls for reducing the workforce by about 2,100 people to save $300m in the coming years
- Unions and workers will likely react strongly to such a move
- A McKinsey and Company report estimates that by 2030, 800 million jobs will get robot replacements
Robots taking over employment
Many corporations are embracing the latest robotic technology. Companies can make many processes more cost- and time-efficient by using robots and other types of technology.
In a lot of industries, robots can now be more efficient and productive than people. This sparks the debate about protecting these jobs for humans or to allow robots to make these processes more efficient.
MGM, one of the major global casino companies, is considering replacing some workers with robots, which will cause some concern for their employees and those in the industry as a whole.
The company has been looking into doing this at their MGM properties on the Las Vegas Strip as a way of cutting costs considerably. It is likely that the casino worker unions in Nevada will soon be up in arms about this issue.
Among those who could be replaced are cashiers and bartenders. Automatic technology that can make drinks would replace the bartenders and monetary transactions could be done through standard payment technology.
There would also be mobile payment processors going around the floor with the wait staff, eliminating the need for cashiers. There is no indication as to how many such jobs would be replaced at the MGM properties.
Reaction to this potential move
The unions and workers will not be happy with this news. Jobs will be lost and it may also violate the labor agreement that MGM struck with the unions last summer.
The Las Vegas Culinary Union (LVCU), which represents bartenders, kitchen staff, and wait staff, reached a five-year deal in June 2018 with the MGM.
The agreement guarantees that MGM will not implement any technology that would have a negative impact on employment. However, the news that the MGM is considering replacing some workers with robots could mean that the company is not willing to fulfill this agreement.
For some time, the MGM has been looking at ways of trimming its considerable costs. CEO Jim Murren presented a new “MGM 2020” plan at the beginning of the year.
This plan calls for cutting the number of workers by about 2,100 people in 2010. He believes that such a move will see them save about $200m (£153m) in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) over the next couple of years and $100m (£76m) in following years.
The unions will be watching all developments closely, especially since they were made aware of this MGM 2020 plan.
A growing trend
With robot technology and artificial technology constantly becoming more and more advanced, more jobs will be lost to robots and automation.
A McKinsey and Company report estimates that robots could take over as many as 800 million jobs globally by 2030. This is especially the case in advanced economies, such as in the United States.
As a result, millions of people will have to learn new skill sets in order to adapt and find employment.
Not all industries will face the same struggles. Jobs involving social interaction, applying expertise, or managing people naturally will not be replaceable by robot technology. However, a lot of people in back-office work, accounting, and paralegal jobs will easily be replaceable thanks to automation.