usNakahira
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22 August 2011 - 7:57am

The new guy! :3

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Hey CasinoListings!

I'll start my introduction by throwing out my name, I'm Charles! You may call me how ever you would like, be it Charles, Charlie, Nakahira, or Naka. Just... not Chuck or Chuckie please... No reason in particular. :] Nice to meet you all! I'm new here to the forums and the website, and I've been browsing around for the past four or five days and decided that I would create an account and join the community.

I'm from Northern California, and I recently started gambling at a casino about a month and a half ago. That was my first time playing at a casino! What an experience that was. I started with 100 dollars in roulette and raised it to 500 dollars. Unfortunately, due to my stupidity and naiveness, I lost it all thinking that I could win more. Of course, I've learned my lesson, and I realize when I should stop when I'm still up. You win some, you lose some, right? The casino visits after my first were successful and my winnings made up for my base losses from my first trip. Blackjack is my favorite. ^^

This was all done while I was on vacation away from home since I do not have any casinos close by to where I live. When I returned home from my vacation, I had this urge to play some more blackjack with or without real money. So, I searched Google for an online blackjack flash game with play money, and I somehow came across this website. I couldn't believe what I had just found! Online casinos that can be played for real money! I was instantly hooked onto this website, researching what I needed to know in order to start my adventures through the online casino world. It's unfortunate that the US is so restricted on the online gambling business. For the past two days, I've been playing blackjack with play money at the Aladdin's Gold Casino. I also found it to be a good opportunity to try out and learn other games without risking anything.

Well, I suppose that would do for a quick and brief introduction. Feel free to ask anything about me and I'll try my best to answer! I have a few questions for the community myself though, would it be okay to ask in my own introduction thread?

I hope to have a great time here at CasinoListings!

-Nakahira :3

auCL-Ed
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22 August 2011 - 12:46pm
#1

Welcome Nakahira! Feel free to fire away with your questions and I'll be happy to help you out.

Always play it safe! Consult our list of rogue casinos and warnings before depositing at a new casino.
Post in our forums to earn CLchips which can be used to buy real prizes in our CLchips shop.

ushope777
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22 August 2011 - 9:58pm
#2

Hello and Welcome, Charles!

In my opinion, you have come to the right place! The best forum ever for casino info: totally and completely above the rest. 🙂

My name is "Hope," and I discovered this forum this last winter, I believe it was. Also won the iPod Touch, much to my surprise, and I still can't believe I own one or how generous of a prize this was!

I used to only play Texas Hold'em online, then discovered the slots after coming here. I enjoy a relaxing session as a reward for hard work or, as you say, when I have the "bug" yet can't drive to a casino. I have land based casinos not too far away from me, but I don't always have time to go, plus with the cost of gas it is nice to stay home and gamble in the privacy of my home.

I agree with you about the U.S. having too many limits, which means fewer choices for us.

So, are you liking Alladin's Gold? Do you have other favorites yet? I have been playing at Lucky Red a lot, but I am thinking of moving around again and try another. I used to play in Slots Galore, which was nice, because the games were a bit different, PLUS I enjoyed the format of the games (some I just do not care for), but they closed down. Another one bites the dust. lol

I think you will really like it here. CL-Ed is so helpful and knowledgeable, quick to answer questions, and there are other wonderful members who are helpful, too. I asked a lot of questions as a newbie, and I still do, sometimes. 🙂 I enjoy looking in the "winnings" thread and the General Chat forum is fun, too.

I look forward to learning more about you, Charles, and again, Welcome! 🙂

Good luck, and I hope you win buckets full of money, lol!

Cheers!

Hope 🙂

CL-Ed

usbarbadosslim93
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23 August 2011 - 2:26am
#3

Welcome to the site. This place is awesome and I hope you find any information you are looking for. It has been an extremely useful place for me to get a heads up on the American online gambling scene.

CL-Ed

usNakahira
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Joined: 22 Aug 2011
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23 August 2011 - 5:20am
#4

Hey!

