The 20 Weirdest Things Ever Witnessed in a Casino
Casinos have never been accused of being boring, that’s for sure. There is always something happening at these entertainment hubs, including entertainment, conventions, dining for days, conventions, and, of course, gambling.
If you’ve ever been, you’ve probably seen some, um, weird stuff. The stories are posted all over the internet for everyone to read if you haven’t witnessed them with your own eyes. Although we have seen some things, we thought we’d gather first-hand accounts of people who have observed the oddest behaviors and reported back to the masses.
Don’t worry; we are gonna keep it PG-ish—we don’t want to scare you from visiting a casino! But if any of the weirdest things ever witnessed at a casino spook you, you can always play from home on a gambling site.
Look, things tend to get a little wilder when you add booze into the mix, and at casinos, if you’re gambling, the booze is free and keeps coming (unless you get cut off by the pit boss or security). Throw money on the line into the equation, and you’ve got a perfect storm for not just weird but crazy behavior. We’re going to start off with something that I personally witnessed in good ol’ Las Vegas and then go from there!
The Cowboy Convention Crasher
My first time in Vegas, our trip just happened to coincide with a cowboy convention. And hoo boy, there were a lot of git-along buckaroos in attendance. The presence of them didn’t seem to bother anyone—except for a group of what I can only assume were Wall Street bros.
On our second night there, these dudes were with us at the roulette table and drinking double whiskeys or double anythings—they were soused. And the decorations that were put in place for the cowboy event were visible from the casino floor. One of the dudes kept staring at a giant cowboy boot that was made out of intricate LED lights and muttering obscenities. A few losses and several double whatever’s later, he stands up, pushes his perfectly ironed pinpoint Oxford sleeves to his elbows, and takes off running.
His friends were calling him, and a foot chase ensued, but this man was charging at the big cowboy boot like a bull toward a matador. Of course, we followed—we’re nosy! And the Wall Street bro did NOT disappoint. He took a running leap and tried to tackle the big boot while my friends and his friends watched. Did he beat the boot? Nope. Did he manage to get tangled up in the strings of LED lights and cause a ruckus? Yep. It was honestly one of the funnier things I have ever seen in my life—what was even funnier is that he was frogmarched out by security while his friends tried to plead with them to let it slide. One security guard said, “You’re lucky we’re just bouncing him and not calling the cops,” which shut the bros up pretty quickly. The moral of the story is this: he fought the boot, and the boot won.
The Abandoned Car
This was posted on Listverse by a casino employee:
“One aspect of my job was bicycle patrol of the three-level parking garage. All things considered, I enjoyed patrol days because it got me out of the stuffy, smoke-filled casino and gave me a chance to exercise. It also meant, most of the time, that I didn’t have to deal with bothersome guests. But that isn’t to say that it didn’t present other, more interesting situations.
“I remember being on patrol one day and coming across a vehicle in the garage that I could have sworn was in the process of being stripped. All four doors were wide open, and no one was about. I observed the scene for a few moments, then called it in to dispatch. They had me remain on the scene while they tried to locate the owner of the vehicle.
“After several minutes, they radioed to tell me to go ahead and close and lock the doors. Apparently, a guest had forgotten to close up the car. How can you be in such a hurry to gamble that you forget even to close your doors, never mind lock them?”
The Little Man in the Slot Machine
Some gamblers are super superstitious, always relying on rituals, lucky charms, and all sorts of odd habits to try and win over Lady Luck. A casino worker said he has seen “People drape amulets over machines, rub garlic on them, or even stuff it inside.”
Others have tried rubbing money on women’s chests or behinds—basically, if it might work, someone’s tried it. His wife, who’s Asian and used to work as a cashier at the casino, was constantly asked to rub bills on her shirt to “give them Asian luck.” And people would get downright furious if housekeeping cleaned a machine they’d been playing for a while, claiming it would “wipe off the luck.”
There was one woman who he’ll never forget.
