What Happens if I Don’t Pay a Casino Marker?

Pay Your Casino Markers or Expect to Go to Jail

Don’t think for a minute that you can run out on a Las Vegas casino marker. The casino will come after you. You could face time in prison and thousands of dollars in fines if convicted of criminal charges involving not repaying a casino marker.

Most gamblers who default on casino markers do so unintentionally. They just get overextended and get in over their heads. We understand how that can happen, and we can help. If you have defaulted on a casino marker or are about to default, contact Adras & Altig Las Vegas casino marker defense lawyers. We can work to negotiate a payment plan and try to keep you out of jail.

What is a Casino Gambling Marker? 

Casinos issue markers so guests can gamble without handling large amounts of cash. A casino marker, sometimes called a “gambling marker,” works like an interest-free line of credit but is more comparable to a short-term loan. The actual marker is a counter check the gambler can use to draw on the line of credit.

To obtain a casino marker, the gambler must initially complete an application, which allows the casino to check the applicant’s bank accounts to confirm their ability to pay the debt incurred. Once approved, the casino issues a marker for the amount requested, which the gambler may redeem in chips and/or cash. A pit boss at a gaming table or a casino host can approve additional markers, increasing the amount of credit extended to a gambler.

When payment is due, typically after 30 days, the casino submits the marker or markers to the bank, like a check. If a marker is returned due to insufficient funds — or “bounces” — that, of course, is a problem.

Under Nevada law (NRS 205.130 and NRS 205.132), if the casino goes through the proper steps to collect on a marker, the failure to pay is presumed to be an intent to defraud. A conviction of intent to defraud in Nevada carries a sentence of at least a year in jail. Passing a bad check falls under the same statutes.

What Happens if I Don’t Pay a Casino Marker?

Casinos issue markers to encourage patrons to gamble. The casino’s primary concern is collecting the money the establishment is owed. The casino will give you the opportunity to pay your gambling debt before taking legal steps that can lead to you being charged with a crime.

Thirty days after a casino marker is issued and remains unpaid:

• The casino will attempt to contact you. If a casino marker is not paid upon submission to the bank, the casino will issue a “notice of refusal of payment.” This is a certified letter saying the bank did not pay the marker. By law, that gives you 10 days to pay the debt or respond otherwise.

When Do I need a Casino Marker Attorney?

At this point, you can help yourself by contacting a Las Vegas casino marker attorney. A knowledgeable criminal defense attorney can protect your rights and work to find a resolution to your unpaid gambling debt. In some cases, a casino will work with you to establish a payment plan, though they are not required to do so.

 

• The District Attorney will attempt to contact you. Ten days after the notice of failure to pay, if the casino has not heard from you, it will file a complaint with the Clark County District Attorney’s office. The DA’s office will send you a certified letter and give you 10 days to respond and pay the marker. You will also be required to pay the DA’s office’s processing costs and fees, which will be about 10 percent of the marker’s value.

How Long Do I have before I have to Pay the Casino Marker?

After 10 days, if you have not paid the debt and fees, the DA will file a criminal complaint against you and ask the Court to issue a warrant for your arrest.

• You will be arrested, jailed and charged. If you reside in Las Vegas, Clark County or Nevada, you can expect to be arrested within days. If you live elsewhere, you can expect to be arrested eventually. A police officer who has stopped you in traffic may see the outstanding warrant and arrest you. Often, travelers are stopped and arrested at a border crossing or at an airport Customs desk.

Upon arrest, you will be extradited to Clark County and prosecuted. Extradition is a court procedure that is not always immediate. You could be held for up to 30 days before being taken to Las Vegas.

Not Paying a Casino Marker is a Criminal Offense

Casinos and tourism are the economic engines of Las Vegas and Clark County. The Nevada criminal justice system takes seriously the payment of gambling debts. You will be prosecuted if you are arrested for not paying a casino marker. In addition to resolving the criminal charges, you will still be required to repay your debt to the casino, plus court costs.

If I don’t Pay the Casino Marker, Will I get a Felony?

Failure to pay a casino marker is typically a felony in Nevada requiring prison time upon conviction. Punishment is according to the value of the marker, which is usually thousands of dollars. Under the law, failure to pay a casino marker for $250 or more is a category D felony punishable by 1 to 4 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

Failure to pay a casino marker for less than $250 is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. Most cases involving unpaid Las Vegas casinos involve sums that far exceed $250.

A third offense of failing to pay a casino marker, regardless of value, is also a category D felony.

Contact Us to Fight Bad Casino Marker Penalties

Although Clark County prosecutors will absolutely seek a guilty verdict in a casino marker case, as we said above, the casino is more interested in being paid than it is in putting someone in jail. A knowledgeable Las Vegas casino marker defense attorney from Adras & Altig can develop a plan to help you resolve the issue.

In addition to fully understanding how Nevada law is applied, Paul Adras and Steve Altig, who handle each case taken by the firm, have the reputations and relationships in Clark County courts necessary to represent our clients effectively. We can work to negotiate a payment plan so that you avoid prosecution or, if the evidence supports it, work to have charges dismissed.

The sooner we get involved with your case, the more opportunity we have to help. If you know you cannot pay an outstanding casino marker in Las Vegas, please contact us today.

