When people first learn that I worked in the casino industry, without fail, one of the first questions I always get is if I know how to win. People more often than not think that because I work in the industry, I not only love to play but know how to win. One of those things is true, the other not so much.
Believe it or not, there is not a magical “cheat code” that operators are given once they sign on to serve a casino organization. Despite not knowing a secret way to win, I still love nearly every aspect of a casino visit. I love being able to spend my time walking around, checking out new titles, saying “hi” to the floor team in passing, and ordering a coffee before settling in to try my luck. While I won’t know what machine will pay out, one thing that I can say for sure, is that my affinity for gambling is a rare trait to find in those that work in the back of house offices. Simply put: I am an outlier when it comes to the actual act of gambling
In my experience, I can say that most operators make the conscious effort to avoid loading their money into a machine or exchanging it for chips. While this was initially puzzling to me, there are some reasons I can think of as to why operators may make this choice.
First off, one of the most obvious reasons could be that those that work in gaming want to get away from it when “off the clock.” For those of us that love gambling, this can be a hard idea to grasp, but when you mull it over, it could be that these individuals don’t want to think about anything related to the industry when they don’t have to. Instead, these individuals spend their time and attention on their true passions and accompanying hobbies outside the glitz and glamor of the neon lights.
If you read my piece about finding my first casino job, you’d know that I leaned into the ideology of finding a job that I loved to avoid feeling like I am serving time. (Believe me, I know how lucky I am to have used my skills to land a job like this.) For me, gambling in any form, whether playing or working, is exciting and interesting but I recognize that not everyone I have worked with feels the same. Like anyone should, I try to protect my time off when I need to recharge and reconnect with certain aspects of my personal life. Following this logic, if you are in casino marketing, or have a role as heavily involved as that, you may not plop down in front of a game or hang around a casino on one of your few days off.
Of course, another main piece of the gaming puzzle is in-person relationship building. A fair share of casino operators are native to Las Vegas and have an established network of connections, both personally and professionally. For those born and raised in the valley, it can be hypothesized that they do not have as much of a need to add more people to their social circles. Inversely, I have been very vocal about my deep appreciation for the community that I have found within avid slot players. You can get the full scoop by reading our piece on community here.
Perhaps the most simple reason as to why operators don’t partake in the gambling action is that they just don’t like it. It could be that the environment is too loud (though I’d suggest gambling in the morning), or that they don’t want to run into players they know. While these are valid reasons, another is pretty obvious.
Casino operators could choose not to gamble because they have a different goal in mind that they need the budget for. It comes as absolutely no surprise that gambling is one heck of an expensive hobby. If they don’t truly enjoy it, why would they want to spend their entertainment budget on it? This is especially true because casino operators are well aware of the profit margins and the actual chances of landing a delicious jackpot. While it pains me to say, I have also been told more than a time or two by upper (upper) management that “casinos aren’t built on winners.”
On a deeper level, do I think that better experiences, games, promotions, and more are created by those that understand a gambler’s mind and enjoy the essence of it all? Yes. There is so much more to gaming than just feeding money into a machine and hoping for the best. To me, gambling is a feeling, an experience, an escape from the mundane. I want the people in charge of my gaming experience to recognize that and run with it.
What do you think? Do you think casino operators should like to partake in their creations, or do you think it reasonable that they often decide to stick on the sidelines? If you have a reason of your own as to why you think casino operators chose not to gamble, let us know in the comments!