He was walking through the slots area when she grabbed my arm and said, “Can you tell this machine to let me win?”
He was caught off guard, but he told her, “Ma’am, the machine doesn’t take orders. It’s just a machine, and there’s no magic button we can press to make it pay out.”
She looked at him, completely serious, and said, “I know that. I want you to tell the little man inside the machine to pay me.”
He was floored, trying to make sense of what she’d just said.
She went on, “I know there’s a little man inside who can see me, and he’s not letting it pay off because I’m black! But I’ve been playing this machine all day, and it owes me some money.”She was so convinced, and even after he got a slot tech to open up the machine and show her there was no one inside, he didn’t think she believed it.
The Peeing Bandit
This next one is gross, so skip it if you don’t want to be traumatized:
“A well-heeled woman about 40 years of age who would come into the casino on a regular basis each week. We don’t know if her problem was incontinence or stupidity, but she would sit at a slot machine until she urinated on the seat and would then move to the next one in the row. I recall one day, she soiled no less than six seats.
We weren’t permitted to confront her on the issue, as she spent a considerable amount of money in the casino. Instead, as soon as she left for the day, housekeeping would run over and retrieve the soiled seats, replacing them with fresh ones.”
A Goat in a Pink Tutu
We don’t know how to explain this, and neither did the person who saw it. But they did have the presence of mind to snap a pic of the pink tutu-wearing goat, which we thank them for.
The Runners
It was 4 a.m. in Vegas. The guy next to me loses his last $5 bet, then suddenly reaches across the table, grabs two handfuls of $500 chips, and bolts. Security was everywhere in seconds. I looked over at this older guy and said, “Did you just see that?” He just nodded and said, “Yup, that’s Vegas for you.” It was insane.
When I came back the next day, all the $500 chips were gone, swapped out for $100 ones. It was my first time in Vegas, and I couldn’t believe what I’d just witnessed.
That night, there were two friends playing at the same table. They both handed over their IDs to get players’ cards. One guy loses his money, snatches a bunch of $500 chips, and takes off running. His friend, who had the car keys, just sat there, waiting for security. Now, they’ve got those plastic shields over the purple, black, and green chips because of stuff like this.
I remember thinking, “Did that really just happen, and did anyone else catch that?” The way everyone just froze actually shocked me more than the guy stealing the chips.
Another Runner
We have yet another runner! On Quora, someone posted that they once saw a guy grab a handful of cash chips from a table that was closing and take off running. He sprinted right into a mirror—despite clearly seeing his own reflection—and bounced off, completely dazed. As he tried to catch the chips that went flying out of his hands, he hit the ground, and security tackled him like a linebacker.
The Unlucky 7 Mascot
“A few years back, while waiting for a seat, I was watching a craps game on a blazing hot table. The shooter was on fire and it was one of the most pumped up craps tables I’ve ever seen. It was packed and everyone was loud, having a great time,” said a poster on Reddit.
The casino was running some promotion for a lottery or slot game, and they had a group of people wandering around handing out freebies, along with a guy in a mascot costume—a giant Number 7.
They made their way over to the craps table, and I still crack up when I think about how everyone completely lost it, from the players to the dealers, supervisor, and pit boss. This giant Number 7 stood about four feet away from the hot shooter, and the costume was massive—the top of the 7 had to be eight or nine feet tall.
The poor guy inside had no clue why everyone suddenly started hating on him. Of course, the table 7 outs right away, and all heck breaks loose.
“I’ll never forget this little old man screaming at the 7, ‘I hope you get syphilis, syphilis, SYPHILIS!’
“It’s hard to convey how much pandemonium broke out, though; I’ve never experienced the mood of a large group of people shifting so suddenly or dramatically.”
The Trash Can Borrower
Years ago, two buddies and I headed to our local casino, about an hour and a half away, to play some poker. We got pretty hammered and ended up on a 12-hour session.
