What's coming this year in gaming? Well, more casinos than you can shake the dice at! There are more casinos coming in at least a half-dozen states and some of them may have enough to really upset the old gambling apple cart.
Casinos in Pennsylvania have had a serious impact on Atlantic City. The Old Lady along the Shore nearly dropped her teeth when Pennsylvania got slots, but the latest change - table games and hotels - has been a killer. What happens next with the opening of full casinos in Ohio is anybody's guess, but soon a much greater portion of each state's casino business may need to be geared towards local players.
Massachusetts is soon to vote on gaming, with Steve Wynn throwing his hat into the ring of contenders, but the nation's leading contender for having the greatest chance to make changes goes to Florida. If full casino gaming is voted in, the Sunshine State is going to steal the show, and the impact on several states, especially Nevada, may be severe.
For those of you chomping at the bit (this really is a cliche' festival) and ready to race to the new casinos, take a tip and don't forget there are things you should consider before you head to the casino with blinders on. After all, forewarned is forearmed.
Comments
The growth of the Industry is great, the birth of new Casinos is Great… However, what will happen when states like Florida contemplate the cash cow is NOT Great! Whoever stands to lose, will pour Millions of Dollars into the anti-gambling campaign in order to keep out the competition. This will result in ads showing the criminal activities, the addiction stories, and the “poor image” consequences. If voters will “follow the money”, and investigate where those very expensive anti-gambling campaigns get funded (usually hidden) and who is behind them, they will be much better informed, and not fooled by such trickery.
It’s great to have gaming in every state so that it is easy to visit whenever one wants to. The problem is, gaming (slots in particular) has been homogenized by the greedy Corporate owners. Years ago, when the casinos were controlled by the mafia, gambling was gambling, and anything could happen. It was exciting to visit Vegas and a rush to drive to AC. But then the local casinos emerged. Casinos in PA, for example, were established to bring in maximum revenue for the state, without regard for the gambler. PA imposed the highest tax in the nation on Casinos, a whopping 55% which leaves the casinos little room for ‘play’ (no pun intended). As a result, the PA casinos are basically forced to pay back the minimum allowed by law, which is 85% (AC is about 90% and Vegas runs around 92%). This is a huge disadvantage for the player. Couple this with the fact that slots makers and casino management are favoring machines which give a more frequent but lower payback schedule that results in extracting more money from patrons. This leaves the player with a very poor chance of walking away with a profit and results in a dismal player experience. The local casinos have virtually no competition so there is no incentive to build customer loyalty. It’s all about making money. We totally avoid the local casinos or spend very little when we do visit but still look forward to our trips to Vegas or AC.
I quit going to that ghetto, Atlantic City, years ago. I will not gamble in Ohio or Pennsylvania, when it comes. I used to gamble in Indiana but nothing beats going to Las Vegas. I gamble exclusively in Vegas. It will take Florida a generation to come close to the aura of Vegas. Not in my lifetime.