Texas' Official Unclaimed Property Site - Texas Comptroller. Losing that amount of money didn’t seem to phase him and I’ve seen him back many times since.” #5 – $2,200,000 loss ended in suicide “The house lost $3 million in an hour to this player, and then they won $5.2 million back from him over the next six hours. The player slowly lost all his gains and an additional $2.2 million to the casino.

Do you feel like you’re losing too much money gambling? If so, that can be a serious problem. You’ll probably find plenty of advice aimed at problem gamblers or gambling addicts. That advice usually amounts to absolute abstinence, which, frankly, is the correct approach—if you’re really a problem gambler.

On the other hand, you might not have an addiction. You might be a recreational gambler who overdid it one weekend. Compare it to the person who goes to a party one weekend and overindulges and wakes up with a hangover. That, by itself, doesn’t qualify one for membership in Alcoholics Anonymous. It takes a little more drinking than that.

If you’re a recreational gambler, here are 10 reasons why you’re losing so much money gambling, and here’s what you should do instead:

1- You’re Placing the Wrong Bets at the Casino

All casino games have a house edge—a mathematical advantage for the casino that’s impossible to beat in the long run. They create this edge by creating a game where the odds of winning are worse than the payout odds. One easily understood example is roulette. A bet on a single number at the roulette table has a 37 to 1 probability of winning. (You have 37 ways to lose, and you only have 1 way to win.) But that bet only pays off at 35 to 1 odds.

It’s important to realize that this is a long-term mathematically expected result, and in the short run, the results are random. Your actual results will only start to look more like the mathematically expected results over a long period of time. But the more negative expectation bets you place, and the higher the house edge is, the more money you’ll stand to lose in the casino. In roulette, all of the bets (save one) have the same house edge, but this isn’t true of every game.

Craps, for example, is a game which has some bets with a house edge of well under 2%. But it also has some bets with a house edge of well over 10%. The difference in expected value is tremendous. If you stick with the pass line bet at the craps table, or the come bet, the house edge is only 1.41% But if you start betting on silly stuff like “hard 8,” the house edge is 9.09%.

2- You’re Betting Too Much Money on Each Wager

The way to predict your mathematically expected loss per hour on a gambling activity is to use the following formula, where:

• A = The house edge
• B = The average bet size
• C = The number of bets you make per hour
• A X B X C = Expected hourly loss

Increase any of these factors, and the amount of money you lose per hour goes up. It does you little good to stick with a game where the house edge is 1.41% if you’re just going to start betting $500 per roll instead of $100.

If you’re gambling spending has gotten out of control, consider scaling down the stakes for which you’re playing. If you’re betting $100 per hand on blackjack, you can cut the amount of money you’re losing in half by betting $50 per hand instead.This is true in any gambling activity where you’re fighting a negative expectation. Bet less per wager, and you’ll lose less money in the long run.

3- You’re Using Betting Systems

Some people think that raising and lowering their bet sizes based on the previous round’s results can change the odds in their favor. The most popular of these methods is called the Martingale System, and it involves doubling the size of your wager after every loss until you win.

What happened on the previous spins has no effect on the probability of getting red on the next spin of the roulette wheel. There are 38 numbers, and 18 of them are red. The probability of getting a result remains 18/38, regardless of what happened on the previous spin, the previous dozen spins, or the previous 100 spins.

The other thing that these betting systems fail to account for are the size of your bankroll and the betting limits at the casino. If you start off betting $10 per spin at the roulette wheel and double your bet after every loss, you don’t need an outrageous losing streak to start putting a serious strain on your bankroll.

Losing 8 times in a row at roulette seems next to impossible, but it happens every 4 or 5 hours. Look what happens to the size of your bet when you hit a losing streak like that:

1. $10
2. $20
3. $40
4. $80
5. $160
6. $320
7. $640
8. $1280

Keep in mind that if you succeed on bet #8 or #9, your net profit for the entire progression was only $10. The rest of that bet was just to recoup your previous losses. And after losing 7 or 8 times in a row, the odds of winning the next bet are still against you. The probability is still 47.37%, no matter what happened earlier.

No betting system can compensate for having the odds against you in the first place. That’s just not how gambling works.

4- You’re Not Using Basic Strategy in Blackjack

Most people know by now that blackjack offers some of the best odds in the casino. The house edge is less than 1%. But that figure assumes that you’re playing every hand with perfect basic strategy. Every deviation you make from basic strategy adds to the house edge.