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Study Says Low THC Levels Don’t Cause Car Accidents

New research indicates that Nevada’s drugged driving laws may penalize drivers for marijuana use that does not have an adverse effect on driving ability.

The study from the University of British Columbia (UBC) suggests that THC levels less than 5 nanograms/ml of blood do not lead to an increased risk of causing car crashes in most drivers. Nevada’s DUI law (NRS 484C.110) holds that a driver is automatically guilty of impaired driving if found to have 2 nanograms/ml of marijuana (Delta-9-THC) or 5 nanograms/ml of marijuana metabolite (11-hydroxy-THC, i.e., metabolized THC) in their blood or urine.

The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Addiction in May and reported by the Vancouver Sun and other mainstream publications in June.

“At blood levels of less than 5 nanograms/ml, THC does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of crashing,” Dr. Jeffrey Brubacher, associate professor in the department of emergency medicine at UBC and principal investigator for the five-year study, told Medical Xpress. “That’s significant because the new impaired driving laws do include penalties for drivers with THC levels between 2 and 5 nanograms/ml, suggesting that the laws may be too strict.”

Brubacher was speaking of Canada’s drugged driving laws, in which per se THC levels for guilt match Nevada’s.

So-called “per se” laws make it illegal to drive with amounts of drugs in the body that exceed set limits. Five U.S. states have specific per se limits for THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the active ingredient in marijuana, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Brubacher and his research team point out that per se laws are particularly unfair to habitual marijuana users, because illegal THC levels remain in the body long after the impairment has worn off.

After smoking a joint, the user’s THC level is about 100 nanograms/ml for several minutes but drops very quickly to less than 2 nanograms/ml in four hours, Brubacher said. THC also accumulates in body fat and is slowly released into the blood of a user who smokes marijuana every day.

“These people can walk around with low amounts of THC for days or weeks after they last use marijuana, so it gets complicated. … They may not be impaired,” Brubacher said. “A medical marijuana user, for example, would never be allowed to drive.”

Cannabis became legal for recreational use in Canada in October 2018 and has been legal for medical use since 2001. In the U.S., 11 states including Nevada and Washington, D.C., allow recreational marijuana use. Some states allow limited use of medical marijuana under certain circumstances.

Nevada has legalized recreational marijuana use in private homes.

How the THC Level and Impaired Driving Study Was Done

For the study, researchers analyzed blood samples from 3,005 drivers who were treated at seven trauma centers in British Columbia between January 2010 and July 2016.

Accident reports were available for 2,318 of those drivers, and 1,178 were deemed responsible for the crashes and included in the final analysis.

When blood work had been done, researchers analyzed the blood for toxicology, measuring THC levels and for alcohol and 87 other substances including cocaine, methamphetamines and a list of medications.

“What we found is interesting, and that was at these lower (THC) levels there really was no increased risk of a crash,” Brubacher said.

He also said that while there may be an increased risk of causing crashes with THC levels greater than 5 nanograms/ml, only 20 of the 1,825 samples researchers tested had THC levels greater than that amount. The study report as published in Addiction concluded that there was “a statistically non‐significant increased risk of crash responsibility” in drivers with THC levels greater than 5 nanograms/ml.

How Much Marijuana Use is 5 Nanograms of THC?

If you use marijuana and plan to drive, you need to ask yourself whether you have consumed enough to register 2 nanograms/ml of fresh THC or 5 nanograms/ml of metabolized THC should you be pulled over by Las Vegas police and tested. 

The answer to the question as to how much marijuana do you have to smoke to have 5 nanograms/ml of blood or urine is pretty much unanswerable.

A reporter for Boulder Weekly in Colorado tried to find out and decided there was no way to say for sure because:

• THC metabolizes differently than alcohol, which we know how to measure accurately.
• THC concentrations are vastly different for each particular strain of marijuana, so the user’s height or weight won’t make much difference, as they do with alcohol.
• The period of highest concentration of THC in the bloodstream comes immediately after consumption, but the highest level of impairment comes 20-40 minutes after smoking, and even later with edibles. 
• Because THC blood levels drop precipitously, blood tests done after you have been pulled over, questioned, arrested and taken downtown won’t remotely indicate blood-level THC at the time you were stopped.

A July 2017 Report to Congress about Marijuana-Impaired Driving by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reached many of the same conclusions. It stated:

“THC level in blood (or oral fluid) does not appear to be an accurate and reliable predictor of impairment from THC. Also, when low levels of THC are found in the blood, the presence of THC is not a reliable indicator of recent marijuana use.”

Contact A Nevada Defense Attorney About Marijuana-Impaired Driving Charges

If you have been charged with DUI or DUID (driving under the influence of drugs) in Nevada based on THC levels found in a blood or urine test, you should contact a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. Given the research discussed above, it’s reasonable to question whether you were, in fact, driving while high or impaired. There’s a possibility that a lawyer can get charges dropped or can obtain a not guilty verdict at trial.

In Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, the reputable and respected criminal defense lawyers of Adras & Altig, Attorneys at Law, can provide you with a strong legal defense. We have more than a decade of experience successfully handling DUI and DUID cases in Clark County courts and have the reputation and respect to ensure you get a fair hearing. Contact us today for legal assistance.

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