Bugsy Siegel
Washington, DC
Male, 36
I worked for over two years in Las Vegas as a Director of Marketing for one of the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, and in that time acquired a bit of knowledge about how casinos have finely honed the art of parting you from your dollars, especially if you're a gambling degenerate. I know a little bit about how the entertainment and F&B side work as well, and how casinos assess gamblers.
I believe that the primary reason you can't use a phone at a gaming table is that the casino wants to prevent "cheating," as card counters and other casino undesirables would love to be able to use devices to help keep track of cards, communicate with confederates, etc. The side benefit is that it also keeps obnoxious wankers from taking calls at the table and slowing down play or irritating the other customers. It's hard to believe, but sometimes customers in casinos fail to be polite.
Share Answer: 
These days, you don't really need to work that hard to figure out what it will take to get comped. In Caesars' Total Rewards program, you get Tier Credits at varying rates for different activities:
https://www.totalrewards.com/TotalRewards/RewardsAndBenefits.do?page=trBenefits
Each reward credit earned is worth 1 cent. So whatever the buffet costs, say $30 for the dinner buffet, you need 3,000 Reward Credits.
Share Answer: 
Great question. I'm not a slot expert, so take this with a grain of salt. I believe that the slots companies, like Bally Technologies, work with the owners of the rights of those companies to license the likeness/images of those pop culture icons. I believe that the manufacturers also typically work with the rights owners to design the game to be consistent with the theme - so for example, with a Star Trek slot machine might have spaceships and the voice of cast members from the show.
I also believe that some games are way more in demand than others. Years ago when I worked there, a "Wheel of Fortune" game was extremely popular. Ironically, it was initially rejected by the casinos because it was HUGE (it had a large "wheel" in the middle of like, five seats facing the wheel, so it took up a huge amount of space to only seat around 10 people when they could have put twice as many regular slot machines in its place). However, it proved extremely popular, and so every casino was scrambling to get one of them in.
I believe most casinos prefer to pay for slot machines outright and keep all the profits from the machines, but in this case, I believe the WoF slot machine it was so popular that the manufacturer could demand a portion of revenues from the machine. It's possible that the licensor got a piece of that too, depending on how the slot manufacturer negotiated the deal.
Share Answer: 
I'm sorry that you had a bad experience like this, as you appear quite upset. As I'm not a lawyer I don't know if you have grounds to take action against the casino. However, as a businessperson, you probably have a bit more sway. If you are a big customer of the casino, you could certainly threaten to take your business elsewhere. Another thing that businesses hate is bad PR. If the act was particularly egregious, it is possible that you could try to bring negative attention to the casino through the press. However, without knowing the nature of the action or what is provable, it's difficult to say.
Share Answer: 
Casino Marketer
What would be some less obvious ways someone could save money on a Vegas trip?
Programmer
What lessons can you share about past and present start-ups you've worked with?
Bowling Alley Attendant
What do bowling alleys do to keep those nasty shoes clean/sanitary?
I'd say you're about 50/50. While typically in an LV casino most of the money is made on slots, but some of the biggest gamblers are table games players. Slot machines are great because they don't complain, and casinos know exactly what you put in and take out of them. They are generally extremely reliable. Table games are less reliable - you have to estimate how much someone is gambling, and estimate how much they won/lost with you. I would say that if anything is a "courtesy" the closest thing would be poker tables, which don't really make much money for the casino and take up a lot of space, but draw gamblers who hopefully play other things.
Share Answer: 
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
