N.J. Admin. Code § 13:69F-14.19

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 19, October 7, 2024

Section 13:69F-14.19 - Bad beat payouts; high hand payouts; posting of rules; contributions; counting and displaying of payout amount; procedures for implementation

(a) A casino licensee may elect, in its discretion, to offer a payout for one or more pre-designated high value poker hands when such a hand in a round of play is held by a player either as a losing hand (a "bad beat") or without regard to the relative rank of any other player's hand. Such payouts shall be made from a separate fund created from pot contributions required at tables where either a bad beat payout or a high hand payout is offered and shall be paid in accordance with the procedures established pursuant to this section. The funds extracted from pot contributions may be used by the casino licensee for other types of poker bonus payouts, so long as all funds extracted from any pot are awarded to poker players. A casino licensee may not offer both a bad beat payout and a high hand payout at the same poker table.

(b) A casino licensee shall post at each poker table that offers either a bad beat payout or a high hand payout, a notice advising patrons of eligibility for such payout. In addition to displaying the current amount of any payout, a casino licensee that offers a payout shall post its payout rules in a conspicuous location within its poker room, which, at a minimum, shall address:

1. The maximum amount that can be contributed from each pot and the method of calculation for any contributed amount;

2. The minimum pot amount required for a contribution to a payout;

3. Qualifying requirements and payouts; and

4. Other types of bonus awards that are funded through pot contributions to the fund.

(c) A casino licensee shall extract from each pot at a poker table designated for participation in either a bad beat payout or a high hand payout, a prescribed contribution to the payout, which amount shall be collected in accordance with the casino licensee's payout rules as set forth in its Rules of the Games Submission. Prior to distributing the pot to a winning patron and after the dealer has extracted the rake, the amount from each pot to be contributed to a payout shall be determined, segregated from the pot, and deposited into the payout box. A casino licensee may, upon amending its payout rules and pursuant to (j) below, terminate collection of contributions at any time.

(d) At least once each gaming day and upon notice to the Division, a casino licensee shall count the accumulated contents of each payout box and the contents shall be transferred to the cashiers' cage or a satellite cage. The counting shall occur at a closed poker table, the cashiers' cage, or a satellite cage in accordance with the casino licensee's internal control procedures.

1. If the counting of the contents of each payout box occurs at a closed poker table, the counting shall be performed by a poker dealer in the presence of a poker supervisor, and it shall be recorded by the surveillance department. Documentation of the count shall be prepared and signed by both the dealer and the supervisor. The contents of each payout box shall then be placed in a locked container along with documentation of the count and transported to the cashiers' cage or satellite cage by a representative of the casino security department.

2. If the counting of the contents of each payout box occurs in the cashiers' cage or a satellite cage, a poker supervisor shall account for all locked payout boxes transported from the poker tables to the cage. A representative of the casino security department shall transport such boxes to the cashiers' cage or satellite cage for counting by casino cage cashiers.

(e) Once each payout box or a container containing the contents of the payout boxes is delivered to the cashiers' cage or satellite cage, a cashier shall count the contents of each box or, if the contents of such boxes were previously counted by poker room personnel and combined in a locked container for transport, verify the aggregate count.

(f) In lieu of the procedures set forth in (d) and (e) above, a casino licensee may count and record the total value of gaming chips contained in the approved contribution container(s) and return the gaming chips to the table inventory, subject to the following requirements:

1. The counting and recording shall occur prior to or whenever the container is filled to maximum capacity and upon table closing, provided that in any event such counting and recording shall occur at least once per gaming day.

2. The dealer assigned to the poker table shall count the contents of the container in the presence of a poker supervisor and under videotaped surveillance or, if counted without such presence and surveillance, in the presence of a representative of a second department. The same procedure shall apply at all affected poker tables. If a representative of a second department witnesses and verifies the count, that person shall:

i. Hold a casino license or casino key employee license and shall be employed in a position requiring his or her presence on the casino floor and, at a minimum, a casino employee license; and

ii. Be identified in the casino licensee's approved internal controls; provided, however, that the following positions shall be prohibited from witnessing and verifying a count of payout contributions pursuant to (f)2 above:

(1) Any surveillance department or internal audit department employee, or any employee of a department responsible for the conduct of poker; or

(2) Any other employee for whom it would be an incompatible function to witness and verify a count of payout contributions.