By 8 a.m., the free donuts were out for the poker players, and one of my friends says he’s going to the car to do a couple of shots and smoke a cigarette. By this point, the other friend and I had sobered up.
About 45 minutes later, the friend who went to the car comes back wheeling a dolly marked “property of the casino.” On the dolly, he’s got one of those big metal bar trash cans with the wide rim—the kind that makes you want to “Kobe” your trash from 15 feet away because you just can’t miss it.
The floor staff immediately confronts him, asking what he’s doing. His explanation? He wanted to tell another poker player that they were trash.
He got kicked out, and we all ended up leaving. We still crack up about it to this day.
The Senior Citizen Throwdown
On Reddit, a person recalled that while “Dealing a seniors poker event about 10 years ago; we’ve got a bunch of temp tables set up and they’re kind of close together, well the old guy in my 8 seat sits down in his chair and bumps the old guy behind him who turns around and starts b*tching at him about it and they start arguing back and forth, they get scooted around a little so they’re sitting down but kind of side facing each other- shouting -pushing and eventually sort of slow punching each other then… they started cane fighting 🤣. I was asked by a guest if I was going to break it up.. ‘nope’🤣.”
The Table Flop
A gambler was playing on one of those casino boats in Louisiana when a guy completely lost his mind after a huge bad beat. He dove onto the table, flailing around and sending chips flying in every direction. Security jumped on him right away, but it took them hours to go through the camera footage and try to put all the chips back where they belonged.
I’ve always had my doubts about how accurate that chip count was afterward. But having worked at another casino for a few years, I’ve seen their surveillance room, and let me tell you, the clarity and coverage they have is unreal.
Caribbean Cruise Stud
“On a cruise ship; we’re playing Caribbean Stud (I know, I know; it’s all they had.) Anyhow, I’m sitting next to this big burly Irish lad (I’m 6’1″; he was at least 6’6″), and he was just getting his a** kicked.
“Like LARGE; he couldn’t win one bloody hand. The dealer is this little German kid that he was calling Hans (not the kid’s name). And he is just berating this kid about all of his losses. So at one point he asks for a marker to go to the bathroom; when he comes back he maxes his bets. Once he gets his cards, he’s yelling at the dealer ‘You better open, Hans. I mean it. I know there’s security here but I will be over this table WAY before they could come and help you.’ Dealer says ‘I am so sorry, sir; I have a full house.’”
“The Irishman yells ‘One, two, three four bullets!!!’ He had four aces, and that was one of the huge multiplier hands, and he was maxed. I think it was like $17K (and this was in the 80’s). He gave Hans a hug (and a couple hundred) and bought champagne for the table…”
No, Thank You, Carrot Top
“Carrot Top walked up to me and my friends and offered us free tickets to his show that night and my buddy said, ‘No thanks man, we got sh*t to do.’ Good times.” Guess they weren’t fans of the ginger-haired comedian.
The Oopsie
This one made me laugh so hard that coffee came out of my nose:
“My wife unknowingly picked up a ‘lady of the night’ thinking she was just super cool and friendly lmao. Went back to the casino hotel room and had a good time and when the topic of payment came up my wife flipped out like what? I thought we were friends, what’s going on here. Been laughing at that since that happened lol.”
I Do, Nope, I Don’t
On Quora, a commenter recounted, “A couple held their wedding in a banquet room of the casino. Towards the end after they were married and drinking a little he stopped the band for a cheers. He said the misses and I have saved for over 2 years and were getting this marriage off to a $200k start. (probably not the best thing to shout in a casino).”
They hugged, then headed to the casino floor—she joined the ladies, while he went with the guys to the high roller poker room.
Around 3am, the loudest scream I’ve ever heard echoed across the casino floor. A woman was all over a man, and the guards were struggling to pull her away. She said, “You son of a b*tch you blew not only the $200k we had saved but also took out a marker for $20k????”
She demanded an annulment on the spot. There happened to be a justice of the peace nearby, who may or may not have had the authority to end a marriage, but he went ahead and did it. She left with her friends, and I don’t know where he went.
