Monthly Archives: February 2009

Lobster’s 11

February 27, 2009 11:07 am

I apologize for missing this when it first came out, but better late than never. From the AC Press:

An intruder into the Ballys Atlantic City kitchen was nabbed Thursday night with 91 pounds of frozen lobster stuffed under his clothes and in a backpack, according to Atlantic City police.

The would-be Danny Ocean planned his crustacean crime for just after 10 p.m. Thursday, but was foiled when a Ballys surveillance operator spotted him as he was sneaking out of the kitchen – very slowly sneaking out of the kitchen, apparently, as "his clothing was very bulky and he appeared to be concealing items beneath his clothing," police said.

The alleged thief was quickly detained by Ballys security, who allegedly discovered more than $1,200 in concealed shellfish.

"He and the lobsters were escorted to the security holding facility to await the arrival of the police," was how the police statement described the situation.

Atlantic City man in hot water over lobster theft.

Of all the things you could steal out of a casino….lobsters? Frozen lobsters? Not cash or chips? I guess it was a crime of perceived opportunity.

In my illustrious career in casino security, I once escorted a wayward sparrow off property, but I never got to work with lobsters. Clearly, I left too soon.

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More pessimism from the past

February 26, 2009 3:29 pm

Doing some research for my epochal article on the Strip’s recovery from the travails of the early 1980s, I found this quote in a Boston Globe Magazine article written by Connie Paige:

This year’s visit…was different. Life seemed to have switched into neutral. Snatches of conversation with some of the army of casino workers…soon made the difference clear: unemployment was way up, business was off, the prospects for recovery uncertain. The people of Las Vegas, ordinarily carefree, were worried about the future. In short, Las Vegas was in the throes of the Great Recession of 1982.

The article appeared in July of 1989, and it is bleak. It’s sobering to think how giddy everyone was eight years later.

As I hope to demonstrate in the article, the key to recovery is adapting to the new conditions, whatever they may be.

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Lotto advice from the Undercover Economist

February 25, 2009 10:58 am

With almost 14 million combinations to try, this would take, on average, seven million attempts – about 67,000 years if you play twice a week. Success would be guaranteed after 135,000 years. If you choose your numbers at random, however, success is never guaranteed, and tame mathematicians tell me that the average time to strike lucky is also longer – perhaps 100,000 years or so.

But whether you can shave 35,000 years off is beside the point. The lottery machine is not trying to find your number. It has no memory of previous combinations, and is equally unlikely to pick any of the 14 million. Pick at random, write down your birthday … it makes no difference to your chance of winning – although if you write down unusual numbers, it will minimise the likelihood that if you win, you’ll have to share your prize.

FT.com | The Undercover Economist | Dear Economist: Can you help me win the lottery?.

This is as good a reminder of the difficulties of winning the lottery as any I’ve seen.

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History sez it’s OK to party

February 24, 2009 10:52 am

I’ve got an article in the Las Vegas Business Press today that elaborates my earlier thoughts on the Las Vegas business travel flap:

At the height of an unprecedented national crisis, a group of American leaders traveled to one of the countrys most expensive tourist destinations, where they set about the business of righting the ship of state. There were plenty of distractions in their decadent surroundings, and many in the group gambled nightly.

These were not banking executives secluding themselves at Mandalay Bay to salvage their assets or develop a plan for mitigating their toxic loans. No, this was the Second Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia from 1775 to 1777 and, responding forcefully to British provocations, created the basis for the United States of America.

Philadelphia then was one of the colonies largest and most cosmopolitan cities and the delegates to the Congress availed themselves of its numerous social activities. Thomas Jeffersons diary notes his exact losses at the backgammon tables during the weeks that he was writing the Declaration of Independence.

Faced with calamity for their countrymen and personal ruin if they failed, the delegates chose to meet in a city, not an isolated rural town with no temptation. They knew that while their business was important, it didnt demand complete self-sacrifice.

Todays fiscal leaders, who had been rebuked into forsaking corporate meetings in Las Vegas, should heed the example of our Founding Fathers. Theres no reason that disciplined executives and employees can’t take care of business during the day and have some fun at night.