If you’re going to play blackjack, memorize basic strategy and use it on every hand. This will limit your losses. The more you deviate from basic strategy, the more money you’ll lose on average over time.

5- You’re Playing Slot Machines

The most expensive game to play in any casino is the slot machine. It combines lousy odds with a high rate of play, which is devastating to your bankroll. It increases the average expected loss dramatically. The average slot machine player gets in about 600 spins per hour. At $3 per spin, you’re putting $1800 per hour into action. Contrast that with a blackjack player wagering $10 per hand at a reasonably crowded table. He’s probably lucky to get in 100 hands per hour, which means he’s only risking $1000 per hour.

Play whatever you want to in the casino, including slot machines, but if you think you’re losing too much money too fast, you should get away from the slots.

6- You’re Playing Too Many Hands at the Poker Table

One of the keys to winning at poker in the long run is tight-aggressive play. The first part of that is probably the more important part if you’re losing too much money playing poker.

Tight and loose are 2 ways of describing how selective you are with which hands you play and how far you continue with them. Tight players fold most hands and only play the hands that are strong. Loose players, on the other hand, play lots of hands. Loose players might win more pots, but it’s only because they’re involved in more pots.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t put money in the pot. Betting and raising are keys to aggressive play, which is the 2nd half of a winning poker strategy. But in terms of losing less money, the first trick you should learn is how to fold a lot. Even tight-passive players lose less money than loose-passive players.

7- You’re Gambling with Money You Can’t Afford to Lose

Have you ever heard the expression, “Scared money always loses?” It’s true.Scared money is money you shouldn’t have been betting in the first place. It’s money you can’t afford to lose. Since you can’t afford to lose that money, you make decisions that aren’t mathematically optimal. You also recklessly chase losses in a desperate attempt to get even.

You get to the blackjack table, and you have $100 down on a hand, and you split. Then you re-split. Now you have $400 in action. Then suppose the dealer winds up with a total of 21, and all 4 of those hands of yours lose. You have $1600 left and can’t pay the rent.

So you think, well, I already can’t pay my rent—maybe I can catch up and get ahead by placing a couple of bigger bets. So you bet $200 on the next hand, with the intention of just getting in enough hands to break even for the night. This time you get a hand where the correct play is to double down, and you do so. But you still lose. Now you’re down to $1200. You’re going to lose a lot of money if you’re playing with scared money.

8- You Really Do Have a Gambling Problem

It’s not my place to diagnose whether you’re a problem gambler or not. That’s for you to decide. I can offer some clues to look for, though.

If you’ve ever done any of the following, you might consider getting some help for a potential gambling problem:

• You’ve missed work because of your gambling.
• You’ve felt remorseful after gambling.
• You’ve gambled until you were completely broke.
• You’ve sold something or hocked something to gamble.
• You’ve lied about your gambling activities.

You can find a list of 20 questions to think about if you’re concerned about your gambling behavior here. That’s from the Gamblers Anonymous website, but that’s not the only game in town when it comes to getting help for a gambling problem.

Getting help is crucial, but I’m a believer in getting professional help as well as the support and fellowship of people who have experienced similar problems. Find a licensed professional counselor to talk with, too. Gambling addiction ruins lives, so don’t let it ruin yours.

9- You’re Obsessed with Climbing the Ladder of the VIP Club

I have a friend who visits the Winstar Casino more often than he’d care to admit. He has recently been climbing the ladder in the players club there, and he gets free food and rooms all the time. To pull this off, he had to gamble a lot more than he probably would have otherwise. And the way negative expectation games work is to drain your money the longer you stay in the game and the more you play.

And let’s face it. The percentage that the casino awards you for your play is so paltry in comparison to the house edge that it’s pitiful. Most casinos award you 0.2% or so in rewards. That might go up to 0.3% or 0.4% as you climb the VIP player club ladder. The house edge on most casino games, though, is at least 10 times that much. Most casino games have a house edge in the 2% to 4% range.

Blackjack and video poker are exceptions, but it’s all but impossible to make a living with either of those games even if you play profitably and optimally. Don’t get sucked into the trap of thinking you need to play more to get more player rewards. That’s a recipe for losing more money.