Thanks for the warm welcomes guys! I already feel like I'm a part of the community.

I haven't really tried out any other online casinos other than Aladdin's Gold. I'll be sure to other casinos a shot as well!

My question is really directed toward American players, but I would still love to hear anyone else who can answer my question. I've tried multiple times to deposit some money into Aladdin's Gold, but have been unsuccessful. I was curious as to how all the other American players did it. The only options I haven't tried out were MoneyLineWallet, MyPaylinQ, the EZ Voucher option, and direct wire transfers. I understand that Click2Pay is no longer available for US players. I've also tried to use my credit card to deposit, and I've had no luck. I also understand that options such as MoneyLineWallet and MyPaylinQ have fees, that's why I haven't tried them out yet. What option would you recommend for American players? Do American players just use the options that charges fees? Also, are there any casinos out there that are accepting American players AND allowing credit card deposits for said players?

Thanks in advanced for answering my questions!

-Nakahira :3

auCL-Ed
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23 August 2011 - 8:20am
#5

Bear in mind that I am not American - but I know slim and hope are, so I am sure their responses will be helpful. But I can provide some background as to why you are having difficulties.

The recent government action against casinos, poker rooms, and bingo rooms that accept U.S. players has made it harder for U.S. players to deposit, particularly with a credit card.

Most U.S. banks are stopping credit card transactions that are coded as gambling related, due to the UIGEA law that doesn't actually make gambling online illegal, but creates a legal grey area for financial transactions related to online gambling. Most banks don't want to have to deal with it, so they just put a stop on all gambling transactions.

The casinos almost always use an intermediary known as a payment processor which accepts and processes credit card transactions on behalf of merchants. These processors attempt to work around the payment stops but they are not always successful, and some are shut down from time to time.

"e-Wallets" such as MoneyLineWallet and MyPaylinQ *may* work, but these days they are risky for an American. Gamblers in other parts of the world use similar services such as Neteller, Moneybookers, and even Paypal without problems. Sadly U.S. citizens cannot use those services. The problem you have already discovered is that the costs and risks for these companies that are still willing to process transactions for U.S. players are high, and therefore so are the fees. Also it would be remiss of me not to warn you that in recent months, similar popular e-Wallets that serviced Americans such as eWalletXpress and Quicktender were shut down and had their funds seized.

Some players have no problem using their credit cards. Some are able to purchase pre-paid cards at a gas station or similar that work fine (maybe hope and slim or others can chime in here with specific tips). At least using a credit or debit card, the worst that can happen is you have your deposit refused. Put your money in an e-wallet, and you risk it being lost if the wallet is shut down.

As far as casinos go, Aladdin's Gold is one of the best for U.S. players, but if you're finding your card doesn't there, you could try it at a few other casinos, many of which will have the exact same games (RTG software). The reason it may work elsewhere is that different casino groups use different payment processing companies and their rates of success can vary.

All of these have the same RTG software as Aladdin's Gold and are good operators: Slots Plus, iNetbet, Jackpot Capital, Slotastic.
These casinos have different software so the games are different but you could also try them: 3Dice, WinADay

If you run across another site you want to try, be sure to check for a review here first as there are many dodgy ones that no-one should deposit money at!

Also one last thing, if you mainly want to play blackjack - you should generally avoid taking a bonus when you sign up. If you want an explanation of that, let me know, although here is a good recent question someone asked about that:
Sign-up bonus - I'm confused about the benefit. What am I missing?

Nakahira

Always play it safe! Consult our list of rogue casinos and warnings before depositing at a new casino.
Post in our forums to earn CLchips which can be used to buy real prizes in our CLchips shop.

usNakahira
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Joined: 22 Aug 2011
Posts: 3
Thanks given: 1
24 August 2011 - 9:49am
#6

Hey!

I was reading some threads from the past, and it seems that I've found the online casino world a little too late. If I had found it earlier, things would have been much easier. I've read up about different eWallets shutting down, which is why I was so hesitant to use MoneyLineWallet and MyPaylinQ.

