Harrahs AC

[FAA]

Here's your decision: get off a dud ice box siphoning away your funds. The sheer lunacy and stubbornness in myself and those around me continues to alarm me. We've got to make the break! Leave that abusive relationship. Find the strength. My gift Royal only has me grinning like a hyena because I was lucky enough to switch into max coin. I'd be just another loser otherwise. Worse, considering the bitterness bonus. And Phil is absolutely right in his extreme tip. Either bet max or min. The mid range is too much risk exposure for most hands, and bye bye jackpot. Phil has since gone High Roller, but his stance from the good old frugal days still resonates.

[olds442jetaway]

Scouting mission at Foxwoods will be tonight. The Mrs didn't want to make the extra trip Friday nite and we got a last minute room at Mohegan, so we camped out there. Played small and damage very little. The Mrs. ended up a few bucks due to her continuing lucky streak on nickel DDB with a terrible paytable. I hit a few quads on job, but no chances at a Royal this trip with a draw 1 option. The Mrs. had 4 shots, but none of them connected. The redeeming factor was the beautiful room with view, beautiful weather, excellent meal in the lounge of Lemon pepper chicken with side of pasta Bolognese and salad. Lots of drunk young people unfortunately, which provided me with my own warped version of free entertainment. Hope they all had designated drivers, but I doubt it. It seems more and more like the casinos are relying on selling food, drink, and entertainment more and more than gambling revenue to survive.

[onemoretry]

Let me ask you again, what do you honestly think is the long term net result of the sudden and wide spread REMOVAL of all the oversight and regulation in New Jersey Casinos that took place in 2011?????
I think the regulation is still in place, but if what you have outlined is accurate, enforcement is not.

My honest opinion is that regulation without enforcement, or the threat of enforcement, invites non compliance.

[notes1]

My honest opinion is that regulation without enforcement, or the threat of enforcement, invites non compliance.

it took omt few words to speak volumes.

regarding compliance, does it make a difference, when an industry or location or particular business is facing financial hardship? should the end users be more concerned?

DB is making the argument, those struggling casinos/location are facing less scrutiny.

[DaBurglar]

[QUOTE=onemoretry]

My honest opinion is that regulation without enforcement, or the threat of enforcement, invites non compliance.

it took omt few words to speak volumes.

regarding compliance, does it make a difference, when an industry or location or particular business is facing financial hardship? should the end users be more concerned?

DB is making the argument, those struggling casinos/location are facing less scrutiny.[/QUOTE]It's actually not even an 'argument'....this is what I have thus far DISCOVERED and learned....in other words, this is REALITY.    Anyone who visited AC prior to 2011, and then subsequently visited AGAIN during and after 2011, KNOWS that what I am saying is 100% correct......in the remaining 8 casinos in AC, several STILL have the big emblazoned  "CASINO CONTROL COMMISSION" (or "NEW JERSEY GAMING ENFORCEMENT") signs & words displayed over and EMPTY booth or office right on the Casino floors!!!     These used to be staffed by a minimum of several people  24/7/365 in all NJ casinos (while at least several other agents circulated around the casino floor)......Furthermore, I have on several occassions within the past year alone, gone up to Casino Security and Casino Management Personnel and point blank asked them questions like:"Can I speak to a in-house gaming agent?"    or  "When was the last time your machines were inspected?"   or  "How often do/does the Casino CONTROL Commish  visit this facility?"   or alternate versions of essentially the same questions.      I have found that in ALL cases, there never actually were ANY agents on the floor at the time of my asking, OR the people I was asking were 100% clueless (or deliberately being obtuse) when it came to the issues/questions I was asking.    Bottom line:  Oversight seems to be...."over"......One lone exception to this (and make of it what you will):   The tropicana had a spate of incidents back in 2013 where several underage gamblers were caught by a undercover agent of the NJ gaming enforcement......I subsequently went to the Tropicana and inquired (with Trop Security) about the incident and the frequency of the presence of gaming agents on the floor.....the guy I spoke to said he could not discuss it (even though it had been in the NEWSPAPER) because the casino is liable....what that meant was the TROP security themselves SHOULD have spotted the underage patrons and booted them;  whether the agents themselves were watching the patrons or watching Trop security to see if THEY were watching the underage patrons is unclear....I did learn from a Trop BJ dealer who witnessed one of the incidents that the underage patrons were more concerned with BOOZE & drinking than with gambling, and THAT is really what everyone is concerned with, the possibility of some teen getting smashed on Casino booze and then killing themselves or someone else, thus setting the casino (and the STATE) up for huge liability.    Don't forget too, when you visit one of these casinos on a friday or saturday night, and you see all those YOUNG kids prancing and dancing around, MOST of them are upper middle class (or higher) kids from surrounding communities, driving BMWs and Lexuses ("Lexi / Lexae"??) charging up a storm on Dad's credit cards!   The financial potential conflict of interest for struggling casinos must be significant......Within ANY casino, there are a number of opportunities to 'card' individuals who look underage;  ANY casino employee involved with actual SERVICE to casino patrons is authorized to ask for ID (dealers, slot people, floor bosses, and yes.....bartenders/waitresses!)   No excuse for kids boozing it up on the casino floor!

