|
|
Feeling ClassyMonday, January 16th, 2012 It is very difficult for any establishment to feel classy when people are still aloud to smoke indoors. Smoking in doors really has not been okay since the 80s. There of course was time in the 90s when people were waking up to this reality and transitioning out of the old mindset, but thankfully, in most places smoking in public venues has been banned. Long gone are the days when teachers were allowed to take smoking breaks in the teacher’s lounge. The question ‘smoking or non-smoking’ now seems absurd especially if the smoking and non-smoking sections are in the same restaurant, because the truth is if there is a smoking section then the entire bar is a smoking section. Yet for some reason casinos will not let go of this tradition of allowing people to smoke indoors. This is the reason, no matter how new the casino, every time I walk onto a game floor there is a sense that I am taking a trip back in time. Watching old people huddled around slot machines, puffing their lungs away just does not seem glamorous anymore. Part of what makes casinos cool is that James Bond chic. However, in the modern [...] Continue Reading… Horse Racing and the Half HeartedMonday, January 16th, 2012 So. I am sitting at the bar at Duffy’s. Yes, the same classy place where my buddy asked a male server about a cute female server and that male server instantly showed us inappropriate pictures of the young lady on his cell phone. It is your typical suburban sports bar where it seems like the owner spent most of decorative budget on giant flat screen televisions. One of the screens above the bar happened to have a horse race on. Granted I do not watch television almost ever, but it was humorous to see a horse race on television at a sports bar. It was funny to me because it was clear how little anyone cared about horse racing. As a matter of fact it became sort of a joke at the bar. I voiced my opinions about the bar to people within ear shot. Suddenly people started rooting for random horse just to show the absurdity of horse racing. No one called the horse by name just to their numbers a signed. A small portion of the bar, half heartedly, attempted to get excited about horses trotting around the track. If horse racing every wants to become a viable [...] Continue Reading… Duffy’sMonday, January 16th, 2012 Obviously, when looking for intellectually stimulating conversation, the last place a person should go is to a sports bar. But that seems to be especially true of a sports bar in South Florida. I have had the pleasure of visiting Duffy’s once or twice and it seems to me that every time I have been there the servers, particularly the male servers have been the sort of guys that you would expect to find passed out in a bush sometime during a party in a puddle of their own puke. I even had one server come up and ask me why after 5 minutes I still had whiskey in my glass, as if real men only chugged their alcohol. The place is sort of a delightful nightmare. Anyway I did manage to have an interesting conversation with a pair of patrons about the horse racing industry. As you know, race tracks all over the country are shutting down unless they get access to slot machines. I discussed with a pair of southern kids that grew up on a far the value of horses and how much money is actually in horse breeding. Part of the reason the industry manages to [...] Continue Reading… Sure As the Rain FallsMonday, January 16th, 2012 I feel like as sure as the rain falls from the clouds, New York is destined to offer table games in the very near future. While the state has been offering slot machines for some time now with no sign of upgrading to table games, the opening of the Resorts World Casino is a complete and total game changer. The venue is already planed to be a massive casino, but recently Genting and Governor Andrew Cuomo got together to ensure that the venue makes a lasting impact on the community. They are planning to build the nation’s largest convention center on the casino grounds. This ensures that many industries will come to Queens and there is likely to be a steady flow of business types checking in and out of the 3,000 room hotel planned for the resort. I should be remembered that the venue is located only five miles away from JFK International airport. That means it will be very convenient for international business people to visit the casino as well. While slot machines are a big deal here in the states, it is not necessarily the case in other countries. Table games like craps or even card games [...] Continue Reading… Slots IndustryMonday, January 16th, 2012 You would be surprised at the strange places where I have conversations about the industry. To be honest I find that very few people know anything about the gambling industry. For sure, I meet gamblers all the time. There are guys that claim to be killer card players that, thankfully, never really test out their luck in the big boy arenas of professional card players. There is the occasional person that talks about how they used to frequent slot machines all the time. However, none of these people seem to know anything about the business itself. Small details like which company owns the Live! brand of casinos. Or even big deals like who Penn National Gaming is as a company. I suppose no one really cares. However, I feel like it is something that people should have some insight on whether they care or not. These are not small deals. Even if you do not gamble, if you come from a state that offers casinos or slot machines, you should know that casinos are either contributing to tax breaks or helping fund public schools in your area. These are major contributions to any state. I also think that knowing about [...] Continue Reading… America’s