COMMENTARY | The gaming industry once was the easiest money to make in the world. Open the casino doors and the crowds would flock in to give up their money. Ply the gamblers with drinks, free meals, free rooms and show tickets and they gladly handed over the hard-earned money on the gaming tables and slots.
Then the gaming industry became greedy and subscribed to the corporate bean counting method of running their gaming establishments. The gaming giants separated their hotels into separate divisions. Food and beverage was now expected to make money. The hotel portion of the casinos is also expected to turn a profit.
The days of the casino portion of the business making obscene money are gone and as long as companies subscribe to the corporate method of thinking, they will never make big money. They continue to micro manage their casinos and shareholders may as well accept the fact they will never see huge profits from these companies.
In an effort to save money these large corporations have drastically cut back the casino floor personnel. Casino floor personnel are the last line of defense to prevent dealer theft on table games. Whether the theft threat is from a player on the game or a rogue dealer, the casino floor person affects the bottom line just by their mere presence.
Large corporations do not understand the intricacies of a floor person being behind a dealer or next to a player. Once in charge of just four games, casino floor personnel now must watch six to eight games at a time. A task once thought impossible and never tolerated before the days of the corporate accountants.
There have been more examples in the last year of gaming scams and cheats, including dealer theft, than at any other time in the gaming industry. The more the gaming companies cut on their floor, the more damage they do to their bottom line, which will eventually affect their stock price as well.
Ever wonder why it takes forever for the floor person to swipe a rewards card? Look behind the tables. Is there a floor person five tables away? Cheating and theft will be on the rise for the foreseeable future until casinos bulk up their presence on the floor. An old saying comes to mind, "Penny wise but pound foolish."




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