This is a non-opinionated view...I think. You can all tell me otherwise :)

The intent of the ticket casher (did they know they rule/did they not?) can be rendered inmaterial. Put the rightousness on both sides of the arguement away for a minute.

Both parties acted in a proper legal manner. The ticket holder can try to redeem, the casino can try to invalidate the ticket based on their own rules. The question is: should the ticket holder be able to challenge it, and win?

Under UCC (Uniform Commercial Code), printing rules on the back of something that is hard to read, like a ticket, does not a contract make. The commonly used example is the "liability" waiver on the back of parking slips at parking garages that supposedly "waives" all of the garage liability in the event of damage or theft of your vehicle. Not so. In most states, including I believe Nevada, the garage is liable for the theft of your car, as they are a "bailor" of your vehicle. The only way the garage can waive their laibility is by *very* large signage, or expressly notifying the owner of the vehicle of the liability waiver, and gaining their written agreement.

This is an overly simplified example, but if we applied the same situation to the sports bettor's ticket, whould the date restriction on the ticket apply? Was there lots of signage? No, I doubt it. Do you sign an agreement when you post a bet? Heck no.

Well, what's the difference between a parking lot ticket and a casino ticket? The difference in this situation is that we are talking about a casino, unlike any other form of businss. Casinos have unique regulations applied to them, and while I find it strange, they are apparently not impacted by the UCC. The part where the casino makes their mistake, is in now following their own rules. If the Stratosphere can be shown to knowingly ignore their own policy on even a regular basis, the policy should be considered invalid. The failure to replace old ticket stock provides evidence that they do not follow their own policy, and there are probably tickets out there that the casino has cashed past their expiration date. (think high roller)