Las Vegas Business Press :: David G. Schwartz : Las Vegas has been victimized by its own marketing strategy.

Maybe that last line is the key to a new ad campaign for Las Vegas. “Las Vegas, the metaphorical mullet. Business up front, rock and roll in the back.”

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Bill Zender podcast is up

February 23, 2009 5:32 pm

The third UNLV Gaming podcast, a talk by author Bill Zender (Casino-ology) is up, both on the UNLV Gaming podcast page and in iTunes.

Or you can download the mp3 file right here.

For more information, see:UNLV Center for Gaming Research: Podcasts.

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Casino carpet game

February 23, 2009 10:53 am

Here is a cool way for you to waste some more time at work:

A Las Vegas version of the classic "Concentration" game with images of Las Vegas Casino Carpets.

Uncover all of the blocks by matching the pictures of the Casino Carpets.

Coolvegasmap – Las Vegas Picture Game – Casino Carpet Pictures.

Have fun!

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RY on the UNLV Gaming podcast series

February 20, 2009 11:08 am

The UNLV Gaming podcast continues to get high-level media attention, including an article in the latest Rebel Yell:

UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research is bringing its unique Gaming Research Colloquium Series into the Web and the rest of the world by featuring each lecture as a downloadable podcast.

“It’s a chance for people who can’t make it to the talks,” said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research. Schwartz created the center’s Web site and the podcast series and intends for the series to continue on a monthly basis.

“It brings the series to a broader audience,” he said, explaining that the series is listed on the iTunes Music Store and has been promoted through online postings.

The talks, typically hosted at the Lied Library, tackle a series of topics regarding the gaming industry and Las Vegas. The lectures have been held since June 2007 but the podcast has featured two talks as episodes so far: “Betting on Computers: Digital Technologies and the Rise of the Gaming Industry in the U.S.” and “The Mob Never Ran Vegas.”

What happens in Vegas stays on your iPod : The Rebel Yell.

Here’s a reminder–the next Colloquium talk will be on Monday, at 2PM, when Bill Zender talks about his latest book, Casino-ology. If you’re in Las Vegas, you should definitely attend…if not, you’ll have to wait a few days for the podcast.

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Book Review: Conrad on Casino Marketing

February 19, 2009 11:06 am

Dennis Conrad. Conrad on Casino Marketing. Reno: Raving Consulting Company Press, 2008. 240 pages.

Casino marketing is a tricky business. It’s basically sales without a tangible product. There’s not even a warm and fuzzy afterglow most of the time, because the games that casino marketers ask their customers to play are negative expectation. Most people will go home losers most of the time.

So casino marketers need all the help they can get. Dennis Conrad, a seasoned marketing veteran, offers them some real gems in his latest book, Conrad on Casino Marketing. The book collects his articles from 2000 to 2008 that originally appeared in Casino Journal and Native American Casino Magazine, and offers a series of short, to-the-point, pieces on specific issues in casino marketing.

Conrad has several themes that he returns to. First, casino marketing isn’t just a department, it’s an entire approach. Everyone who works for the casino should be selling it to customers old and new. Second, marketing the casino should begin with what the customer wants and work its way outward. This makes so much sense that it should be self-evident but is apparently not. From pointless lines to poor game selection, there are many areas where Conrad insists casinos are not listening to their customers. Third, casino executives need to get more involved. Everyone from the valet parker to the CFO needs to spend time listening to and talking with customers.

The articles that originally appeared in Native American Casino Magazine are predominantly aimed at advising Indian casinos, but much of the advice is equally applicable to smaller casinos in less mature markets throughout the country.

Conrad clearly knows what he’s talking about, and he is able to present his ideas in a clear fashion. He has a fine conversational voice as an author, and isn’t too proud to admit his occasional mistakes. Not all ideas are good ideas, and as amusing as his stories of casino promotions gone wrong are, they are also educational. We laugh with Conrad, but we learn from him as well.