On other news...
I received an email from the Account Manager of Aladdins Gold Casino stating that they have acknowledge my difficulties making my first deposit. I was actually quite surprised when I read this email, considering I didn't make any attempt to contact them at all about my deposits. He told me to try using the Express Payment option, which I did, but to no luck using my credit card. I was pretty set on using my credit card for depositing seeing how it's not allowed to send money directly from a US bank to an online gambling facility. Just out of curiosity, I decided to use my debit card for the Express Payment option, and my funds seems to have gone through! I thought it was kind of odd that my debit card works but my credit card doesn't. Oh well, I finally made my first deposit ever on my first online casino! I've already won 100 dollars! I'm so excited! 😂

I was planning on using the bonus for my first deposit, but decided not to due to your recommendation. Could you go more into detail about that?

Thanks!

-Nakahira :3

auCL-Ed
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24 August 2011 - 10:43pm
#7

Thats good to hear that your debit card worked. Its weird that certain cards work while others don't but unfortunately that is the nature of things for Americans at the moment.

Re the bonus - when you take a bonus the casino will give you some extra money to play with. However they also require you to wager a certain amount of cumulative dollars before you can withdraw. This is known as a wagering requirement. Around our site you will see this listed as 30xB or 40xB which just means 30x (or 40x) your bonus amount in dollars. So if you received $100 in bonus money you would have to wager a total of $3000 before you could withdraw.

In most cases these days, and especially at casinos that accept Americans, the wagering requirements for blackjack are either extremely high or they disallow you from playing blackjack at all. This is because of blackjack's very low house edge which makes it more likely that a smart player can easily finish in front with the bonus money.

In your case, I think its better to get familiar with the casino first and get an understanding of what you're in for before you accept a bonus and then you can make a more informed decision. Too many players new to online casinos take the bonus as the offers look so great, but then feel like their money is "trapped" in there until they complete wagering requirements.

Always play it safe! Consult our list of rogue casinos and warnings before depositing at a new casino.
Post in our forums to earn CLchips which can be used to buy real prizes in our CLchips shop.

usbarbadosslim93
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24 August 2011 - 11:04pm
#8

I myself almost never take the bonus. I just find the wagering requirement to be too high in most cases. In regards to deposit options it is strange for me; I have had success getting Master Card transactions to go through no matter what the casino, but cannot get a Visa to go through no matter what. I have even tried prepaid cards and for some reason they don't work for me...unless they are Master Card.

I find this to be strange because some casinos like Bodog only allow Visa for deposits. Hit or miss depending on the financial institution I guess. Maybe a smaller bank or credit union would somehow work when a major credit card wouldn't? I know it doesn't make sense, but maybe there is a workaround somewhere.

Either way, payment processors generally don't work for us Americans. At this rate I would be more apt to trust a bank transfer to a casino than a payment processor. It isn't likely the US is going to go after you in any online gambling crackdown (although it is a possibility), so that may be a better option than having your funds frozen when the payment processor decides not to honor American customers.

Oh, and regulation MAY be on the way. I have been generally negative on my thinking of our government coming around to the notion of legalizing online gambling, but I have seen recent news that suggests Washington may have gotten its act together and we may see regulated gambling sooner rather than later!

CL-Ed

ushope777
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29 August 2011 - 8:09pm
#9

Hi!

I don't have time, right now, to read all the other responses, but I have no problem depositing at any of the U.S. Casinos using the Visa (prepaid card) Express Payment option. I just use my regular Visa check card from my bank, and I think what it does (correct me if I am wrong anyone) is to buy a gift card then deposits it into the casino. It is soooo easy to do, and that is the only method I have ever used. When the list pops up just click on the Express Payment option with the picture of the Visa card that says, "prepaid Visa" on it. Click on the picture of the card, fill out the information and you should be "good to go."

Let me know how it turns out for you!

CL-Ed