August 16, 2002

As most of you know, I am not a writer or journalist, nor do I have a staff or fact checkers. I shoot from the hip, and let me say the casino industry has gone through mind-boggling changes since my arrival in Las Vegas during the early '70s.

I was part of the circus for a long time and had a lot of flexibility in running my operation, which was the race and sports book at the Mirage. But like every other foot soldier working for a caisno, there were many instances when we simply followed instructions.

Such instances came along every so often, and rarely had anything to do with running my department. In fact, 99 percent of the time they were dictated by new laws and regulations imposed by regulatory agencies. They originated at the federal level and concerned policy.

At the same time, the gaming industry was getting more involved in activities such as clothing drives, blood drives, the Salvation Army and elections.

Now, we weren't told directly who to vote for, but there were general meetings where the casino honchos would tell us who they thought would better represent the industry if they were elected.

I was once asked to donate to the election of a candidate who was also running for president, and to donate to a PAC (political action committee). The figure I was asked for was $1,500, and I asked who am I giving this to. When I found out Steve Wynn was donating to the same person, I said that was good enough for me, and I ponied up the money.

This was not an isolated instance, and the activity is not limited to the casino industry. But it has grown tremendously since I was in the casino business, and today these political and social statements are a big deal for these joints.

Some of the causes we contributed to were worthwhile and I was happy to contribute. But there were some things that were way off base, and I will cite one which I believe is in that category.

The week of August 5th in Las Vegas was called Responsible Gaming Education Week. Now remember, the other 51 weeks it is called a gaming experience, and come back as soon as you can.

It is a week of meetings and ideas to help increase awareness of problem gamblers. Speakers include such people as Tom Gallagher, chairman of the Nevada Resorts Association and also CEO of Park Place Entertainment, which owns numerous hotels in Las Vegas. Other speakers were Carol O'Hare, executive director of problem gaming in Nevada, and Arnie Wexler, director of G.A.

There is a problem and I have nothing against getting help to people who need it. This has been going on for close to 10 years, and they do address real problems. However, even though they are well intentioned, what they do is more like cosmetic surgery. You must have noticed in recent years all the signage that appears in the casinos, such as books and pamphlets giving numbers to call if you feel you have a problem. Floor personnel will help if you ask them. Remember, it never comes while you're blowing your cheese … only after and if you ask.

Now I was never in the sympathy business, but it seems like this stuff is more of a one-way street for those in so deep they cannot turn around.

I remember at one of these first awareness meetings, I asked the following: OK, a guy comes up and bets a two-team parlay for $5,000 on two early NFL games. He takes a bad beat in the last seconds of the game, and loses. Now he is steaming and has about five minutes to bet the late game. He runs to the counter stabbing at any games that are left and simply emptying out his pockets, hoping for at least a three-teamer which he has less of a chance to win, but this hot sucker is seeing nothing but red. Now, should I step in and say that's enough, take your money and go home, or hand him a pamphlet? The room was quiet and I knew I was gonna get a lecture from someone.

That was the first time I heard the rule that no casino personnel shall ever interfere while a customer is playing, but only give info if he or she asks for it. Get my point.

They are now expanding their efforts as this week's meetings included a lot of Nevada companies that have large work forces but are not in the gaming business. They had a president of a large bank, a representative from the school district employees, and even had people from Nellis Air Force Base, which is located just outside Las Vegas.

Tourists simply have to pick up the brochures. The Air Force has a policy that borders on being silly and it is apparent that the government just does not get it. About one year ago, the government okayed the installation of slot machines in all of our bases around the world. It seems to me that if you really wanted to help solve the problem, it should start at home. So I have a problem with the logic of how the military approaches gambling.

Wells Fargo is a big banking outfit in Nevada and their executive vice president made the following statement. He said educating the work force will do more than raise awareness for its 2100 Nevada employees. This person's name is Jay Kornmayer. Now anyone who lives in Nevada sees or hears stories of compulsive gamblers' broken homes and marriages usually, and knows the source is usually slot machines. The machines, especially video poker, can break down anyone once you become addicted to them.

I could save Jay a lot of time and effort by simply driving home the point that you are a mark playing into something that has such a negative return that sooner or later you are going to get into trouble.

It is admirable that the casinos put forth an effort, but they are short-lived and truthfully could not make it if everyone would just get smarter. The casinos are now inundated with more "carnival" games, games such as Let It Ride or War or Caribbean Stud, where the hold on some of these games reaches as high as 30 percent.

They should reduce the hold but they would say that they need this much of an edge to show profits for their investments. One of the new profit enhancing gimmicks introduced by casinos really bothers me. They lowered the payout for getting a blackjack to 6/5 as opposed to the traditional 3/2. These have been popping up on single-deck games and the reason is to scare away card counters but the average guy just got beat once again without even knowing what happened.

It is a vicious circle, do not forget this. Las Vegas has a large market of locals. With the population of both Las Vegas and the state itself, gaming now also has a huge pool of players right in their own backyard. So this market is very important. It helps the local joints more than the Strip properties, but there is a spilloff everywhere as 5,000 people a month keep moving into town.

There is a problem, and maybe for the first time the casinos will really put their best foot forward. Here is a way that they can really show they are sincere. They can include problem gambling treatment as part of their health care plan. They have fought this for a long time, and casinos have always own.

Now there is no one who is more pro-gambling than me, but my agenda would not fit into today's corporate world as they make it seem they are helping to correct some problems as long as it does not interfere with the bottom line. There is a lot of lip service in a lot of big industry today. I have no problem with people playing as long as they know exactly what they are up against. Once the ground rules are set, then you are on your own.

These things usually turn into dog and pony shows just like the national impact study group that reared its head a couple of years ago. No matter what the agenda was, the result was it simply cost a lot of money and time, and nothing came about of it.

There are people out there are understand these types of things much better than me, but they are few and far between. People like Nelson Rose and Martin Owens and Professor Thompson from UNLV, who believe at times we look for solutions in the wrong places.

Gambling is not going to go away and its popularity is still on the rise. But we should find a better way to promote it and also protect from being abused from both sides.

Everybody's heart is always in the right place until it affects them directly.

Like I said earlier, I am neither a writer or an investigative reporter, but just someone who can give you a different slant on things in the gambling business.

Nobody can have it both ways all the time, can they?

Stay smart, Jimmy V.

Comments are appreciated at www.jimmyvaccaro.com or vaccarosports@lvcm.com.