Cell Phone Ban

[mike777]

I wonder how the Cell Phone ban is working or not working in Vegas?

[pclayton]

From what I heard, people are taking this pretty seriously. They had a check-in at a desk right outside the main room for the NABC events and it was $2 to have them keep your phone. I never had to wait to check it in or to get it out. You could check two phones at once if you wanted to.

 

I did hear of one phone going off but I'm not sure the person was penalized.

 

I had asked how many had been checked in and was told around 175 on Tuesday.

[matmat]

so this was a money raising measure, wasn't it...

[uday]

There is a station outside the NABC playing area, attended during the entire session. You toss your phone into a baggie along with a receipt stub and an index card with your name on it. Then you fork over $2 ( small coffee costs 2.50 at the playing site, fwiw )

 

The entire procedure is smooth. I'm not wild about the need to do this in every NABC event I feel like watching but the workaround is decent enough.

[blackshoe]

First time they lose somebody's phone, there will be Hell to pay.

[barmar]

so this was a money raising measure, wasn't it...

Someone mentioned that the cell phone check station is not being operated by ACBL, and they're not getting the revenue.

[barmar]

First time they lose somebody's phone, there will be Hell to pay.

On my first day I used it they tried to give me someone else's phone (she misread a digit on the ticket). I suppose an unethical person might take the phone, but I think this is pretty unlikely. After all, that means they can't get THEIR phone.

 

It's a pretty simple, fool-proof system. In addition to the ticket stub, you also have to put your name on an index card and put it in the baggie with the phone. Most of the time they ask you your name and check the card before giving you the phone. But I think this is really intended so they can try to get in touch with you if your phone turns up later.

[Elianna]

our teammate forgot to turn her cell off and it rang and we lost a full board in the mixed bam. So I can verify that they are awarding penalties for ringing cell phones.

[TimG]

our teammate forgot to turn her cell off and it rang and we lost a full board in the mixed bam. So I can verify that they are awarding penalties for ringing cell phones.

It went off in the baggie at the check station or at the table? Isn't the mixed BAM an NABC event where cell phones at the table are banned?

[bid_em_up]

our teammate forgot to turn her cell off and it rang and we lost a full board in the mixed bam. So I can verify that they are awarding penalties for ringing cell phones.

You mean she forgot to check it, right?

 

;)

[barmar]

I hope none of the directors are reading this, as one of my friends has been engaging in civil disobedience while playing in the 0-1500 Mini-Spingold all week. They're in the finals today, maybe she'll be more prudent (it would be a real disaster to lose because of such a silly thing).

[mike777]

I hope none of the directors are reading this, as one of my friends has been engaging in civil disobedience while playing in the 0-1500 Mini-Spingold all week.  They're in the finals today, maybe she'll be more prudent (it would be a real disaster to lose because of such a silly thing).

:)

 

Engaging in Civil disobedience means being public in your disobedience, not doing it in secret. It also means you are willing to pay the price for breaking the law, a law you disagree with. :)

 

When people marched for Civil Rights, they did so in public. Rosa Parks rode the bus in public and was willing to go to jail or to get beaten up for breaking the law.

 

It is not, not, sneeking around and breaking the law in secret. :(

 

If your friends are pulling out their cell phones and putting it on the table during finals play and refusing to move it....now that is civil disobedience.

[JoAnneM]

ACBL is not making money off of this, I imagine it is costing them money - when you think about how much it costs to pay a hotel or security employee to man the station for that many hours each day. I haven't done the math though.

But from my experience with working with event venues $2 is not covering it.

 

My, aren't some of us cynical.

 

I believe ACBL is doing this in the best interest of the players, it may not be the best idea but think about what drove them to it.

 

 

 

Jo Anne Murdock

President District 20 ACBL

[TimG]

ACBL is not making money off of this, I imagine it is costing them money - when you think about how much it costs to pay a hotel or security employee to man the station for that many hours each day. I haven't done the math though.

But from my experience with working with event venues $2 is not covering it.

Today's Daily Bulletin included an item which stated that Allan Falk's wife has been manning the cell phone checking station. I don't think there is hotel/security staff being used for the desk.

[matmat]

ACBL is not making money off of this, I imagine it is costing them money - when you think about how much it costs to pay a hotel or security employee to man the station for that many hours each day.  I haven't done the math though.

But from my experience with working with event venues $2 is not covering it.