10- You’re Not as Good at Betting on Sports as You Think

It’s hard to make a profit betting on sports. The vig creates a situation where a guy who’s right with his picks 50% of the time is bound to lose. That’s because the book requires you to wager $110 on a 50/50 proposition to win $100. Most people overestimate how well they pick winners. They think that they’re better than they are, and since they’re not keeping careful records anyway, it’s easy for them to claim they’re breaking even or showing a small profit.

Do this for a month or two, and I can guarantee you’ll be surprised at what your actual results look like when compared to how you thought you were doing. This doesn’t make you delusional, by the way. It makes you human. It’s human nature to have selective memory. You’ll naturally remember the winning bets more than the losing bets. That’s why keeping written records is so important.

Conclusion

So you’ve been losing too much money gambling? It’s almost certainly because of one of the 10 reasons listed above. That’s good news, too, because once you’ve put your finger on the problem, you can solve it.

With each of the reasons for losing money listed above, I’ve tried to include a piece of advice about how to stop losing so much money for that reason. What other reasons can you think of that might be causing you to lose so much money gambling?

The Pennsylvania Treasury Department’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property is fully operational. Some changes have been put in place due to COVID-19 to ensure the safety of our employees and the public. These changes may result in a temporary delay. Treasury staff continue to maintain the highest level of service possible. Those who wish to start the claims process can access forms on our website.

Hi. I’m Pennsylvania Treasurer Joe Torsella. The Pennsylvania Treasury is currently seeking the owners of more than $3.5 billion in unclaimed property.

Treasury receives hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed property every year. These items and funds go missing, often for things as simple as a misspelled name or an out-of-date address. But let’s be clear: this is YOUR money we’re talking about, and we don’t want to keep it.

1 in 10 Pennsylvania residents has unclaimed property waiting for them - do you?

Joe Torsella
Pennsylvania State Treasurer

Unclaimed Property (Claims)

• 4th Floor, Riverfront Office Center
  1101 South Front Street
  Harrisburg, PA 17104-2516

• 1(800) 222 2046

Complete your claim forms and mail them as soon as possible to:

Bureau of Unclaimed Property:

• P.O. Box 1837
  Harrisburg, PA 17105-1837

The documentation required to complete a claim varies, depending on who is claiming the property (the owner or a legal representative of the owner) and the type of property being claimed. There will be instructions specific to your claim on your claim forms. However, if additional information is required to process your claim, a return team member will contact you. Your claim cannot be processed until we receive all the necessary information. Please remember to sign your claim forms.

To receive assistance from a claims representative, call 1.800.222.2046 from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday – Friday, or e-mail tupmail@patreasury.gov.

The Bureau of Unclaimed Property will honor personal Powers of Attorney as long as we receive a certified copy of the POA, signed by the owner. The POA may execute the claim forms on behalf of the owner. Please note, the Bureau of Unclaimed Property requires all powers of attorney submitted to comply with 20 Pa C.S.A. Section 5601. Therefore, each power of attorney will need the required notice signed by the principal and required acknowledgement executed by the agent.

If you initiated a claim on Treasury’s Web site, you are issued a webinquiry ID with your personal email address that allows you to follow the progress of your claim online here.

If you initiated your claim over the phone or by mail, you can speak with one of our claims representatives by calling 1.800.222.2046 from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday – Friday, or e-mail tupmail@patreasury.gov.

Proof of ownership is usually established by address or Social Security verification, or, in some cases, presentation of the original property. Sometimes, the claimant is not able to verify that he or she lived at the last known address that was reported to the Bureau of Unclaimed Property. In these cases, the Bureau of Unclaimed Property will do everything we can to assist you in establishing ownership. If the Bureau of Unclaimed Property is not successful in finding a connection to an old address, you may be asked to do further research, such as contacting a former school district, tax bureau, or church. When all efforts have been exhausted and ownership cannot be proven, you may be required to obtain a letter of verification from the company that reported the property. The Bureau of Unclaimed Property takes into consideration other factors that may lead to payment of the claim. In most instances, claims of this nature are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Personal identification information relating to unclaimed property claimants, including Social Security numbers, is confidential. The Treasury Department does not make such information available to the public or to third parties engaged in business as “finders” of unclaimed, lost, or abandoned property.

Treasury makes available publicly advertised lists of owners of unclaimed property. These lists do not contain the amounts of the property or the Social Security numbers of owners.

