Hello

Casino Consultancy

Interested in increasing the revenue of your gaming operations?  I think there are some simple strategies that go back to some common sense basics of casino operations that may be interesting to discuss with you. I was a non-restricted gaming licensee and worked myself up from the inside from a dealer, to Casino owner.  I also taught Casino Operations and Marketing at UNLV for five years. (1980-1985).  It was a fun business and I took pride in learning every facet.  
 
Proper casino procedures and marketing are extremely important in the daily operations of a casino to insure profitability.  I am sure that you are aware of this fact, however no matter how compliant your organization is, it is always good to get another opinion, or survey of the operation.  How can it hurt?  Sometimes using a simple check list will solve mysterious problems that are surviving because they are escaping scrutiny. 
 
Looking at the marketing and promotion is also very important in driving revenue.  A simple method of using food as entertainment sometimes will out perform the "star" approach.  
 
The key modus operandi that I use is called an incongruity.   If something isn't working right, say that the slot drop is off, or the table win/percentage ration is down from the normal average; what is incongruous, or what is missing that should be there to increase revenue?  What is the missing element that is needed to attract customers?  What is incongruous?  What is there that should not be there as well?  
 
Are the retail prices of the night clubs, hotel rooms and other facilities over priced leaving no money left over for gaming?  If that were the case a hotel guest would spend his budget of $500 on either hotel rooms, clubs and food, or they would spend it on gambling.  The company still got the total $500, however the casino may be a little light on body count.  If it looks empty it does not look inviting. Are the minimums correct?  Is the game mix accurate.  Do people know how to play the games?  a few years ago, almost every major casino offered free gaming instruction.  How many do so now?  I can't recall the last time I saw an ad for this unique amenity.
 
People want to gamble  where the action is and with other people.  A casino that is lively and exciting attracts more players, more players equate to bigger cash drops, etc.  So maybe some of the outlets that are not controlled by the owners are not in line or conducive to Caesars Entertainment marketing and gaming philosophy.  
 
I mentioned the win/drop ratio previously.  When I operated casinos, I was not happy having a win/drop PC that was the statewide average.  I knew that if I had all the proper procedures in place, i.e., all the dealers shuffled, cut and dealt the game the same way for instance, that I would generate a higher PERCENTAGE (PC).

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PC is the percent hold which is the formula win/drop (win divided by cash drop). Each game has different hold percentages which are indicators if something is wrong for that game.  The PC formula is a standard that all casino operators judge the game’s performance. The PC number is higher if the game’s built in true advantage is higher. For instance, Blackjack has an advantage of between 1 and 6 %.  This advantage is based on the rules, payoffs etc.  The PC or “Hold” varies by location.  Downtown Las Vegas and the Strip have slightly different rules in the game therefore have different hold percentages.  The state of Nevada published these numbers and, in my opinion, are below my standards.  So that means if I ran a blackjack pit and did not hold a minimum of 17-18 percent (W/D) I would look for stealing, bad dealers etc.   These other rules affect the true hold of a blackjack game:

Rule Variation    Impact on the House Edge

Doubling Down on 9 through 11 only        -0.09%

Doubling Down on 10 and 11 only              -0.18%

Dealer Hits Soft 17 (H17) -0.22%

DAS Allowed       0.14%

No Presplitting Allowed    -0.04%

Hitting Split Aces               0.14%

No RSA (Presplitting of Aces) Allowed         -0.07%

Early Surrender (ES)          +0.63% (+0.72% in H17 games)

Late Surrender (LS)           +0.08% (+0.09% in H17 games)

Blackjack Pays 6 to 5       -1.71%

Blackjack Pays 2 to 1       2.26%

Blackjack Pays Even Money          -2.26%

No Hole Card/No Peek    -0.11%

6-Card Charlies  0.11% 

 In the game of Roulette if the PC (w/d) is not in the mid 24-27%, something is wrong.

Craps should be a minimum 18-19 %  If you look at the statewide hold percentages in all the games today, there is something wrong. Unacceptable to me if I were the casino manager.