Casinoboss Answers Your Casino Questions

Hello all,

I'm a casino exec who just likes to talk shop in his spare time. I used to have a thread going on another board where I answered customer's casino-related questions (e.g., how do we evaluate your play for direct mail, hosts, what is going on with Cosmo, etc.). It's since died out so thought I might try over here.

As for me, I've held a variety of positions in most of the major departments for both small and large casinos in Vegas and around the US as well as at the corporate offices for a few companies.

I stay anonymous for obvious reasons but otherwise am willing to answer anything you might have on your mind about this business of ours!

Link to previous thread:

http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=17&threadid=302048&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE=

Sounds like SPAM to me

Staying at circus circus for 14 days, is it possible to get the resort fees waived?

Lets say I'm betting 10K a hand at baccarat.
my request is, Can you send a lady up to my room ?

What are my chances that my request is fulfilled. Thank you

DotHaze said:

Staying at circus circus for 14 days, is it possible to get the resort fees waived?

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I don't work there or for MGM but as with anything virtually everything can be comped if you play enough.

zolar31 said:

Lets say I'm betting 10K a hand at baccarat.
my request is, Can you send a lady up to my room ?

What are my chances that my request is fulfilled. Thank you

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Before my time the answer would definitely be yes but it'd be hit or miss these days. If your host worked it out for you it'd definitely be on an unofficial basis and s/he'd be risking her job and license. And the house would be facing a big fine if caught. But hosts work on commission so more than a handful would be willing to take the risk in exchange for your action.

unomas said:

Sounds like SPAM to me

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He used to answer a lot of questions on the other forum. I haven't been on that one in a while either.

here are a couple of questions.

why do casinos tolerate dealers with surly attitudes? there are so many choices in las vegas. i purposely avoid certain casinos because of the attitude of their dealers and frequent others just because of their dealers. the wynn, for example, has the best dealers in vegas. a couple of months ago i was in bills playing pai gow and just left the table because of the attitude of the dealer.

not to be racist but why so many female asian dealers? so many of them speak poor english and i have found for the most part, they hardly speak at all. i like to be at a table where people are communicating and having a good time. many of my friends say the same thing. i refuse to play in the luxor because of what seems to be almost an all asian female staff. i have no problems personally with the dealers, they seem nice enough but to sit and play for a couple of hours and not hear more than a word or two is ridiculous.

todd

Do you notice that alot of customer are whiners these day?

Dp you miss the good old days where you could just drag them out back when they complained too much?

C0usineddie said:

Dp you miss the good old days where you could just drag them out back when they complained too much?

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LOL!

I think this thread has the potential to be very informative!

hi casinoboss!

do you gamble personally? if so, what games do you prefer, and where do you choose to play?

as a corporate culture, can you give us some insight on which organization is most highly regarded by the gamut of casino employees, which are ok, and where are the rats trying to get off the ship? in other words...who has the happiest dealers and bosses?

thanks for your input, and welcome!

Lucky Sleven:

1. Do you miss Vegas circa 1980/90ss (the town, the patrons, the job assuming you lived and worked in Vegas during this period)?

2. Do you expect gambling to continue to decrease in terms of revenue % and will resorts (hotel, food, bars, clubs, shops, etc.) ever exceed 2/3 of revenue (with gambling falling under 1/3)?

3. If granted the authority, what one area/decision would you overrule the bean counters to improve customer service and/or net profits?

4. Will Baccarat ever catch on with the American public, or will it continue to stagnate among the masses (while continuing to draw the interest of international "whales" and the Asian market)?

5. What can one expect for 4+ hours per day of $50+ rated blackjack at your casino?

6. Have casinos hit a ceiling in terms of machine revenue (vs. table games) or do you expect it to continue to take overall share of gambling revenue?

7. Who came up with the toupee, you or CBS?

What are the front desk employees taught when being offered a $20 for the $20 trick for possible upgrades? Are they required to upgrade if one is available upon request or is it at their own discretion?

On table games such as blackjack and pai gow, are the optional bonus bet ever a smart bet? If so, what would be the example of it?

If I had to bet slots penny to $1 dollar slots, what in your opinion has the best % payout?

I personally feel that one of the things that has lead to the dramatic decline of Vegas and Atlantic City is the insatiable desire for casino companies to try and push gambling into every corner Cstore and crappy truck stop in every state and city on earth

in the past people actually saved up money and went on a vacation to Vegas with a decent budget and were looking to and willing to gamble even if it meant they lost some especially if there were comps for them after a day at the casino

now that something like 30+ states have crappy casinos littering the countryside mountain maud and jim joe bob can go around the corner, chain smoke, and waste 50 to 100 dollars or more at their hearts content

I see gambling as a beyond mature industry and I pray to God gambling never comes to Texas beyond what is currently here now and after reading story after story in this forum and others about dumpy little casinos and even decent sized ones that have poor service, terrible odds, run down facilities, and horrible rules I am even more fervent in my desire to keep casinos out of Texas

I have no desire for Texas to "get in on some of that action and "big dollas"" that go to Oklahoma and New Mexico and Louisiana.....I am of the belief that every place can't be everything to everyone and the failed attempt to do just that is part of what has lead this country into the crapper and casino gambling has been one of the worst offenders in that regard

with fewer and fewer casino companies, profits down at tons of properties all over the USA, bankruptcies and closings left and right why on earth do casino companies continue to spend money to lobby to spread their "take" even thinner and thinner over more and more properties all with more overhead

I would think that they would be delivering briefcases filled with cash to places to KEEP CASINOS OUT especially places like Texas that send a lot of high rollers to long established places like Vegas

doesn't anyone in the casino business look past next week anymore and think about the future or realize there is a limit to people that will gamble and a limit to their disposable income and while making casinos more available to them might make it a bit easier to get some of their LIMITED dollars it just comes at the expense of other places because just like crack.....if it is legal there are still people that will not smoke it and those that do smoke it can only smoke so much in a day, hour, minute before they are wiped out

and online gambling will only make things worse for actual physical casinos yet it looks as though large Vegas companies are looking to get that legal and in operation.....talk about a disaster in the making especially for the smaller crappy properties outside of Vegas and Atlantic city.....now billy bob and mountain maud will not even have to get dressed and leave the house to give their money away with not even a buffet to show for it

any comments on my above rant/opinion

Boosty16 said:

What are the front desk employees taught when being offered a $20 for the $20 trick for possible upgrades? Are they required to upgrade if one is available upon request or is it at their own discretion?