Treasury is required by the Disposition of Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Act to sell all shares after being reported by a holder. According to Section 1301.17(e) of the DAUPA, “The State Treasurer shall be required to sell all stocks, bonds and other negotiable financial instruments upon receipt of such items. The State Treasurer shall not be held liable for any loss or gain in the value that the financial instrument would have obtained had the financial instrument been held instead of being sold.”

If the owner of the property is deceased, unclaimed property claims can be paid under certain conditions.

If the unclaimed property is valued at $11,000 or less and it has been at least five (5) years since a personal representative to the estate was appointed, the property may be paid to the surviving spouse, child, parent, or sibling of the decedent (preference given in that order), provided the owner died a resident of Pennsylvania, 20 Pa. C.S.A. Section 3101 (e).

The person claiming the property must be appointed personal representative to the estate by the court (and will be required to present a short certificate) under any the following conditions: If the property is valued at over $11,000, it has been less than five (5) years since the appointment of a personal representative, or no estate exists and you are a niece, nephew, grandchild, or other relative.

If the owner died intestate (without a will), an administrator may be appointed by the Register of Wills office in the county where the decedent resided. A claimant may petition the Register of Wills to be appointed as the administrator. The administrator is responsible for distributing the decedent’s estate according to 20 Pa. C.S.A. Section 3101 (e). The Register of Wills may grant Letters of Administration (sometimes called a short certificate) which BUP may use to validate the appointed administrator.

If the owner died testate (with a will), the executor must place the will on file with the Register of Wills, who will in turn grant Letters Testamentary (sometimes called a short certificate). The decedent’s estate is distributed by the executor according to the will.

Please contact the Bureau of Unclaimed Property by calling 1.800.222.2046 from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday – Friday, or e-mail tupmail@patreasury.gov to obtain information specific to the deceased owner.

If the owner’s estate is still open or the property is over $11,000, a short certificate is required. A short certificate (sometimes called Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary) is a certification that an estate proceeding is on record in the Register of Wills office in the county where the decedent was legally domiciled at the time of death. A short certificate can only be issued if the estate exists. The decedent’s will must be probated or an administrator appointed by the Register of Wills.

If the decedent properly completed the claim prior to his death, BUP will issue the check to the decedent, as long as the bank will allow it to be deposited into the estate account. If the decedent died intestate (without a will), then a personal representative must be appointed and file a claim with BUP. (Please refer to the question/answer above “What if the deceased owner died without a will?”).

A short certificate is a certification that an estate proceeding is on record in the Register of Wills office. This document can also be referred to as Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary.

A Relationship by Entitlement to Decedent Owner Affidavit is a document that is sometimes used by the Bureau of Unclaimed Property to transfer unclaimed property to a decedent’s heir. It can be used when:

• The owner died without an estate or the estate has been closed for more than five years since the estate was opened.

• The total value of the property is less than $11,000

• The owner was a legal resident of Pennsylvania at the time of death.

• The claimant is the surviving spouse, child, parent, or sibling (preference given in that order). If the claimant is not the surviving spouse, child, parent, or sibling, a short certificate is required.

The Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries Code, 20 Pa. C.S.A. Section 3101 (e)(2)(i), requires that a certified death certificate must be presented. In addition, the Pennsylvania Department of Health prohibits the copying of certified death certificates.

1. If no state is selected, your search results default to Pennsylvania.
2. If you select a state other than PA, your results pertain to records held in the PA Treasury database.
3. If you believe you may have unclaimed property held by another state, visit their website to perform additional searches.

Check the status of your claim(s).

Property Recovery and Reporting

Finders

Pennsylvania state law requires that all 'Finders' and property recovery professionals who assist potential claimants assemble a claim for a fee must complete an application and be certified as a finder by the Pennsylvania Treasury.

Holders

Holders of Unclaimed Property are financial institutions, insurers, utilities, business associations, medical facilities, sole proprietors, fiduciaries, courts, public officers, government entities and all legal or commercial entities that must file a report with the Pennsylvania Treasury if they have reportable unclaimed property.

Tangible Property

Pennsylvania Treasury's Vault is used to maintain the custody of tangible property reported to the Bureau of Unclaimed Property. Tangible property is physical assets such as collectible coins, jewelry, military medals, stamps, antiques, savings bonds or other physical items.

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