At one time, casinos were only present in certain specific locations, such as Las Vegas, Reno, the Islands, Monte Carlo, etc., and on cruise ships. The next major entrant into the casino locations was Atlantic City. Today, however, there are casinos in many, many locations. There are Native American/ Indian Casinos all over, some of which have become amongst the largest in the world. Now, even the casino cities have multiple competitors.
Cities such as Las Vegas, especially along the “Strip” have upscaled many of the hotels and made several others more family friendly. It used to be that the hotel rooms at casino hotels were relatively reasonably prices, and now, many of them have become quite expensive. So, why are casinos so very popular?
The odds of winning at a Casino have certainly not improved. Certainly, there are more governmental controls and authorities, and they are no longer dishonest and/or rigged. Yet, slot machines, which are the biggest profit center for a casino, set their machines at a certain, specific payout ratio, so that over time, each machine, as well as the machines as a whole, return a specific profit to the casino. In fact, casinos can predict the percentage profit they will make from their machines. That is why all the casino rewards programs value slots players far more than table players, because while table players may often play more money, the casino does not have the guaranteed return on the table games that it has on the machines.
Have you ever noticed that certain machines seem to payout more often? It is not your imagination, but a fact that many casinos set different machines at different payout ratios, and set machines located at certain specific locations to payout more often, so as to maximize the individuals that pass by to stop and be enticed. It is also a fact that certain casino table games are far more profitable to a casino than others. The odds at winning at roulette, wheel of fortune, etc., are far worse that at Craps or Blackjack. Casinos realize that each specific game has its own odds, and the casinos fully realize which ones pay off the best. Even in Craps and Blackjack, the Casinos odds and percentages are improved because of the number of players who play far less than perfect basic strategy, and thus improve the Casinos percentages.
Certain casinos have different rules for the same games. For example, the rules governing Blackjack in Puerto Rico are far less favorable to the player than they are elsewhere. In Puerto Rico, for example, the dealer begins the game by taking only one card, instead of the two taken in most casinos. By doing this, the dealer’s odds improve under certain circumstances. For example, in the scenario where the dealer is showing a card such as a 4, 5, or 6, the dealer will “bust” far less often when he must take two consecutive cards, than when he needs to only add one, because there is less statistical probability of a dealer dealing himself two consecutive high cards than only one.
If someone goes to a casino for recreation and to have a good time, and sets personal affordable spending limits, the casino experience can often be an enjoyable one. Those players who are enticed by the “comps” they receive because they gamble so much, and who believe it costs them nothing to go to a casino, the casino experience may sometimes prove economically ruinous to the individual. We should all remember that casinos are in business to make money!
Richard Brody has over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience. He has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as a company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs, and regularly blogs on real estate, politics, economics, management, leadership, negotiations, conferences and conventions, etc. Richard has negotiated, arranged and/ or organized hundreds of conferences and conventions. Richard is a Senior Consultant with RGB Consultation Services, an Ecobroker, a Licensed Buyers Agent (LBA) and Licensed Salesperson in NYS, in real estate.