[Carcounter]

I've had only one positive year since 2011. Before then 5 out of 7 years were positive in AC. Of course better paytables and comps back then, but hard to dispute the facts of my play. Net result is less play at lower denomination.

[notes1]

I've had only one positive year since 2011. Before then 5 out of 7 years were positive in AC. Of course better paytables and comps back then, but hard to dispute the facts of my play. Net result is less play at lower denomination.

your response to the cost of gambling increasing is exactly the same as many others. the option you left out is that plenty of folks, just stop playing altogether.

we don't need some government/casino study to tell us what is plain to see, most casinos have less patrons and/or less money being wagered. the marketplace has spoken, many customers see less value in going to a casino as an entertainment option. for all the talk about the ability to beat the casinos, I trust the marketplace, not some hypothetical theory.

[Carcounter]

Notes, you're right, not playing at all is an option. I find myself going less frequently. Used to be every Friday afternoon for a 3-4 hour session at the Borgata, but now maybe once every two weeks. Can't shake this losing streak.

[notes1]

CC, you are not alone. you have been playing for years, you remember when it was crowded, hard to get a machine to play on. I just have a hard time accepting that a downgrade from 9/6 to 8/5 machines is the sole reason for the cost of playing increasing as much as it has.

but, I will admit the subject has been beat to death and I have come to accept it. I simply do what you have done, play less.

the problem feeds upon itself. lower payouts, less players/wagering. less wagering, they need to lower the payouts. the cycle continues.

[DaBurglar]

the problem feeds upon itself. lower payouts, less players/wagering. less wagering, they need to lower the payouts. the cycle continues.

This is the typical reaction and pattern that MOST "mature" industries face when they are no longer growing but in fact are now shrinking......the emphasis on SHORT TERM thinking and goals that almost EVERY typical american corporation manifests, whereby the "people in charge" are rewarded (i.e. BONUSES) based on THIS QUARTER and THIS fiscal year SOLELY, causes decisions to be obviously skewed to ensure that the suits receive a BONUS THIS QUARTER.......and the hell with 2-3 years down the line.     Likewise, the emphasis on the part of shareholder concerns in most publicly traded casino corporations also ensures that SHORT TERM thinking will generally outweigh long term strategy and health.Obviously, the behavior on the part of casinos the last 5-6 years, with slashed paytables and reduced comps and perks for video poker players (as well as most other gamblers) is designed to SLASH operating costs ..... casino executives these days seem unwilling or unable to try the other approach, of INCREASING revenue, in order to ensure they get a bonus at the end of the quarter.    This is primarily for one big reason:To build revenue these days, a casino NEEDS to think and act with more than the current quarter in mind;  they need to be willing to look at things for the next 12-15 months minimum in order to effectively increase revenue via a bonafide plan......such a plan would include aggressive promotions and incentives (like free rooms above and beyond the typical ones 'earned' under current programs, free food and other usual perks but with a more aggressive distribution), and especially new and attractive gambling options and giveaways.More slot cash and "free bets" are the starting point and most obvious measure.....today's casino in a market like AC in order to attract (and retain at least for a while) new and former patrons, they need to make it worthwhile for people to come to AC, and a generous slot cash program will do that initially.     It is a known fact, MOST gamblers will end up playing MORE than any free slot cash award they get....Some creative measures are needed, and need to be retained for a long enough time to get people "vested" once again in a specific property or casino.    If anyone recalls the measure that the now defunct REVEL implemented back in 2014, whereby they more or less "insured" all gamblers losses up to a certain maximum level by offering to "pay them back" via SLOT PLAAY over a specified time period.   It was actually a GREAT IDEA and would normally have helped, but the REVEL by then was just too far gone and it was a typical case of far too little too late.    Such a measure WOULD have helped a property like the now defunct Atlantic CLub/Hilton though..... Here's a similar idea that I myself visualized one day:    Have a ongoing promotion whereby a player can "prepay" for a certain amount of slot play....example:     A casino player goes up to the cage, or to a KIOSK, and "buys" $125 of slot play for $100 cash.   It works like usual, the player must then "play through" all 125 dollars of slot play at least once before cashing out.....you could conceivably offer a variety of scenarios and amounts with such a theme, with limits set to the total amount or times per gaming day  a player can do this, but the objective, and hoped for result are obvious!    How about this idea, one I call "the good neighbor policy":   In certain islands or sections of the casino with both slot machines and video poker, you designate machines neighboring each other as eligible for the good neighbor policy, whereby if....IF a player playing a slot machine or VP machine hits a Jackpot (obviously with VP it would be a Royal, but with slot machines it would depend on the actual GAME) then anyone sitting on either side of him playing a neighboring machine gets a BONUS equal to a certain amount of the jackpot his neighbor won, say 10%!   Think about it.....this could be immensely popular and would no doubt attract GROUPS of players looking to spend a night having fun playing in the casino.    You would need to TWEAK the rules obviously, but this is the EXAVT type of thinking that will only help the casinos actually GROW business.    You can only cut costs so much before it becomes suicidal.