I have been in gaming for what seems to be forever. I started off at Morongo in Southern California, a really nice property close to the highway, and next to outlet stores that have thousands of people visit them almost daily. So I have seen the casino business flourish over the time I was there. I have always had an interest in learning more about the casinos, like how they function, slot operations, marketing, everything, and I have learned so much, but it is apparent that I know so little when it comes to our new generation of gamblers. I am sure I am not alone in this. With revenues down in the gaming vertical, it is apparent what we are doing does not work like it used to.
In my time at Morongo, I was friends with an assistant general manager who told me when we were going through general managers that, “Any one can run a casino and make money, all you have to do is put in machines, open the doors, and they will come.” Well this was very true for many, many years. Way back when Vegas was nothing, using this philosophy worked. People went to the middle of the desert to play machines, table games and drink. Who would have thought it would be so easy to make money hand over fist? Well it really was that easy.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY THOMAS WARD IN THE SPRING 2020 EDITION OF GAMING & LEISURE MAGAZINE.