Beware Borgata’s Deceptive Promotion

If you’re one of the many New Jersey residents who is has signed up for online gambling, you might be getting what appears to be an attractive promotion from BorgataCasino.com.  Only respond if you’re a slots player.

I received this friendly ad in my email in box very early Sunday morning:

Deposit $50, and get an additional $51 FREE. That’s $101 to play with!
ARTHUR,
Dip into the treasury this Presidents’ Day. Lincoln is on the $5 bill, and Washington is on the $1 bill, and those are your lucky numbers! When you deposit $50 into your BorgataCasino.com account, you’ll get $51 more, on us. So get playing!
Here’s how it works:
• Sign in to your BorgataCasino.com account, go to the Cashier tab, and make a deposit of $50 or more using code PRESIDENTS.
• Your $51 bonus cash will be ready to use right away.
• Start playing!
Click below to sign in and get started.

            Best of Luck, BorgataCasino.com

Just the day before I had decided to lay off playing blackjack for a while. Far from my high roller, I requested a check for $150 and left about $60 in my account which was gone pretty quickly. This email drew me back in. I made the $50 deposit.

But the extra $51 did not show up in my account.   Adrianna, the online customer service rep on the grave yard shift was very nice.  She apologized and said there had been an error.  The promotion did not go into effect until the 17th and I would have to wait.  I should not play in the meantime, because if the balance of $50 was not in the account on Monday, I would not get the bonus.

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Update: Internet Gambling Bugs Getting Fixed Fast

Kathleen Sebelious should hire The Borgata’s techies to fix HealthCare.gov.

Since talking with Raj early this afternoon, the $45 that went missing in cyberspace when I got booted from a blackjack game at BorgataCasino.com because the system thought I had left New Jersey is back in my account.  I played for another 20 minutes this afternoon and netted $5.00

Not a bad day.  I put up $20 and now I have an account with Borgata with $80 in it.  My only problem is that I have to drive to Atlantic City to get the money.

Hopefully the techies will come up with a way for me to have the money transferred back to me as easily as I deposited it by tomorrow.

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Online Gaming Still Has Bugs

By Art Gallagher

My first hand was blackjack and my $5 bet paid $7.50.  Not a bad start to my Internet Gambling experience.  Within a few minutes the $20 I deposited with BorgataCasino.com was up to $37.50.   I wanted to double my money and quit for the day.

Within about 10 minutes my balance was $5 dollars and I lowered my bet to $1.00.  I was down to $1.00 and could feel the urge to deposit more money, despite my promise to myself to quit playing when I either won or lost $20. Then my luck changed again.  I inched my balance back up to $15 when I increased my bet back to $5.  Within another 15 minutes I met my goal of doubling my $20.  With $40.01 in my account I stopped playing.

There was a small message on the screen. “Your $50 bonus is awaiting you.”  Cool!

I claimed my $50 gift.   You can’t withdraw the money, you have to wager it.  My balance was now $90.01.  I had to play the $50 by Wednesday or lose it.  So I put $50 on the virtual table and started making $5 bets.

After a few hands, the $50 was down to $45 and I got booted.  A message popped up on my screen that said I was outside the State of New Jersey, which I wasn’t, and that gaming regulations required my wagering be terminated.

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