Given that this is a collection of articles, there is some repetition of ideas. This is to be expected, since Conrad feels strongly about his topic and necessarily wrote about similar issues over an eight-year run. The result is a series of pieces that reinforce his general themes.

True to Conrad’s vision of a pan-casino marketing force, I have a humble suggestion about how this book could best be used. Why not have all the executives read a single chapter each week, then pass on Conrad’s insights to their shift supervisors, who in turn discuss it with line employees? Then have the execs circulate among the line employees and discuss the article in question. They are pretty brief, and their core purpose could be easily covered in a pre-shift meeting. I think if implemented correctly, this could spark a real dialogue about marketing that would benefit everyone.

If you’re in the casino business, this is a book you should definitely read. Whether it confirms what you already thought you knew or opens your eyes to a new perspective, Conrad on Casino Marketing is sure to make you think.

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I’m giving money away again

February 18, 2009 12:25 pm

It’s not just me–there’s actually a selection committee involved. And there are definitely strings attached. But if you are a professor or graduate student who wants to do some research in the collections at UNLV, you might be interested in this:

The Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas http://gaming.unlv.edu invites graduate students and academic faculty to apply for month-long residency fellowships. Fellows will spend one month doing research at UNLV Special Collections. Although primarily in English, the holdings include many texts in French, German, and Italian. This, the largest gambling library in the world, spans the 17th to 21st centuries and includes manuscript collections, casino corporate archives, promotional and publicity files, and government publications.

What you get

•A $4,000 stipend to cover housing and expenses

•Desk space in the UNLV Special Collections Reading Room

What you give

•One month’s residency in Las Vegas

•A public lecture relating to your research near the end of your residency

•Ultimately, a publication article, chapter or book that showcases your research

Who’s eligible

Both faculty and ABD graduate students are encouraged to apply. Applicants primarily represent the fields of history, economics, English, history, sociology, and anthropology, though those from all disciplines with relevant research interests are encouraged to apply. Suggested fields of research include Las Vegas history, the history of gambling, and comparative studies of gambling in literature, history, and society.

Before applying please learn as much as you can about the scope of the collections—priority will be given to applicants who specify collections they plan to use. Visit the Center website for more information about the program, past fellows, and the collections.

View Job.

If you’re eligible, I strongly encourage you to apply. Even if you’re not, you’ll be able to hear the talks of the fellows in the UNLV Gaming podcast series.

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BWI casino

February 17, 2009 12:47 pm

I’ve traveled through Baltimore-Washington International Airport a few times, and there’s not a lot to do there. This proposal to allow a massive slot casino at the airport might change that. From the Baltimore Sun:

A Baltimore County lawmaker is proposing slot-machine gambling at Maryland’s major airport, but Gov. Martin OMalley called the casino a "bad idea," limiting its chances at a time of slots-related buyers remorse in Annapolis.

Del. Eric M. Bromwells House Bill 777 – the airplane-related number is a coincidence – would add Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to the list of locations for the casino licenses approved by voters last year.

The bill, co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 11 Baltimore County and city lawmakers, would allow 3,000 slots in the terminal area.

The idea is to separate air travelers from their cash while they wait to board airplanes, said Bromwell, a Baltimore County Democrat. "If youre looking to capture revenues from outside of the state," he said, "were talking about people from all over the country and all over the world that land in BWI."

Because the gambling facilities would be behind security checkpoints, the one-armed bandits would attract travelers with time and money to burn, and not local gamblers, Bromwell said. The idea would require a voter-ratified amendment to the Maryland Constitution, which the lawmaker has also proposed.

House bill would allow 3,000 slot machines at BWI — baltimoresun.com.

To put this is context, Sam’s Town has 3,050 slot machines. So basically you’re talking about putting Sam’s Town behind the security checkpoints–minus the Shelper’s Western store on the second floor, I guess. I’d be interested to see the planning documents that justify this many slots. I don’t know how many people are loitering near airport gates at BWI at any given instant, but I find it hard to believe that there are 3,000 potential slot gamblers there.

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