WHERE HAVE ALL THEY PLAYERS GONE???

Implications: Where have all the casino players gone? The answer is they are still there. Can a company decide to increase their hold (% captured) on payouts. Sure they can - Is it a legal maneuver? It certainly is. Can the customers do anything about it? Certainly they can - Stop Playing at that casino. It does not take long for the powers to be to get the message.

Analysis: Let us take a very realistic look at why a property would decide to increase their profit picture on slots. It's generally thought of as a good business decision. Profits are good - losses are bad. Not a hard concept to understand. Here's the problem when looking into the local market. Players have a strange code of loyalty to the casinos they spend their time in. That loyalty must go both ways or the property involved will see a decline in customer participation. It doesn't matter what there give a way program is, if a slot player does not think that they are getting a fair shot - they move on. It's the reason that we have some very successful companies like Stations Casinos and Coast Casinos. They are aware of what their customers needs are and make every effort to see that they are carried out.

In previous articles, I wrote that the locals are looking for some very simple amenities. Good food at reasonable prices, special entertainment events, exciting slot programs and especially slots that allow you to win once in a while. It does not take a genius to see that the above amenities must be in place and up graded from time to time. Loyalty is everything - it's what makes the customer base resilient and strong. The woman that wrote the original article has a bone to pick with the properties she frequents - just maybe it's time for her to move on. Remember, SHOW ME THE MONEY.

Every company needs a good profits structure. The investment and lending communities are bottom line oriented. They loan dollars to make money on their money. There are times that some casinos put to much emphasis on winning the first dollar spent by the customer and not the over all investment the customers will make over time. Here's the plot again - get the customers loyalty and you will have that customer for as long as you want them. Show them poor paying casino slots and it's the same as showing them the door. The concept is easy - let them win once in a while and they will sing your praise to all that will listen.

Please note that my comments reflect the local casinos rather than the strip properties as they have their own set of rules for slot play. They are a bit less concerned about the percentage of hold than the local counterparts. They have a captured player base that is there for a short stay and quite frankly these customers are not quite as slot savvy as their local counterparts. So now, what's the answer? - check out the pro's that know - look at the performance of the successful properties - "Stations",  "Coast Casinos" and "Rampart" just to name a few. They got it right................