Overview
The Presidential elections are just a little over a year away, but after being bombarded with all of the advertisements and hoopla you’d think that it was only a month away. Is it just me, or does every 4-year election seem to start earlier and earlier? That being said, as always, one of the hottest topics for debate will be the unemployment situation.
As of this writing the unemployment rate in the United States stands at 5.5%, down a very optimistic eight-tenths from one year ago. Overall the economy really seems to be back on the right track, and heading in the right direction! Nevada’s unemployment rate, which at many points during the Great Recession was the highest in the nation, dropped one-tenth down to 7.0%, and down from 7.9% in 2014.
This article and accompanying charts are intended to give a very broad view of gaming in the US and is a good overall synopsis. So, let’s look at Casinos in the United States:
Slot Machines
According to Casino City’s Gaming Business Directory, nationwide there are a total of 830,464 slot machines, which is up by 7,286 Year Over Year (YOY). There are 1,446 casinos currently open with at least 1 slot machine, which is up by 90 YOY. These include commercial casinos, land-based, riverboat, dockside, racetrack casinos (Racinos), and Native American properties, as well as small bars and stores with slot machines.
Consistent with what we have done for the last 11 years, here is our breakdown for the properties we review:
- Small Casino: 300-999 Machines
- Midsized Casino: 1,000-1,999 Machines
- Large Casino: 2,000-2,999 Machines
- Mega Casino: More than 3,000 Machines
Utilizing this list we find there are a total of 650 casinos in these categories, up by 10 YOY. There are 347 Small Casinos (up by 12); 199 Midsized Casinos (up by 8); 80 Large Casinos (down by 5); and 24 Mega Casinos (down by 5).
Mega Casinos
Four of the top five Mega properties in the United States are Native American owned.
For the fifth year in a row all five of the properties remain in the same standings, with nearly the same number of machines as last year.
- WinStar World Casino, Oklahoma: 7,487 machines (up by 119)
- Foxwoods Resort & Casino, Connecticut: 5,660 machines (down by 740)
- Mohegan Sun Casino, Connecticut: 5,518 machines (up by 18)
- Empire City at Yonkers Raceway, New York: 5,300 machines (no change)
- Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Florida: 5,000 machines (down by 8)
Just as a comparison in size, there is only one casino in Nevada with more than 3,000 slot machines: Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa, with 3,200 machines.
Table Games
In the US there are a total of 22,137 table games, which is up by 1,196 YOY. Let’s utilize this list to classify Table Games (excluding Poker):
- Small Casino: 1-19 Tables
- Midsized Casino: 20-69 Tables
- Large Casino: 70-149 Tables
- Mega Casino: More than 150 Tables
Breaking down the numbers, in the US there is a total of 859 properties that house at least 1 table game (down by 12 YOY). Of these, there are 559 Small Casinos (down by 9); 225 Midsized Casinos (down by 1); 63 Large Casinos (down by 2); and 12 Mega Casinos, the same number as last year.
Of the five largest Mega properties, the top two are Native American owned, while the remaining three are publicly traded companies. The rankings are in the exact same order as last year:
- Foxwoods Resort Casino, Connecticut: 350 Tables (no change)
- Mohegan Sun Casino, Connecticut: 280 Tables (down by 8)
- Wynn Las Vegas, Las Vegas: 268 Tables (no change)
- Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, Las Vegas: 245 Tables (no change)
- Aria Resort & Casino, Las Vegas: 200 Tables (no change)
Poker Tables
In the US there are a total of 590 properties that house at least one Poker table, which is down by 20 casinos YOY, and a total of 6,785 Poker tables (up by 171). Here are the parameters for Poker Tables:
- Small Casino: 1-9 Tables
- Midsized Casino: 10-19 Tables
- Large Casino: 20-59 Tables
- Mega Casino: More than 60 Tables
Utilizing these figures there are a total of 384 Small Casinos (down by 19); 109 Midsized Casinos (down by 3); 85 Large Casinos (up by 2); and 12 Mega Casinos (no change). The five largest Mega Casinos, Poker Table games-wise, are listed below. The top three are large Card Clubs in California, then a Native American owned casino, and rounded out by a publicly owned (MGM Resorts) company. There is no change YOY in the number of tables:
- Commerce Casino, California: 152 Tables
- Hawaiian Gardens, California: 106 Tables
- Bicycle Club, California: 105 Tables
- Foxwoods Resort Casino, Connecticut: 100 Tables
- Borgata Casino Hotel, New Jersey: 75 Tables
Executive Wages
From 2007 to 2013, salary ranges in the Casino industry had basically been flat, however in the last year they inched up significantly. We like to say that 2014 was a “seller’s market,” where the Casino could be especially choosy on the type of candidate they were hiring, and could take a long time (months) to make a hiring decision. Now the talent pool has tightened up and is turning toward a “buyer’s market,” where the Candidates can be especially choosy. If the unemployment numbers in the US continue to edge down, as they have done the last few years, then conversely Salary ranges will inch up.
As you view the Salary Index chart please remember that this is just a broad-brush overview of the industry. Many factors come into play, which affect these salary ranges including: Location, Competition, Taxes, Bonus potential, Benefits, etc. Depending on the organizational chart and/or size of the property, titles can be a matter of semantics where the Manager title could be interchangeable as a Director, or even a Vice President title.
As always, we recommend that the employer have a quantifiable and attainable annual Bonus program in place. This is not only a great incentive to executive team members, but also acts as a long-term retention plan; i.e. “golden handcuffs.” Bonus programs for General Manager, President, COO, and CEO levels should be heavily weighted on property financial improvement, among other factors including Customer Satisfaction. Believe it or not, the majority of these executives say they’d prefer a lower base salary, but with the opportunity for a large bonus based on productivity.
I hope this information is helpful, and if you have any questions or comments I would love to hear from you. Here is hoping the economy continues to stay healthy and continues to improve. And until next issue, All The Best!
Marc Weiswasser is a Managing Member of CasinoRecruiter.com, an Executive Recruiting firm for the gaming & hospitality industry. He can be reached at 702-7980180, Marc@CasinoRecruiter.com or www.CasinoRecruiter.com.