A different way to pay a jackpot

The first time I hit a hand-pay jackpot at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, I was asked if I would like it all in cash. "What are my other options?" I asked, having never been offered any before. I had taken payment of some large jackpots in the form of a check, but I had to ask.

At Harrah's they will give you slot tickets instead, in about same amount of time as it takes to get cash. Today I hit an $8,000 jackpot at Tahoe. I asked for $2,000 to be withheld for taxes and the rest to be paid in six $1,000 tickets. These will take up a lot less room in my wallet than the 60 $100 bills I would have gotten.

Before going for this option, I wanted to be sure of one thing: that if I didn't use all the tickets, I could convert what was left to cash. I was concerned about this because the free play on slot tickets Caesars Entertainment properties give for promotional pruposes must be played through at least once (in my experience, this is the universal policy concerning free play in whatever form). I was assured I would have no trouble cashing in any unused tickets.

So basically the tickets are the same as cash except that they have an expiration date, in this case May 11. I will cash out any that I don't use at the end of trip here and be "stuck" at that point with cash.

There are times I would prefer a jackpot to be paid by check, especially if the amount is more than $10,000. It is obviously safer as well as more convenient to carry a check for a large amount; no reports to federal authorities generated when you deposit a check in the bank; and it is unlikely that a check would be seized by the police as part of a forfeiture action. The problem with gettting a casino to write you a check is that it is a complicated and time-consuming procedure. In my limited experience, a 40-minute wait is about average.

I would ask for a check for most jackpots over $10,000, but for payoffs of $4,000 or $8,000 (the amounts for royal flushes in $1 and $2 video poker with full coin bet) I would ask for slot tickets unless I was running low on cash. (I was told you can get paid partly in tickets and partly in cash.)

My spouse thinks Rio in Las Vegas has offered the same option, so it might be available at other Caesars properties. If it isn't offered, I would ask about it.