There’s another negative milestone for Atlantic City slots: in December, they got less play than slots in Pennsylvania. From the AC Press:
Gamblers are putting more money into slot machines in Pennsylvania than they are in Atlantic City.The Gaming Industry Observer says December was the first month ever that slot-machine handle in Pennsylvania surpassed Atlantic City's.
Editor Joseph Weinert calls it a milestone that is a result of declining slots play in New Jersey and rising slots play in Pennsylvania.The difference was $2.1 billion in Pennsylvania to about $2 billion in New Jersey. On top of that, Weinert is forecasting an increase in Pennsylvania's slots revenue in 2010 and a drop in Atlantic City's.
However, Atlantic City casinos brought in more money total because of table games revenue there. Pennsylvania just legalized table games earlier this month.
There were some interesting comments on the article, including one about parking that says pretty much what I’ve been saying for a while, namely that Atlantic City casinos should not charge for parking. If you are driving to Atlantic City from the Philadelphia area, here are the tolls you’ll pay: $4 to get back into Philly, $6 roundtrip at the Egg Harbor toll plaza, and $1.50 roundtrip at the Pleasantville toll plaza. That’s $11.50, just to get to town. Factor in gas (probably 5-6 gallons, roundtrip, at $3 per) for another $15 or so. Then add a parking charge that can be as high as $25 if there’s a convention in town. We’ve got $27.50 total driving costs before the parking, and then another $5 to $25 on top of that. At a minimum, that’s $32.50 or so that the patron has spent to get to your casino.
Why should they pay more and spend more time getting to Atlantic City when they can get to a PA casino quicker? Even if they have fewer comps, they’ve just saved themselves the cost of a meal by cutting out those driving costs.
If I was running an AC casino’s marketing department, I’d seriously consider giving anyone with a PA driver’s license $30 in freeplay just for walking through the door and comp their parking. That might make it worth their while to make the drive. Sure, it’s a big giveaway, but at this point it should be clear that it’s necessary.
PA slot casinos have an effective tax rate of 55%. AC casinos have an effective tax rate of about 9%. Shouldn’t they be able to offer a better experience to players if they invest part of the 46 cents on the dollar more that they keep back into the facility or into marketing?
“Sure, it’s a big giveaway, but at this point it should be clear that it’s necessary.
… if they invest part of the 46 cents on the dollar”
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Yes. It sure seems like Atlantic City has to make some adjustments (and easily could). They have a hole in their boat and Dave pointed it out.
I bet there are lots of people who’ve gotten unforgettable parking tickets and tow-aways too. Those kind of bad memories last a long time. Though I’ve never been there….AC reminds me of Santa Cruz, Ca…with it’s 1900 Boardwalk. The parking situation there is horrendous.
You have to park so far away…and then spend all day wondering about break-ins or tow-aways or meters running out of time. It’s almost Pre-Historic.
Thank goodness Vegas gives a guest loads of free parking. Vegas makes things so convenient a person hardly even notices (or cares) how much he lost. Modern casinos should be all about ease.
AC seems 4 decades out of date…IMO. (never been there…but I have a definite pre-conceived image about the place). Santa Cruz East.
Ugh….the bleeding continues!
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Comp the Pennsylvania Parker?
Why? He has already driven to the casino in AC rather than the casino in Pennsylvania so what will the AC casino gain by acknowledging the gambler’s sacrifice in time, tolls and parking fees. Whatever motivated the Pennsylvania gambler to trek to AC is likely to continue to motivate him to do it. The sensible Pennsylvania resident is not going to pay that AC parking fee because the sensible Pennsylvania resident wouldn’t be treking to AC at all.
So what does the AC casino gin for their parking-fee waiver?
Nothing.
Will the fee drive that gambler away? So far it hasn’t, but if it does, the AC casino won’t really care much.
I say give the comping a chance because the numbers say that the tolls and parking costs are driving customers away. Why else would PA casinos be booming while AC is back to 1997-level revenue numbers? Perhaps table games players were willing to put up with the hassle to play their favorite games, but by the end of summer even that will be gone.
When the new governor’s advisers are taking the industry to task for its “failed business model,” clearly they have to consider changing their current practices.
>failed business model
Perhaps the high profits and the former geographic monopolies created an attitude amongst casino executives wherein making the gambler truly welcome was just not necessary. For so long, Las Vegas has had meaningless free gifts and virtually meaningless free spins along with some five-dollar “free valet” parking. Atlantic city has always had parking issues, but its really a customer service and competition issue now.
People can say “it ain’t Vegas” or “it ain’t Atlantic City” but in reality a Pennsylvania casino is a casino and it doesn’t have to be Vegas or Atlantic City if its closeby. Will AC learn to comp Pennsylvania trekkers? Probably not in time: just because it makes sense doesn’t mean the AC casinos will do it.
Las Vegas has the best and most secure free parking garages in the entire known world. And the fact that I can use 100% FREE valet parking is outright amazing. I am glad to tip a valet guy who runs like his life depended on it to get my car to me in 3 minutes whether its 155 degrees inside the summer car or the winds are howling at 35 miles an hour on a spring night.
The valet guys will smile if you only give them a $1 tip. If I decide to give them $5 they have earned it. Where else will someone run to try and please you for a buck?!
Vegas service people are Professional professionals. There’s no place that has such a good service-industry as Las Vegas does. And if you think there is please tell me.
I truly love Vegas for having so many of the world’s most talented people living in one small area.
Whether they are cabbies, room maids, waiters, chefs, doormen, valet, sweepers, window washers, show-people….or whatever. Las Vegas has the best. Something about this city draws the best, makes the best or inspires the best performance out of people who work here.
That’s why I like Vegas so much. We don’t have that burned-out, jaded attitude that becomes common-place in some of the big east coast cities like NYC or where-ever.
That burned-out and tired and weary, leary, and wizened bull-dung attitude rarely creeps up on Vegas People…no matter how long they’ve lived or worked here (with the exception of one New York doorman at MGM and some tired old buzzard at the Trop).
Thank goodness that Vegas rejects that Old-School, East Coast, ‘been there’, ‘done that’ attutude that gets so common in places like NYC.
Vegas is a class-act. It’s not phony. It is New-School all the way and all the time. It is Westernized. It is New West classy. It comes from the heart. It’s not fake. It is fresh and young and always effervescent. I love Vegas for all those those reasons.
I truly do.