Casino games trends article

[mrcharlie]

http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...-replacin.aspx

[SiMi]

Hey, MrC!

Thanks for posting that link! The article was very interesting and pretty depressing to read. I have read articles by Bill Zender who argues that Casinos are unwise to concentrate so much on card counters. Zender argues persuasively that the Casinos are killing Blackjack due to "counter-countermeasures" while very little is actually at risk from card counters. The Casinos are 'throwing the baby out with the bath water.' The article you referenced seems to support that idea without directly making that argument.

Sadly, I fear the damage to Blackjack may be irreversible and the end is in sight. I surely hope I'm wrong but the stats in the article were depressing...

Best,
SiMi

[tjr5259]

Nice article. Just the other week the Motley Fool was saying to stay away from anything gambling related because of the new laws they are trying to pass in Macau. This seemed to be promoting some of those companies. Either way good read and I hope blackjack doesn't die.

[Norm]

Keep in mind that the author of the article is the CEO of a company that sells games that compete with Blackjack for casino space.

[SiMi]

Hi, Norm!

Thanks for pointing out the bias of the author of that article. I didn't know that when I read it and that DOES help a bit. I'm getting old and it's hard to avoid the nostalgia I feel when I think about BJ and all the great times I've had playing it over the past 35+ years. Reading that article was kind of like a 1-2 punch after hearing that Leonard Nimoy died recently.

Bummers...
SiMi

[winnawinna]

Taken from the end of the article....Fool contributor Jeff Hwang is a game inventor, and is President and CEO of High Variance Games LLC. Jeff is also the best-selling author of Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy and the three-volume Advanced PLO series. Jeff owns shares of MGM Resorts International.

Clearly this article is biased based on his interest in his own company and ownership interest in Resorts Intl

[MJGolf]

Even though he may have a business bias towards the addition of carnival games for his company to the tables, it's still a good read. And in my experience makes sense and matches what appears to be the current environment. And I wish it was different like Simi says. Like my last trip to Tunica/Horseshoe, they have a whole pit added for the carny games and less blackjack tables. Just because author may be biased, does not mean that what he says is not true. Motley Fool is a pretty accurate, reliable investment site. And they have pretty good editors, too.

I really wish current operators would take the position that card counters are really NOT going to hurt them that much in the overall scheme of things. Shoot, like that article reads..............not many even go to trouble to learn basic strategy. Unless it's someone really interested in gambling, I have yet to find many that are willing to go that far even. And what's even MORE frustrating, disturbing or depressing, is that the Evil Empire/Ceasars is starting to go away from ANY discretionary comps..........going to try to totally rely upon ONLY Total Rewards credits for comps. This is a TRAVESTY!!!

See: last page of Seven Stars Insider newsletter for this month.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_r...hiNU9aM0U/view