The "experts" view on Vegas table games odds

Apparently, many of us on this LVA site should be considered experts.

Poor player odds are a short term winner for the house, but a long term loser for the house. Publically held companies have a propensity to put great importance on short term profits, and very little importance on long-term profits. No public company will admit this to their stockholders, but it's true.


"Experts" argue for better table game odds

What I really got from that is people in Southern California
will gamble close to home rather than travel to Vegas.
The article says that slots surpassed table games in 1984, long before casinos started tweaking blackjack and other games.
Corporate leaders almost always put short term results over long term, because if they don't produce short term, the stockholders are up in arms. Shareholders want it both ways. They expect good results now, while building towards the future. It's as if I decide to both eat out every night but still expect to have saved money for retirement.

I wish more people would boycott the bad games. It might make the casinos loosen them up. The tables with $20 minimums and shit rules seem to be packed every time I walk down the strip. As long as people play them there is no incentive to get rid of them.

Everyone knows 6-5 is better than 3-2. Just ask them.

I found this interesting....

“Everyone's talking about millennials,” said keynote speaker Brian Decorah, president and CEO of the Firekeepers hotel-casino in Battle Creek, Mich. “But, when we look at it, our slot players are 62 and they have always been 62. Our table games players are 42. They have always been 42. We have not seen that change.”

Part of the problem is the cost to service debt on these massive facilities, although much of this is going away after continued bankruptcies at Caesars and MGM. Another issue that we've discussed is the short term corporate view on profitability. And let's not forget the demand for these "over the top" facilities, which are crazy expensive to build.

When I began coming to Vegas in 1984, the mob influence was mostly gone. Many of the dealers, pit bosses, and other personnel were holdovers from this era, and the casino floor had a different and better feel. The pit boss was more likely to stop by for an introduction and shake hands. It had a more "customer friendly", "we're happy to see you" feel. They were more likely to treat patrons as a valued guest.

I still love the Vegas, as long as I'm not staying on The Strip.