Local Casinos and AP regulars.

[mushin]

There has been some talk about the local APer playing at their local joint and the need to preserve longevity etc. This prompted some additional thoughts on the Casino / Local Player relationship. Outside of places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City the local player / casino relationship is pretty important. Local players are the bread and butter of the local establishment. By cultivating a lasting relationship with the surrounding population they gradually build their income stream and ultimately their profits and bankroll. If I were to run a local casino my primary goal would be to attract the disposable income (primarily The Dining Out and Entertainment budget) of as many residents within first a 1 hour radius of the casino. These players would build the foundation out the casino's revenue for years to come. Show them a good value for their money and treat them nice so they want to come back. Each time they come back as a casino I would have more opportunity to profit in the long term. I would not worry too much about any substantial wins they have and would do all I could to show them a value for their losses in the form of comps etc.

On the topic of patron wins I would probably try to establish overall the amount of money in what I would call flux between the casino and my regular local players but not worry too much about it. Each win they take home reinforces the relationship and each loss they have should not deter them from returning in the future if they were treated well as most of these players are simply reallocating the Dining and Entertainment budget. Now if I could have "through the use of a players card" a decent understanding of how much money is in flux I could easily assume most of that money as money in the bank for my casino unless something were done to alienate the player and make them not return.

Drilling down to table games and Black Jack I would be concerned with APers but primarily worried about the large bet hit and run style players most. This would be primarily because I know I would have little opportunity to get that money back and it would be an immediate drain on the casino bankroll. For larger bet Aper locals I would be concerned but to a lesser degree. In a since these players are somewhat like a parasitic symbiotic relationship. One one hand they are draining money from the casino but on the other side of the coin they are helping to a degree.

The ways in which they help is: (No particular order)
1.) Every time someone wins at Black Jack it instills a sense of hope for other players as they think "That guy just won $1000 playing blackjack. Maybe I can." The idea that Black Jack can be beaten is what makes it popular and draws people back. When people come they play and thus the casino has more opportunity to access the entertainment budget of the patrons.

2.) Taxes are off set. Many local casinos pay taxes that can be quite substantial. If a local APer wins and they continue to play regularly I can somewhat safely assume that as long as that player keeps coming back the casino can safely assume that we have an opportunity to recapture some of the past winnings through the normal variances of play. Thus their winnings could be considered a "tax free" holding account. The trick here is to mitigate the damages.

3.) They can help to subsidize the casino payroll thorough tips. There are some APers that don't tip but there are also many regular players that don't either. But if you have an APer that does tip there is some benefit to this.

4.) Other revenue streams from apers, Meals, Drinks, Entertainment, Other non AP play. If a local APer is identified as not being a professional player then they still offer value to the casino. Take a Male APer that plays 2 to 3 times a week but also visits with their Wife or a date. This gives great opportunity to recover any winnings either from the individual or others in their party. While they play alone they are not likely to play too many other games when they have someone with them they can easily switch to "date night" mode and let their AP guard down.

All this is to say that a while a local casino is not going to roll out the red carpet for APers I can see how they might have a certain level of tolerance for APers that don't milk the cow dry. Then again all I am say might just as well be me dreaming.