Hustler closing all safe deposit boxes on December 31 due to stricter California regulations (update, Commerce is now too)

I got this weird letter from Hustler. It was dated November 15, but note the postmark on the envelope was December 13:





This was highly inconvenient for me, as I was away from home for awhile during the second half of December, and had to make a special effort to get down to Hustler before 12/31. Could they really just close my box that fast, and push it into California unclaimed property?

And was it really true that all of the boxes were closing, not just mine?

The notice was definitely insufficient, even if you want to believe their November 15th letter date, California Gambling Law requires 6 month, according to section 1514(b):

Quote:

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(b) If a business association has in its records an address for an apparent owner of the contents of, or the proceeds of sale of the contents of, a safe deposit box or other safekeeping repository described in subdivision (a), and the records of the business association do not disclose the address to be inaccurate, the business association shall make reasonable efforts to notify the owner by mail, or, if the owner has consented to electronic notice, electronically, that the owner’s contents, or the proceeds of the sale of the contents, will escheat to the state pursuant to this section. The business association shall give notice not less than 6 months and not more than 12 months before the time the contents, or the proceeds of the sale of the contents, become reportable to the Controller in accordance with this chapter.

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Hustler manager Shaun Yaple explained some more, in response to my tweet:

https://twitter.com/chaosagent22/sta...17695577764217
https://twitter.com/chaosagent22/sta...37613342142790
https://twitter.com/The_Three_Bs/sta...91388467601892
https://twitter.com/The_Three_Bs/sta...05128755872217
https://twitter.com/The_Three_Bs/sta...09010906898550


So that's the situation. Apparently the federal government updated their anti money laundering (AML) requirements, which then triggered California to do the same. This created some kind of increased regulatory risk (fines?) upon California cardrooms offering boxes, and all but Commerce decided to shut the boxes down rather than take the risk.

Still not sure why Hustler had this weirdness regarding notification. They have a notification in the room with the boxes claiming the deadline is/was 9/30/23, and then they sent me this letter dated 11/15/23, yet not actually sent until December 13. Then I was given (illegally) a short deadline to get my stuff out, when it was actually 6 months.

I wish I knew about the 6 month thing before I rushed down there yesterday. I even played while there and had a bad session. Sad!

If I had to speculate, then I'd suggest one of two things:

1.) Hustler simply didn't know that they had to give you six months.

2.) Hustler was bluffing; they knew they couldn't turn your property over to the state so soon, but they wanted everyone to clear out the boxes and figured most people wouldn't look up the law on this one.

I could be wrong, but if #2, I think they're probably allowed to lie. I tend to think that you'd only have something actionable had they actually, in fact, cleared your box out early and remitted its contents to the state.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mission146

If I had to speculate, then I'd suggest one of two things:

1.) Hustler simply didn't know that they had to give you six months.

2.) Hustler was bluffing; they knew they couldn't turn your property over to the state so soon, but they wanted everyone to clear out the boxes and figured most people wouldn't look up the law on this one.

I could be wrong, but if #2, I think they're probably allowed to lie. I tend to think that you'd only have something actionable had they actually, in fact, cleared your box out early and remitted its contents to the state.

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That's actually a great theory.

It is very possible that they can "demand" all they want that you close it fast and get down there immedaitely, but are not liable for anything unless they actually drill the box.

Funny enough, I had this Hustler box discussion with someone today, who then told me about their own safe deposit box closure story.

Their box was at a bank. They were out of the country on vacation, and the bank called them to say that they had 3 days to get down there and empty the box. The branch was closing, and they claimed everything was going to be drilled in 3 days.

So my friend told the bank rep, "There's no way you can legally make me do this in 3 days! I'm not even in the country right now! Are you demanding I cancel my trip, eat the money I paid for this expensive resort, and rush home just to make your 3-day deadline?"

The bank rep suddenly lightened up. "Well....", they replied, "I mean, it doesn't HAVE to be 3 days. Like, a few days late will be fine."

My friend then asked what the hard deadline was, and the rep wouldn't give it. The rep finally said, "We are closing at the end of the month and moving all of our operations to West LA. So if you come down before the final day of the month, that will be okay."

So my friend finished their trip as normal, went to the bank before the end of the month, and got their stuff.

I told them about the 6 month requirement discovered during this Hustler matter, and they wondered what would have happened if they just dug their heels in and demanded 6 month notice. Would the branch have really stayed open for a extra 5+ months just to accommodate that one box?

I then suggested that perhaps there's an exception if the place is closing down, as this bank was. It's a good question.

Of course, this doesn't apply to the Hustler situation, as Hustler is not closing.

Have you heard the good word?

CBDC will make all this tedium unnecessary

Macau will provide the casinos with time to develop practices and procedures before the US rollout.

Commerce Casino, the last one offering boxes, has officially closed all of them as of January 2025.

If you have a box there and have not received communication from them, you should get down there immediately and retrieve your contents.

https://x.com/ToddWitteles/status/1879468957213786583