This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.
A.C. says: The author references Steve Cyr’s interview in Cigar Aficionado. For those who don’t know, Cyr is the subject of our book Whale Hunt in the Desert, written by LVA’s Deke Castleman. This article discusses a host’s duties in broad terms and hints at how wild life as a host can get. Hints. For the holy-shit particulars, read the book.
The article was written by Sean Chaffin in association with 888Casino.
What Are Casino Hosts?
For many gamblers, a casino trip simply means booking a flight and hotel or even driving to their nearest gaming spot. They might stroll in with their bankroll and take a seat at their favorite slot machine or head to a blackjack or crap table.
Perhaps a gambler working up an appetite heads to the buffet, then grabs a drink at the bar for a cocktail. A few comps may roll their way, but generally, these gamblers are playing their own bankrolls, hopefully using money that they’d already earmarked for entertainment.
Bigger-money players, however, often avail themselves of VIP treatment via a casino host. These casino representatives generally act as a complete concierge for a gambler, catering to almost every need for a gambler looking to gamble large sums at a casino.
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I think that in today’s casino market the percentage of really high roller gamblers is microscopic compared to the big pool or regular players. Also, it remains to discussed at what level somebody is considered as a “real whale”. Some casinos don’t even want these high rollers anymore because they ask for too much attention and the overall costs of such gamblers can oftentimes exceed the theoretical loss that such player can generate for the house.
If you just walk by some of the VIP areas at places like Wynn/Venetian/Palazzo, you don’t see many of these super players gambling these days. Most times these VIP areas are idle with staff just standing around and waiting.
In my opinion, today’s duties of a casino host are mostly done from the computer desk in the office . That is for instance, e-mailing, making reservations, checking for comp authorisations etc. With the help of computer programs and stictly given percentages of how much a casino can return to a guest the modern host has less room to manoeuvre. Also, I take it today’s hosts no longer work on commission and most of them get their salary. Must have been a fantastic job (moneywise but not ethically) in the 70s to 90s when a host could get rich when a whale lost a fortune at the tables…..
From Switzerland
Boris
Yes, lots of variation in the way hosts work today. But the pay for many is still tied to theo or actual losses.
My understanding talking with my host @ Palazzo is that, while many inside hosts in LV get paid on actual, inside hosts @ Ven/Pal get paid on theo.
Also, the VIP areas at Ven/Pal that you can see from walking by is not where the real action is. At both casinos, there are several hallways behind the visible VIP room that lead to small high-roller rooms where whales can play away from prying eyes. And keep in mind that at a high-limit table, one can have a dealer stand for 6 hours, get 30 minutes of whale action, and stand for another hour. That table may bring in more those 30 minutes than a dozen tables in the main casino bring in all day.
There is an exclusive Paiza Club near the top floor. Access to the lounge and top-end Chinese restaurant is invite-only — think 7-figure bankroll. Next to the club is a small casino, baccrat & blackjack, where the chips on the rack often start at $100,000.
But, yeah, lots of hosts on the strip are glorified order takers. They’re limited to what the algorithm says they can comp. The host’s value comes in with soft stuff — ensuring your room has your favorite view, getting an amenity, show tickets, booking stuff directly without forcing the customer to reserve via a call center in a third-world country, etc.
“Almost” has it about right. More recently most have titles other than Host, like “Player Development Executive.” When they did use “Host” they almost always used the title of “Executive Casino Host”, which made folks feel like they had the top of the rung of Hosts; mostly not so much, though. But even if, like me, you aren’t that close to being classified a Whale or even High Roller, it is nice to have a Host connection. Some can bump up your comps a bit if they know you and like you.
One other element of ‘mystery’: How do those high end designer couture shops make any money? Walk from Wynn to Encore (or through the Bellagio shops, etc.) and you rarely see one customer inside any of them. I’m told their customers do their shopping/buying privately, so they aren’t seen flipping through racks like you and me.