“That was crazy.”
Eminem/M&M
“At a blackjack table in Tunica in the early 2000s Eminem walked up and sat down next to me. My buddy on the other end of the table kept surreptitiously pointing at him with wide eyes. I had no idea who he was but when I looked behind him he had a bodyguard standing behind him watching the passersby so I knew he was some kind of big deal. Finally it came out somehow that this was Eminem (maybe because my buddy was all ga-ga about it but I’m not sure.)”
“So leaned over and mentioned his bodyguard and that he must be somebody because most people don’t have a bodyguard.
“Yeah, I’m Eminem.”
“M… and M?”
“Eminem.”
“M & M? LIKE THE CANDY?”
“My buddy turned white and red all at the same time out of embarrassment for me. Everyone at the table laughed, and Eminem laughed.
“And then he relaxed and we chatted for a bit and I said I’d let him play because he was starting to attract attention. So we got up from the table and he invited us to some party. I remember the invite like it happened yesterday. (“8th floor at the Gold Strike, C’mon up.”)
“We thanked him and left. We didn’t go to the party despite my buddy’s pleas. I didn’t believe Eminem was serious, that he was just being nice.”
Casino Cat
A couple was staying at the Excalibur resort in Vegas when they started noticing some odd things in their room—objects in the bathroom were mysteriously knocked over, there were strange noises coming from the walls, and they even discovered what looked like urine in the shower.
The mystery was solved when they woke up at 4:00 A.M. one morning to find a cat staring at them in their room. They later learned that the previous guest had reported their cat missing, thinking it had slipped out. It turns out the cat had been hiding in the room for six days, with the couple unknowingly sharing their space with it for three days. The resourceful cat had survived by coming out at night and drinking toilet water.
Fortunately, the cat was OK and was reunited with its owner. And here’s the kicker: the couple who discovered the cat were both veterinarians and in town for a conference!
God, Is That You?
Another poster on Quora said they “Once watched this guy, completely wasted, somehow stumble into a disabled refuge area and was way too drunk to figure out how to get out. Just to clarify, a disabled refuge is a safe space with an intercom meant for emergencies where someone with a disability can wait for help. This guy, though, was crawling around on the floor, backward, like he thought the room might be bigger on the inside—kind of like the Tardis.
Security decided to reach out through the intercom. They said something pretty basic like, “Are you okay? Need some help?” What came next had us all dying laughing:
“God? Is that YOU, God?” he slurred, with this mix of drunken awe and confusion.
Without missing a beat, the security guy responded, “YES! This is God!”
And there he was, on his knees, babbling away, caught somewhere between religious ecstasy and total panic. It was honestly one of the wildest things I’ve ever witnessed.
The Wrong Button
We thought we’d end with a few feel-good “weird” stories as palate cleansers!
A gentleman was playing blackjack on one of the computer blackjack games in a casino, and the max bet was 3000. The man sitting next to him makes a max bet and is dealt 19 against a 6–he means to click stay but accidentally clicks double and ends up pulling a 2 for 21, and he made 6k off of clicking the wrong button.
The people who witnessed it said, “The whole table and a crowd of people were watching and we celebrated like we won the World Cup!”
The Lucky Lad
On Reddit, a commenter said, “I remember seeing a guy looking shocked, sitting talking to a security guard and nursing a cocktail at the Hippodrome in London. He couldn’t have been older than 25.
“Basically it transpired that he’d just won the jackpot at 3-card poker, which is usually only about £2k. However, he’d won £30,000 and had got a security guy to come sit with him to calm him down. It was essentially life-changing money for him. Those awesome moments just make casinos unlike anywhere else on earth.”
Final Thoughts
People have seen some truly wild stuff when they were just trying to have a good time at a casino! We hope you aren’t too freaked out by the stories—most of them are rarities, and casino security is always quick to jump into action.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever witnessed at a gambling establishment? Tell us in the comments below!