GameMonday, January 16th, 2012 Slot machines are one of America’s games. Slot machines were made here in the state and have gone on to enjoy great success as the main money maker at most casinos. In many ways slot machines have the ability to appeal to the most American of sensibilities. We are a society that likes everything fast. That is why the microwave dinner and fast food industries thrive in our country. Slot machines are sort of like the fast food of the gambling industry. There is absolutely no wait involved. You do not have to make any drawn out decisions about which cards you want to keep. There is not tedious session of watching horses work their way around a track. You simply make a wager, hit a button, and then within seconds you can repeat the process all over again. That speedy wagering process is what makes slot machines such big money makers in the United States of America. While slot machines are huge in the United States, that is not necessarily the case in other countries like Asia. This is the reason that slot machines alone will never do at the Resort World Casino in New York City. This venue [...] Continue Reading… Message ReceivedMonday, January 16th, 2012 It appears to me that New York has gotten the message about what a gem they have in the Resorts World Casino. But, perhaps they have always known the potential of having the only casino accessible by the New York MTA. It took the state almost ten years to find the right bidder to take over as the operator for the venue. There were a lot of big names involved and a lot of close calls. At one point in time there was a project in line with Rapper Jay-Z involved. While I am sure many New Yorkers would have loved a Jay-Z owned casino, I think it was best that the state ended up going with Genting. Genting is an international company and the Resorts World Casino should be an international casino. The fact of the matter is that people from all over the world travel to New York City. For many immigrants it is still their first stop. However, the casino is also located right next door to the all important JFK International Airport. Now that the state has decided to bring the nation’s largest convention center to the area as well, there is no doubt that Resorts [...] Continue Reading… Northward ExpansionMonday, January 16th, 2012 The casino expansion saga continues in the Northeast. After years of debate and close calls Massachusetts finally passed a bill for the legalization of casinos in the state. The state plans on having three casino venues and an additional slot machine parlor. While this does not necessarily mean Massachusetts will be the top dog for casino gambling in the region anytime soon, it does mean that Atlantic City will have to get used to the new landscape. While Atlantic City continues to try and expand its gambling offerings it seem unrealistic to me for the resort town to ever expect to return to its glory days back in the 1970s when the town was the only place outside of Las Vegas were people could turn for casino gambling. Not every state in the Northeast has full service casinos, but we are approaching a place where almost all of them at least offer slot machines. While the state that do have table games in addition to slot machines have a leg up for a time, I feel it is only a matter of when other states will expand with table games and not if they will expand. It has become a [...] Continue Reading… For Most of UsMonday, January 16th, 2012 I would say, for most of us, when the Resorts World Casino project is built in its entirety I would not plan to be able to stay at their 3,000 room hotel. I say this for two reasons. This place is probably going to be made expensive. I say expensive and not over priced. Over priced would mean that the place is not worth the price tag, this venue will be worth it and then some. You just have to look at the convenience of the whole thing. The hotel will only be five miles away from one of the most important airports in the world, JFK International. In addition to that a world class casino will be right there on the grounds if you are looking for any sort of nightlife entertainment. Also there is a train stop right there if you want to travel into Manhattan for the evening. Aside from the place likely being expensive, I have doubts that there will ever be rooms available. Part of the plan is also to build the country’s largest convention center. With its proximity to the Airport and prices that only big business can afford I have a feeling that [...] Continue Reading… Bed HeadMonday, January 16th, 2012 I remember back when I was in college at the University of Central Florida I booked a summer gig teaching for the New York Film Academy. One of my professors helped me get the gig. In the Summer the Film Academy is housed at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. I remember being asked by my professor if I knew how Disney made most of their big money from the resort. My initial naive answer was of course from ticket sales into the world class parks. He simply shook his head and said, “Heads in beds.” That is the industry term for selling hotel rooms. Disney makes a big chunk of its money from all of the hotel rooms they rent to families from all over the world that come to visit their parks. While the new Resorts World Casino in Queens will likely continue to make most of its money from slot machines, like every other casino in the country, the hotel rooms at this casino are going to do a lot of great business. Once the plans have been completed to build a 3,000 room hotel and the nation’s largest convention center there are likely to [...] Continue Reading… |
Slot Machines Main Page CategoriesArchives |
Slot Machines.org Copyright 2008 - No unauthorized duplication. |