3. The Payout Contribution Form shall be serially pre-numbered and in a minimum of two parts, and shall contain the following information:

i. The date and time;

ii. The table number;

iii. Designation of bad beat payout or high hand payout;

iv. The total amount and value of gaming chips collected for the bad beat payout and placed into the table inventory; and

v. The signatures of the dealer and the person witnessing the count and attesting to the accuracy of the information recorded on the Bad Beat Payout Contribution Form.

(g) Upon completing the form as prescribed in (f)3 above, the dealer shall deposit the original Payout Contribution Form in the drop box attached to the poker table and the person who verified the count shall place the duplicate in a locked accounting box maintained at a secure location.

(h) At least once each gaming day, a casino accounting department representative shall collect the duplicate Payout Contribution Forms contained in the locked accounting box and verify that that the number of forms contained in the locked accounting box equals the number of original Contribution Forms received from the count room. In the event of a variance, the representative shall determine the missing form(s) by comparing form serial numbers. In any instance in which a duplicate form cannot be matched with an original, the Master Game Report shall be adjusted to add to poker revenue the value of either bad beat payout or high hand payout contributions on such form.

(i) Each poker hand that qualifies for either a bad beat payout or a high hand payout shall be verified by a poker shift supervisor prior to awarding the payout. Upon verification, the poker shift supervisor shall:

1. Post a sign or otherwise provide visible notice that the applicable payout display amount is pending adjustment due to a payout; and

2. Notify a representative from the casino security department or casino accounting department to deliver to the poker table the applicable amount of the payout.

(j) The casino accounting department shall prepare a payout distribution in cash, a recognized cash equivalent, or gaming chips in accordance with the casino licensee's internal control procedures. Notwithstanding (f)2 above, a casino licensee may elect to pay a payout at the cashiers' cage.

(k) The official record of the amount of daily contributions to payouts shall be maintained by the casino accounting department. No less than once each gaming day and immediately upon notification of a verification by a poker shift supervisor, a casino accounting department representative shall:

1. In the presence of a poker supervisor, adjust the applicable payout amount displayed in the poker area to reflect the current payout amount; and

2. Verify that the amount of any payout maintained by the casino accounting department corresponds to the amount being displayed to patrons.

(l) No bad beat payout or high hand payout shall be offered at a poker table until a casino licensee has submitted procedures to the Division for discontinuing the applicable payout. Such procedures shall address the method by which pot contributions shall be terminated and/or for transferring payout amounts to other payouts, so as to ensure that all payout amounts are paid to poker patrons.

(m) A casino licensee may also offer a secondary bad beat payout that is awarded to a lesser qualifying bad beat hand, and which shall be funded by:

1. A prescribed contribution from each pot at a participating poker table; or

2. A portion of the primary bad beat payout; provided, however, that:

i. The appendix to its Rules of the Games Submission shall prescribe the rules to be followed if a round of play results in both a higher qualifying hand and a lower qualifying hand;

ii. When won, the amount of the secondary bad beat payout shall be subtracted from the current primary bad beat payout; and

iii. Signage displaying a primary and secondary bad beat payout shall indicate that the secondary bad beat payout is funded from the primary bad beat payout, and shall be deducted from the amount of the primary bad beat jackpot if won.

(n) The appendix to the Rules of the Games Submission for a bad beat payout shall prescribe the rules to be followed if more than one player at a table has a qualifying bad beat payout hand.

(o) Once the amount of a bad beat payout or a high hand payout has been displayed to the public, the display shall not be reduced to a lesser amount unless the amount has been paid to a winning patron.

(p) A casino licensee may use a percentage of the daily payout contributions to fund a portion of the next payout (reset amount). The percentage of the daily contributions used to fund the reset amount shall be set forth in the internal control submission of the casino licensee and shall also be posted in the poker room of the casino licensee. The casino licensee shall also account for and document all reset amounts in a manner approved by the Division.

(q) Prior to implementing any changes to the information required in (b)1 through 4 above, a casino licensee shall be required to post a notice advising patrons of the change; provided, however, that the qualifying hand requirements for a bad beat payout may not be increased until that bad beat payout has been won.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:69F-14.19

Amended by R.2014 d.069, effective 4/21/2014.
See: 45 N.J.R. 1896(a), 46 N.J.R. 705(a).
Section was "Bad beat payouts; posting of rules; contributions; counting and displaying of payout amount; procedures for implementation". Rewrote the section.