Suggestions for Vegas casino management: loosen slots and increase service to battle recession

August 15, 9:34 PMLas Vegas ExaminerCharles Higgins

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Las Vegas Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Factual arguments can be presented that reducing slot hold percentages and providing excellent customer service are two methods to increase patronage and ultimately returns for Vegas casino operators. Earth - shatteringly simple and non -  novel, right? Certainly the gamblers (including this author)  who enter Vegas casinos wouldn't argue with those actions. Why does Vegas casino management never consider palpable slot hold reductions as a means to increase customer base and returns or , God forbid, actually implement a trial run at it? According to this article , the current average slot hold on the Vegas strip is just over 7% for all denominations, while the Boulder Strip is just under 5%. My research preparation for this entry indicates that 1 - 2 % increase in slot hold can cause a 30% reduction in time on device figures. There must be some long accepted mathematical formulae / casino management axiom that deters such action. Alternatively, perhaps contractual debtor demands to appease Wall Street / banking entities or plain old greed fuels their reluctance. Hasn't recent history taught us that greed sucks? On the other hand, most gambling gurus and experts tell us to avoid the slots altogether due to exorbitant house advantage ; most Vegas gambling patrons play the slots, however. Slots are the single largest revenue generator among Vegas casino games.

Las Vegas visitation and gambling revenue numbers have experienced a steadily continuous decline for approximately the last year and a half and have mirrored tanked consumer spending as an element of the nationwide recession. Assorted media outlets have routinely updated the public regarding recession effects on Vegas tourism and gambling statistics and they are perpetually significant. Herbst Gaming, The Tropicana, and most recently Station Casinos have all filed bankruptcy proceedings. We're continually inundated with varied news stories regarding plummeting gaming company stock values, casino debt restructuring, construction halts, and additional impending bankruptcies. The strip gaming win is presently at it's lowest level in four years. John Q Public doesn't have to consume all this Vegas gaming information to be made aware of the recession's reality and severity because most are living in and/or observing it daily in their real lives back home. Regardless, the Vegas tourism and gaming industry is in fiscal dire straits.  Would increasing slot payback percentages on at least a proportion of popular slot machines (and I include penny denomination varieties here because they are most popular) unacceptably worsen revenue conditions? Or, alternatively would it enhance customer playing times , increase overall gambling value for the consumer, and encourage them to return and spend more gambling funds on a repeat visit because they actually enjoyed their experiences? Recently a panel of over 200 casino marketing experts (there's a lot of those) met in Las Vegas and suggested slot hold reduction as a base strategy for casino management to encourage patronage( see Las Vegas Sun article). This widespread article inspired my writing of this entry along with recent gambling experiences in Vegas which follows.

In a recent Examiner article we offered our personal impressions of "tighter" Vegas slot machines at multiple Vegas casinos during a June 2009 visit relative to recent trips within the last three years. Though absolutely not supported by any type of statistically provable numbers, our real time and cash outlay experiences on that trip definitely indicated tighter Vegas slots. My best half demands very little from anyone on Vegas trips but would be ecstatic if she could sit at a penny slot and experience some line bonuses and payouts that extend her playing time. Breaking even or tolerable losses from slot play are acceptable if she can experience some significant time at a given machine without being monetarily bludgeoned. Slot manufacturers have long maintained through extensive research efforts that slot players seek significant "time on device" from their slot play activity as a primary gambling satisfaction factor. Further, despite some casino management opinions, consistent gamblers can and do recognize significant slot hold changes because most are often limited by gambling bankrolls  and they have experience regarding the length of time those funds last when gambling. On our most recent trip, we both endured repeated slot machine beatings at locales ( particularly M Resort among others) and individual machines that we had routinely enjoyed on earlier trips. Casino management has long ignored this standard consumer complaint regarding tight slots as registered from their own consumer surveys (see gaming consultant article ). Consumer satisfaction and return visit enticements are obviously absent from the Harvard Casino Bean Counter management protocols so prevalent in Vegas casinos and is particularly evident under the present economic environment. Could slot hold reductions on at least a noticeable proportion of popular slots (including penny denominations) improve the visitation and gambling numbers? The onslaught of reduced room and travel deals offered have only slightly aided their plights and this is further indication of the recession's severity. Perhaps most of the blood has already been squeezed out of this fiscal turnip and slot hold reductions may be managerially suicidal. Yet, it would be invigorating to see one major Vegas casino noticeably loosen some slots, advertise it truthfully, and see how it affects bottom lines. The power of customer service and consumer satisfaction would be epitomized by such an action in our belief. This bold hypothetical casino could always revert back to tight machines if and when the scenario proved to be too sane or reasonable as a means to increase patronage. Where's John Wayne, MacGyver, or Steve Wynn when ya need em?

Cheers...

Charles Higgins