Today's Daily Bulletin included an item which stated that Allan Falk's wife has been manning the cell phone checking station. I don't think there is hotel/security staff being used for the desk.

Also, there is a little blurb about how the event is monitored live via cameras and taped.

[rbforster]

our teammate forgot to turn her cell off and it rang and we lost a full board in the mixed bam. So I can verify that they are awarding penalties for ringing cell phones.

But other people got their full board penalties reduced to 1/4 board for the same thing. We knew this rule would be enforced inconsistently and selectively base on the whims of the director and the particular player(s) involved.

[matmat]

But other people got their full board penalties reduced to 1/4 board for the same thing.

Really?!

[inquiry]

Interstingly, a cell phone rang during the quarterfinals of the Spinggolds, 1st quarterr I think. That was just minutes after the director had issued the warning about cell phones at the start of play. I believe the ringing phone belong to one of the directors, or a kibitzer as it came from a non-table area. There was mild laughter. (It could have been from a mini-spingold player as they were in the same room.

 

I did leave my cell phone in the room, despite saying here before the event I would simply turn it off and ignore the ban per se.

[Elianna]

But other people got their full board penalties reduced to 1/4 board for the same thing.

Really?!

Yes, really. It happened in the 2nd day of the mixed BAM. A cell phone went off in Val's (our teammate who got the penalty on the first qualifying session) section and so Val checked the recap sheet to find out who it happened to. She then found out that the team got only a quarter board penalty.

 

She went and asked the director why, and she was told that it was put in as a full board penalty, and "someone" changed it to a quarter board. She was not given a reason why, and it was strongly implied that it would not change.

[jdonn]

From what I heard, people are taking this pretty seriously. They had a check-in at a desk right outside the main room for the NABC events and it was $2 to have them keep your phone. I never had to wait to check it in or to get it out. You could check two phones at once if you wanted to.

 

I did hear of one phone going off but I'm not sure the person was penalized.

 

I had asked how many had been checked in and was told around 175 on Tuesday.

You'll have to kill me to get me to name names, but I know of dozens (no exageration) of people who ignored the rule, so just imagine how many there were that I don't know of. I still hate the rule, but to show I'm not all negative the cameras all over were a good idea.

 

I consider it shameful that they charge for the service of leaving your cell phone at that table. Well done raising the entry fee on anyone who wants to follow the rules.

[Guest Jlall]

Everyone I knew just gave their cell phones to the teammates that were sitting out that round. I guess that doesn't work for four handed teams.

[SoTired]

although i don't know for sure, i suspect that the purpose of the ban (electronic device ban, not just cell phones) is to protect the integrity of the event. It is done to prevent extra communication with a player. Rather than make the directors expert communication device detectors, they simply banned all electronic devices. Wouldn't it be terrible if someone rewired an IPod to communicate with an Ipod of a kibber to pass information about another players hand or teammates score? Since all the hands are duplicated across sections, the kibber would not even have to be in the same room. I think it is about time. Why wait for a scandal.

 

My brother lives in Las Vegas and came looking for me. When he couldn't find me, he decided to kib some GNT play. He remembered he had his cell phone on in his pocket, so he went into a corner of the room to turn it off. A director saw him and chased him out.

 

Chess has had some serious, embarrassing problems in this area many times.

[TimG]

Wouldn't it be terrible if someone rewired an IPod to communicate with an Ipod of a kibber to pass information about another players hand or teammates score? Since all the hands are duplicated across sections, the kibber would not even have to be in the same room. I think it is about time. Why wait for a scandal.

Wouldn't it be terrible if a kibitzer walked out of the room and spoke to a player? Why bother with the iPod rewiring (or cell phone using) when cheating is simple without them?

 

I don't think the boards are duplicated across sections in early rounds of the Spingold.

 

We've been over this, but the cell phone ban is merely a cosmetic attempt to appear to be protecting the integrity of the game. There are other measures, which would take more effort on the part of the ACBL, that would serve to actually protect the integrity of the game.

[JoAnneM]

From what I read in the Bulletin it sounded like ACBL volunteers were manning the "phone" booth so I may have been completely wrong when I said that ACBL was not collecting the money themselves on this venture. At this point I simply don't know. :mellow: Since I am treasurer of the 2010 Reno NABC guess I'd better find out.

[Vilgan]

Most people I know just turned off the phone for early parts of national events and left it in the room for later parts. I think I would not mind the cell phone ban nearly as much if it felt like they had already addressed some problems that are significantly worse first (people playing different boards at different times).