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do you really think they are obligated to do it just because someone asks?

You know they actualy charge more for better rooms.

Thats like oredering a hamburger and asking if you can have a steak for a free upgrade and they have to give you one because you asked.

buckeyetodd said:

here are a couple of questions.

why do casinos tolerate dealers with surly attitudes? there are so many choices in las vegas. i purposely avoid certain casinos because of the attitude of their dealers and frequent others just because of their dealers. the wynn, for example, has the best dealers in vegas. a couple of months ago i was in bills playing pai gow and just left the table because of the attitude of the dealer.

not to be racist but why so many female asian dealers? so many of them speak poor english and i have found for the most part, they hardly speak at all. i like to be at a table where people are communicating and having a good time. many of my friends say the same thing. i refuse to play in the luxor because of what seems to be almost an all asian female staff. i have no problems personally with the dealers, they seem nice enough but to sit and play for a couple of hours and not hear more than a word or two is ridiculous.

todd

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Well I don't think it's necessarily fair to compare service at Wynn to that at Bills. Wynn is a 5-diamond joint and Bills is, well, Bills!

So along those lines, the best joints get the best talent. They can be picky about who they hire because everyone wants that job because of the higher tokes (tips).

Places like Bills don't have that luxury since the job doesn't pay well and the instant people start working there, they are looking for a higher paying job. So generally speaking the people at low end, or grind, joints are working there because either that's their first job (aka breaking in) or because they can't work anywhere else (e.g., they have a drug problem and that place doesn't drug test).

C0usineddie said:

Do you notice that alot of customer are whiners these day?

Dp you miss the good old days where you could just drag them out back when they complained too much?

Click to expand...

I didn't work "back in the day" but yes it does seem like customers are generally more needy since when I started. I attribute that most to casinos turning promotions, direct mail offers, etc. into entitlements for customers. And given the economy you have a lot of unsophisticated operators who are willing to (probably unknowingly) lose money on players just to get them in the door. Consequently players keep asking for more and more and many times getting it.

kitson said:

hi casinoboss!

do you gamble personally? if so, what games do you prefer, and where do you choose to play?

as a corporate culture, can you give us some insight on which organization is most highly regarded by the gamut of casino employees, which are ok, and where are the rats trying to get off the ship? in other words...who has the happiest dealers and bosses?

thanks for your input, and welcome!

Click to expand...

I do gamble. I like playing baccarat, craps, and sometimes blackjack and video poker. I've been playing mainly at Cosmo and Hard Rock but really only because I have friends there. I wouldn't advise it if you are a "comp connoisseur".

With regards to employee satisfaction, there is a company that does an annual survey along these lines. The 2011 survey had these companies as the top five.

Wynn
Penn
MGM
Sands
Boyd

http://www.bristolassoc.com/survey/2ndAnalysis2011.pdf

See below.

Viva Las Vegas said:

Lucky Sleven:

1. Do you miss Vegas circa 1980/90ss (the town, the patrons, the job assuming you lived and worked in Vegas during this period)?

Before my time but I am nostalgic about old school Vegas. I hung out downtown before downtown was cool.

2. Do you expect gambling to continue to decrease in terms of revenue % and will resorts (hotel, food, bars, clubs, shops, etc.) ever exceed 2/3 of revenue (with gambling falling under 1/3)?

Revenue will go where the economy goes. As long as people are underwater on their houses, fearful of being laid off, etc. it will be an uphill climb for us.

Well gaming at Cosmo is less than 1/3rd of their revenue if I'm not mistaken and they lose a ton of money every month. So, no, I don't see that as a tenable business model. Casinos are just too expensive to build and the margins on hotel rooms and restaurants aren't enough to support the expense.

3. If granted the authority, what one area/decision would you overrule the bean counters to improve customer service and/or net profits?

I'd probably slow down the efforts to centralize functions at corporate headquarters unless absolutely necessary, get strong people at the field level, and then hold them accountable for the business. There's too much needless centralization now in the vein of cost control and it leaves the field operators with their hands tied to do what's right for the customer/business.

4. Will Baccarat ever catch on with the American public, or will it continue to stagnate among the masses (while continuing to draw the interest of international "whales" and the Asian market)?

No like it is with the Asian markets. It's much more of a cultural thing with Asians. The only Americans that I generally see playing bacc are advantage players.

5. What can one expect for 4+ hours per day of $50+ rated blackjack at your casino?

Not sure what you're asking exactly but that's about a $200 ADT so you'd be on the verge of getting a host and an upper quartile direct mail offer. $200 free bet, some buffets, couple of nights in the hotel.

6. Have casinos hit a ceiling in terms of machine revenue (vs. table games) or do you expect it to continue to take overall share of gambling revenue?

Depends on which market you're talking about. If you're talking about the Las Vegas strip, I think there is still room but if you're talking a riverboat market then it's probably as high as it can go.

7. Who came up with the toupee, you or CBS?

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Ha